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Academy 27 June 2023, 07:59

La Diagonale is among France's Top Four academies!

La Diagonale is among France's Top Four academies!
As it does every year, the FFF has just published its ranking of the best academies in France. And with an average rating of 3.7 out of five, AS Monaco have come in fourth.

#MadeInLaDiagonale, it’s more than a catchphrase, it’s a byword for success. As it has for several years now, the AS Monaco training center is recognized for its performance and is in a good position in the ranking of the best academies in the French top flight. Fifth last season, La Diagonale has moved up a position and is now in fourth place in the annual report published by the French Football Federation.

An average of 3.7 out of five

With a rating of 3.7 out of five stars, the Principality club ranks behind only Stade Rennais (4.2), Olympique Lyonnais (4.1) and Girondins de Bordeaux (3.8). In order to determine this prestigious ranking on the quality of an academy, five criteria for excellence have been established, namely:

• Professional development (number of professional contracts signed)
• Playing time in the first team of the training club, in cumulative minutes for clubs with a UEFA coefficient (impact of training on the professional squad)
• National team representation (representation of players in international competitions, regardless of the nation)
• Education (diploma(s) obtained by players in training)
• European representation (representation of players in the UEFA club rankings).

Two firsts with the pros

According to this report, AS Monaco shines particularly in the professionalization category since the maximum number of stars has been granted. It must be said that the Club does not hesitate to place its trust in its young players to perform, as evidenced by their 26 contracts signed to date.

Among them, several players were then able to make their debut in the first team in this 2022-2023 season. This is particularly the case for Eliesse Ben Seghir, recently voted best player of the Tournoi Maurice-Revello, and Edan Diop. The same is true for Soungoutou Magassa, who made his debut in the Coupe de France last season, he had his first start in Ligue 1 last August.

7 players from the Academy are regularly in the squad

Others have also made appearances in the first team, such as Yann Lienard, Mamadou Coulibaly and Ethan Schulz, while Eliot Matazo (29 matches played), Maghnes Akliouche (13 played) and Chrislain Matsima (18 played) have continued their rise.

And if there are some players who are yet to make their debuts, Malamine Efekele, Mohamed Bamba, Nazim Babaï and Jules Béry were able to participate in the team’s two training camps by playing friendly matches. In terms of internationals, AS Monaco also stands out thanks to the presence of Kylian Mbappé, captain of France, and Khéphren Thuram, currently playing at the U-21 Euros.

100% success in Bac last year

Efficient on the pitch, La Diagonale is also efficient in education. Because if the results of the 2023 exams have not yet been released, those of last season were excellent with 100% success in the Baccalaureate exam.

The Academy thus stands out for its extensive support for its  young footballers at school as well, as we found in speaking with Virginie Gollino, head of education, in 2020. “Whether it is in schooling, in daily life, at the Academy or at the level of the coaches, everyone has the same belief and knows that education is important at AS Monaco.” This is thus a new mark of excellence which shows that the Principality’s club training center is one of the most efficient in France. #MadeInLaDiagonale 🇲🇨