The quote that will follow him into the tunnel
“If the coach calls me, the answer is no.”
Zacharie Boucher did not leave much room for interpretation. He said it to Ouest-France in 2018, wearing AJ Auxerre colours at the time, with Madagascar boss Nicolas Dupuis openly chasing his signature.
“I am French, I have never been Malagasy,” he added to the same paper. The Barea were days away from their first AFCON, in Egypt, and the door was wide open. He walked past it.
Eight years on, his name sits on the Madagascar squad list.
Try it for $0.99.
A debut at 34, in the middle of a qualifying run
The ESTAC Troyes keeper has been named for the AFCON qualifiers against Nigeria and Tanzania. First call-up of his career. He turns up for it at 34 years old.
Nothing about his Malagasy heritage changed in the meantime. What changed was everything around it. A solid French club career that never produced a France call, a window that narrowed season after season, a decision that gets easier the longer you wait. Most players who make this switch do it in their twenties.
Nigeria, of all opponents
The Super Eagles are not a gentle introduction to international football, and Tanzania away is no formality either. Both matches carry real weight in the qualifying table.
So Boucher gets a debut at an age when most goalkeepers are quietly scouting coaching badges. And that 2018 line is going to be dug up every single time he pulls the shirt on. He surely knows it.
Discover the rest of the FOOT news on our website and app mathodds!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply