“He was an endearing boy, with a jovial character, and was also low-key. But on the pitch, he had a very strong character and didn’t hesitate to show it when the team needed it.
“His former trainer, Sebastien Gojkovic, is now at Olympique Marseille and I know he is very proud of him, as we all are at Pennes-Mirabeau.”
Fofana moved on to Air Bel aged 12, a club that was a 45-minute drive from his home. Kaisse Hannachi, who saw Fofana play at Sporting Club Repos Vitrolles and was technical director at Air Bel, described a youngster who was desperate to improve.
“He was playing as an attacker,”
Hannachi told Saint-Etienne’s website last year. “He thought of himself as Drogba. In midfield, he had Didier Zokora as a model, who excelled at Saint-Etienne by the way. I said to him, ‘You will play defence, think of Kurt Zouma (who went from Saint-Etienne to Chelsea in 2014)’.
“At Air Bel, from the under-12s to under-15s, he impressed through his grit, determination, steel-like mentality. He even tackled on concrete! If he had to hurt himself to win, he wouldn’t hesitate. He had to go beyond this animal side though, progress tactically and technically if he wanted to make a career.”
David Diaz, one of his former coaches, said in another interview with Le Progres: “As soon as he stepped on the pitch he furrowed his eyebrows, a small Mike Tyson. He was in his own bubble, determined.”
Anthony Loupy, who coached Fofana at under-15 level in Marseille, told Saint-Etienne’s website: “At training, he used to drive me mad! He would nearly cry when he lost. He was too hungry, he was a lion. He had to put his frustration to one side and learn to lose.”
So desperate was Fofana to play every game that he used to hide any injuries so as to not miss a match. Loupy said: “He even used to miss physio appointments because he feared it would ban him from playing on Sunday. Wesley would say to me, ‘I start and if I don’t manage, you take me off’. He always started and finished.”