#9 Blaise Matuidi – Angola
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It’s fascinating how Blaise Matuidi could’ve played for either Angola or Belgium, but destiny brought him to France.
Long before Matuidi’s birth, in 1983, his Angolan father and French mother fled the civil war that tore their country, Angola, and went into exile in Europe. At first they settled in Belgium. However, problems continued to persist and they had to quickly set sail for France. His parents finally settled there permanently and Blaise Matuidi was born in 1987 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne.
Matuidi began his football career at the tender age of six and grew an attraction to the sport watching Paris Saint-Germain and became an admirer of former attacker Jay-Jay Okocha. Four years after signing a professional contract at Saint-Etienne, PSG came calling, searching an able replacement for the retired Claude Makelele, thus earning Matuidi his dream move to the capital.
In 2009, the Angola Federation returned for him while he was still a young hope of French football, moving to Saint-Etienne. Upon consultation with Claude Makelele, another French star of Congolese origin, he was convinced that his heart was set on representing the country of his birth, France, receiving first call-up soon after under then manager Laurent Blanc.
Having been forced to miss the 2012 edition due to an unfortunate injury, Matuidi was named in Deschamps’ original 23-man squad for Euro 2016 and continues to play a stellar role in the France midfield alongside Paul Pogba.
