I did not keep him long.
Roger Martinez immediately knew he had to take it all in and simply savour those rare moments.
A kid like that would not appear in front of his eyes every day. If ever.
“There was nothing I could teach him”, the coach of l’AS Saint-Priest recently told France Football. “He is super-talented, that’s all. Right foot, left foot, everything at full speed.”
RECORDBREAKER
Born in August 2003, Rayan Cherki is the youngest player to both make at least one appearance as well as start a game in Europe’s top five leagues so far in 2020.
At the start of last season, he became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the UEFA Youth League. Aged 15 years and… 33 days.
Before turning 16, he had already played for Olympique Lyonnais’ first-team in a pre-season friendly against Servette Geneva.
Three months later, he made his Ligue 1 debut. At the beginning of this year, his first start. Away to PSG, of course.
Having – in the meantime – scored in a French cup tie against lower-league Bourg-en-Bresse, he also got his chance in the following round’s away trip to Nantes. He scored twice, made another two and won a penalty. Not kidding.
(He was not involved in OL’s 1-0 victory over Juventus in the first leg of the last 16 of the Champions League although he had already become the second youngest debutant in the history of the competition in the group stages, too).
ABOVE HIS PEERS
“I did not keep him long”, Martinez recalled. “Gérard Vittorelli [a scout for Olympique Lyonnais] spotted him playing in Parc de Parilly [in Lyon] with his big brother and got hold of him. I was 99% sure he would take him!”
Cherki was born in Lyon and – like most players in France – began his career at a local football club.
Situated in the suburbs of the city, Association Sportive de Saint-Priest are a well-regarded club in the whole Rhône-Alpes region when it comes to developing young footballers. The likes of another ex-OL prodigy Nabil Fekir and Stade Rennais’ Romain Del Castillo – among others – also had spells at that club while children.
“When he came to us, he must have been five and a half, six“, Martinez revealed before adding, “After half a season, as I was [then] coaching the U8s, I took him with me.”
Cherki would train with kids two years older than him. However, Martinez probably still knew what was coming. The following season, young Rayan was already an Olympique Lyonnais player.
Training two or three years above his age group would become a feature of the youngster’s pathway. He would almost never play with his peers.
FEKIR RATHER THAN BENZEMA
“His main asset is his quality to beat opponents“, believes OL under-15s coach Cyrille Dolce who only had Cherki under his belt for four months. “He went through to U16s then.”
The France under-16 international (perhaps surprisingly, he has not progressed beyond his age group at international level just yet) is one of those players who could – and would – excite the crowd. To say the least.
“My first memory of him is a rabona in his first move”, remembered his coach at under-16 level Joël Fréchet, himself… the youngest-ever player to feature for the club’s first-team back in 1981. “I told him: ‘do you know where you are?’ He then repeated it to make an assist!
“He looked at me laughing, but not joking. He needs to experiment. He is capable of a lot of things but will have to, as a young player, learn all the elements of the high level.
“Physically, he is ready. In the end, he is a creator but one who still needs to work on his creativity.”
Despite having been deployed out on the right wing in his first Ligue 1 start, Cherki is regarded as much more of a number 10 by his academy coaches.
He is neither expected to become a centre forward.
“Technically, he has everything“, said another former young debutant for the club, Bernard Lacombe. “He would have to be more of a killer in front of goal [though]. And that, you either have it or you do not.
“He knows how to find space and possesses a vision of play, but, to finish attacks off, it is not the same. He is a false nine who can be compared to Nabil Fekir rather than Karim Benzema.”
FAMILY SUPPORT
The key challenge for Cherki – and those around him – now is to keep the youngster grounded.
Olympique Lyonnais head coach Rudi Garcia, who handed the 16-year-old his league debut in his first game in charge of the club, has not given his compatriot another opportunity since the trip to PSG.
“You have to stay careful with young players and protect them“, Garcia pointed out. “You must not forget that Rayan Cherki is very young. He is quite calm but has to remain aware that there are a lot of things he needs to improve on.”
It is not as though the player has changed his self since breaking into the senior team.
“Last summer, in Tignes [where Lyon staged their pre-season training camp], there was a game between attacking players and defenders”, an unnamed local journalist told France Football. “First time on the ball, Rayan lobbed [goalkeeper Anthony] Lopes. Second time, he did the scissors move. I can tell you he took a memorable whack third time!”
At the same time, Cherki is reported to conduct himself far from a wannabe star off the pitch. Dolce says the player has no problem dropping down and playing for the reserves or under-19s. “What he wants is to play“.
Perhaps crucially, the youngster appears to be able to count on a solid family support.
Rayan was born as third of five children to his mother and father of Algerian and Italian descent respectively. His mother – along with a lawyer – is his agent. His father – an ex-amateur footballer – works at the Groupama Stadium. His older brother Adam is the club’s employee (in the marketing department). His youngest brother Eden plays for OL’s under-9s.
BOTH-FOOTED
On one hand, Rayan Cherki seems an absolute gem.
A player who – with his extraordinary technical skills and the audacity to use it – could become a future great.
“Rayan has that ability to dribble in tight spaces”, Fréchet highlighted. “When I asked him whether he was left-footed, he replied: ‘I have them both‘. And he showed me [that].
“He has that carefreeness which allows him to create but watch out the high level. Last year, he could [still] dribble in front of his own penalty area.”
On the other, there are still so many dangers ahead for the 16-year-old.
Just ask Hatem Ben Arfa.
“It has gone very quickly for him!”, summed up ex-veteran Olympique Lyonnais Academy coach Armand Garrido. “If he is OK for the high level, why would you deprive him of it?
“But you have to go there in small doses. The environment of a senior dressing room is not the same. The players there do not have the same views as those of a 17-year-old kid. They neither have the same vision of things nor the same sources of interest.
“We saw that with players who had an urge to make themselves visible. It is the madness of youth. We tend to find it disrespectful but some players do not yet know the profession.”
For now, Martinez – and not just him – again savours the moment.
In the picture: Rayan Cherki is the youngest player to both make at least one appearance as well as start a game in Europe’s top five leagues so far in 2020 (found here)
BREAKTHROUGH 