REPORTING. “Stability”, “very humble”, “no crazy things”… At Virton, N’Golo Kanté is unanimous in the Belgian club he owns

The France team player will play against Belgium on Monday in the round of 16 of the Euro, a country in which N’Golo Kanté bought a third division club. There, he was unanimous.

France will face Belgium in the round of 16 of the Euro football championship on Monday, July 1 at 6 p.m. This is the start of the knockout matches for Les Bleus, against a Belgian team that will be looking to take revenge after its elimination by the French team in the semi-final of the World Cup in 2018 and then in the semi-final of the Nations League in 2021.

The two teams and their players know each other well, the rivalry is there. On the pitch, on the French side, there will be N’Golo Kanté, who returned to the France group for this Euro and immediately found a starting place, as if he had never left.

His performance will be particularly scrutinized in Belgium, especially in the Belgian province of Luxembourg, in the south of the country. The football player, darling of French fans, is also an investor. In fact, just a year ago he bought the football club of the small town of Virton, with only 11,500 inhabitants, the Royal Excelsior de Virton, in the Belgian third division.

This project initially caused surprise in this very rural region of Belgium, before generating enthusiasm on the ground. “It was a surprise because nobody expects to see N’Golo Kanté, especially in a small club like Virton,” rejoices a fan of the Belgian team.

At the time, the Collin brothers, Romain and Nathan, loyal supporters, were worried about their club, which was just over a century old, but in bad shape, with a descent into the third division. “We were really happy because we know that he is a person who could offer stability to the club. He put in the money he wanted to put in without putting in too much, because there is no point to do crazy things, because we saw that it didn’t always work”they say.

The new management has not changed anything, retaining all employees. “He met all the staff, the players, the employees, etc… He is very kind, very humble, N’Golo, in other words,” explains Thiebault Delmelle, operational director of Excelsior. Objective: return to the Belgian second division.

But in Virton, the immediate subject is above all France-Belgium and the role that N’Golo Kanté would play. “He will help the Belgians win, of course, since he owns the Virton club in Belgium. So, he will help the Belgians win on Monday”exclaims one of the residents.

Thiebault Delmelle, the operational director of Excelsior, is more nuanced. “Opposite, there’s my boss. Come on, a 2-1 victory for Belgium with a goal from Kanté, so he’s man of the match. And like that, everyone’s happy,” he hopes. Indeed, no matter the result, it will be a party in Virton anyway, assures the mayor of the city, where a giant screen has been installed for Monday evening.