Kicks, Blood, Street Football: How Upamecano Built Mentality And Overcame Challenges

RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano has opened up on how his family and street football as a child helped him build toughness, mentality and overcame challenges.

Upamecano grew up playing football on the streets of his hometown Évreux in Normandy, France and that was where he developed his love for football, through his parents, four sisters, younger brother and friends.

“It was clear to my parents early on that I wanted to be a footballer,” Upamecano told Fussball & Familie, quoted by Bundesliga. “In the youth teams you also have a lot of frustrating moments, but when I came home disappointed, my parents said ‘Cheer up! Come on, keep going!’ They built me ​​up.

Upamecano grew up with four sisters and his younger brother and admits it wasn’t easy growing up with them even though he spent most of his time on the streets and cages with friends playing football.

“With four women by my side, it was a bit difficult, it still is today,” he said. “In my childhood, however, I spent most of the time outside and in the cages playing with the friends in my neighbourhood.”

Earlier football lessons for most professional and recreational footballers started on the streets. It is mostly without rules or with rules made by the owner of the ball, but it was played for a lot of bragging rights and it was no different for Upamecano.

“There was no referee,” he said. “There were always tough challenges but we didn’t need a referee either. The rules were clear and everyone obeyed them.

Upamecano is reputable for his toughness and being a fighter on the pitch, a mentality he developed on the streets; “We fought for each other. You learned, above all, to not let your teammates down,” the France international said.

“Even bloody knees were no excuse to let your team down. I had to learn how to win and how to lose. And it was about supporting your teammates. Those were very important lessons. The team was above everything, and giving up was not an option.”

“It was difficult enough for mom to get me home at all. (laughs) She’d call: ‘Dayot, come’ now! It’s over for today!’ I’d reply, ‘No, no, five more minutes, please. I’ll be right there.’ At home, I first had to take care of myself. A little ointment on it or a plaster to stop a bleeding wound. My knees are still marked from that time…” he added.

The 22year old hasn’t always been about scoring goals but stopping them. Something he has excelled in and earned him a summer move to German powerhouse Bayern Munich.

He started out as a midfielder when he joined Valenciennes, a position where he developed technical abilities on the ball and is today one of the best ball playing defenders in Europe. “You can play me anywhere, just not in goal” he told his youth coaches at Valenciennes. 

An important part of football he struggled with as a child was communication due to a speech disability that made him stutter. To be a leader on the pitch you have to be vocal, he struggled with this earlier on but his leadership quality on the pitch helped him overcome.

“That wasn’t nice,” he said of his speech impediment. “It was a difficult time. Some classmates didn’t treat me particularly well and annoyed me. That’s why I spoke so little at the time and tried not to let them get to close to me. But on the contrary, it’s strengthened and shaped me, not hurt me. I said to myself: ‘I can do other things better.’

“I never had a problem with the language [while playing football]. Even back then, I gave instructions to my teammates or motivated myself. I was a different person on the pitch, I was radiant and played with a broad chest. But if the game was over earlier, it turned back immediately. Then the stutter came back.

“Between 10 and 13, I went there [to see a speech therapist] regularly. That helped me and also strengthened my self-confidence off the pitch.”

Upamecano has three international caps for France and by the end of the season will move on from RB Leipzig to join current German champions Bayern Munich but for now he said he’s focused on his current family [RB Leipzig].