1BSPORTS 1B Sports June 13th News 26-year-old DJ Buffonge spent four years at Manchester United youth training. He trained with the first team under Van Gaal, Mourinho and Solskjaer. He has formed a deep friendship with Rashford, Sancho and Angel Gomez. They are still close friends today.
Accepting The In an interview with Athletic, recalling Manchester United’s time, Buffonge said: “It was an unforgettable time, good and bad. It taught me how self-disciplined, how strong my mentality is and how strong I can maintain a strong motivation to maintain a stable performance in such a high level of game.”
Buffonge joined Manchester United at the age of 16 in 2015, and had previously played for Arsenal and Fulham: “Fulham was the most enjoyable time in my football career. At that time, I was very young and full of energy. My only goal was to be the best player. I attracted Many people were noticing that I was playing a winger at the U16 and was promoted to the U18 to play Manchester United in the midfield. It was that game that left a deep impression on Manchester United scouts. “
Buffonger was also recognized by two Manchester United legends: “It was in the preseason. Manchester United youth training director Bart and first-team assistant coach Giggs were both present, and they were very surprised by my performance. Then they took me to a room where computers were everywhere, and analyzed in detail my every touch and running without the ball, as well as what they liked and didn’t like. Place, it was very encouraging for me. ”
After coming to Manchester United U18, Buffonger was quickly promoted to the U23 with his outstanding performance in the midfield, but according to the players, Manchester United U23 coach Warren Joyce’s management style is old-fashioned: “It’s almost like a military camp, and it’s OK for some players, because some players are very passionate about gym training, while others like to play football and like everything on the court. I think when the two are combined, the players can play at the best level, but the environment was too strict at the time, some players would “
“No matter how hard I trained and how good I performed, he had players I trusted, and I could only do a lot of training. From U18 to U23, I did feel the difference between physical confrontation and intensity of the game. At U18, we focused more on technical skills, and at U23, if you can show good running skills in training, you can get a chance to play, which is a different challenge, so I had almost no chance to play during that time.”
Buffonger said he and MannThe contradiction between the United U23 coaches is not only in training, but also in some unusual requirements: “Joyce will say to me, ‘I want to tell Mourinho that you can’t make your debut under him unless you cut your hair.’ I couldn’t figure it out at the time that they were joking, but I really wanted to play. I couldn’t see what my hairstyle has to do with whether I can play.”
“There will be a lot of jokes in football, but at that time I didn’t know what the situation in youth training is now. They will make a lot of jokes, but even these knowledge jokes, I still remember it because when you When fighting for my position, anything looks like a signal. ”
“I’m a young player and want to get playing time, I’m looking for guidance, and if the coaching is about getting me to cut my hair, it doesn’t make much sense to me. I remember later when I got home and asked my mom, wondering if I should go for a haircut. I literally got my hair cut a few months later, and I didn’t shave it completely, but nothing changed after I cut it.”
Joyce said he didn’t remember saying that to Buffonger, but he admitted it was part of his management. Buffonge also revealed that he was deducted a week’s salary for tattoos: “There was a rule that youth team players were not allowed to be tattooed. I followed the rules until I was 18 years old, and then I could have a tattoo. I decided to tattoo a sentence on my chest: ‘I came to this world to be the best self, to fulfill my mission and to do it bravely.'”
“It was very important for me to see myself in the mirror on game day, and even if I wore short sleeves, no one could see it, but I was punished for it. Now everyone in the United youth team has a tattoo, expressing themselves in this way.”
Talking about the situation before leaving Manchester United, Buffonger said: “At that time, I began to feel that some decisions were not related to football, more like political issues, but no one could tell me directly what the problem was. For a long time after that, I didn’t play at the U23, just occasionally got minutes of playing time, and there was no clear explanation. A few weeks passed, I knocked on the coach’s door and asked, ‘What do I need to do in training to get back on the team?’ I don’t understand, I’ve been confused for a long time.”
“Until one day, after the training I had lunch with some teammates, Mourinho walked in. I met him when I was in Fulham because his son (a goalkeeper) was there too. He came over and said to me, ‘DJ, I want to know why you haven’t played lately, you performed well in the last game, is it because you were not in good health? Is there any problem? ‘ I told him, ‘I really don’t know. ‘”
” Then Mourinho said, ‘Okay, then you come and train with us now, I will tell you why you can’t play. ‘ I’ve been training with them for most of the time after that, but Mourinho didn’t give me oneA clear reason, but he said: ‘If I can say one thing, it is to never take a walk on the court. ’”
Buffonge’s Manchester United time finally came to an end in the summer of 2019. After that, he joined Spezia freely. In the past few years, he has been in the process of teams such as Pertletes, Nijmegen, and Tersda, but has not stabilized.