Ronaldinho and Yacine Brahimi reveal the underside of their support for FootSider, an application which aims to be the first platform for connecting players and clubs around the world. ” It is my brother (Roberto Assisi) who told me about the project, says Ronaldinho. I really liked the opportunity to help young people achieve their dream. Football has given us a lot. Now it’s up to us to give to other young people who also dream of becoming football players. That’s what touched me the most. »
On the sofa of one of the lounges of the grand Parisian hotel where they are gathered, Yacine Brahimi, the Algerian international who passed through Rennes, after having started out in Montreuil and Vincennes, specifies: “This application comes after many years of work on the ground of the Second Chance Academy. Concretely, FootSider has digitized all their years of work. The social part of the project is very important in the sense that we really want to help young people have the chance to succeed in becoming professionals. The goal, too, is to collect as much data, information as possible between clubs, players and even sponsors, to create a huge football family where we can help each other. »
Since the end of his career, which will have seen him pass through Porte Alegre, PSG, Barça and AC Milan, Ronaldinho, 42, has had “the opportunity to travel a lot”. “And everywhere I see talented players,” he says. But not all of them have the opportunity to reach a club. I think FootSider will help them a lot. We will see. »
He admits he was lucky. ” A lot a lot ! he smiles. “In my day, I remember it was completely different,” he says. There was no internet. It was on the street. And I saw a lot of very gifted young people who failed to turn professional. Why shouldn’t they get a second chance? »
“How many great players have missed a detection? »
Yacine Brahimi shares the point of view. “We were very lucky,” he says. With Ronnie, we come from very, very far away, but I think we are privileged because it is not given to everyone to be able to play football, and even less to make the career of a player like that by Ronaldinho! That can be counted on the fingers of one hand. »
On a personal note, Yacine Brahimi also acknowledges that he “had the chance to have always been in the system of pre-training and professional training centers”. “But how many great players have missed a detection and not had the opportunity to have another one? he asks. I know a lot of very talented players who have not been able to break into football. So I think this platform can be very, very useful. 1,500 professional and amateur clubs have already shared their player profile needs.
Brahimi highlights the ease of use of the project. “We are now digitizing the Academy with FootSider to allow people to find, just in one click, information that they would otherwise take months to find. It is a system that will enable us to unite thousands, hundreds of thousands and, perhaps in the future, millions of people. And that, without digital, is almost impossible. So yes, I hope it will help players to find detections, sponsors, clubs… And vice versa. »
