“It’s all in the head. Faouzi first became an athlete in his mind, and only then in his body”. Those are the words of Bilal Ghoulam, elder brother of the full-back who took Italian Serie A by storm in 2014. Bilal is a great athlete himself, having represented France at the World Cross Country Championships back in 2004. Faouzi wasn’t afraid of the challenge. Since the age of 14, he used to train with his brother regularly, and Bilal admits: “He is faster than me now”.

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Napoli’s doctors were astonished when Ghoulam’s athletic test results were even better than the famous records of Edinson Cavani. The Algerian shows endless strength and stamina on the pitch, able to run constantly for 90 minutes covering his wing. He joins attacks at every opportunity, but can always recover to do his duties at the back, the tenacious defender closing opposition with tough tackles. Ever since he was signed from St Etienne in late January, Ghoulam has been a firm fan favourite at Stadio San Paolo, and he is living his dream in more ways than one.

At the age of 23, Ghoulam has already fulfilled many of his aspirations. Born in the northern suburbs of St Etienne to a family of Algerian immigrants, he always supported Les Verts and joined their academy as an eight-year-old kid. By 2011, he was an undisputed starter under coach Christophe Galtier, part of one of the best defensive units in Ligue 1. The Algerian Football Federation, which is constantly searching for talents in France, took notice and in November 2012 Ghoulam announced that he would represent the country of his parents at the impending African Cup on Nations, despite having already played for the France Under-21 team earlier that year. Another sacred dream came true for him.

There was a temporary setback, however. Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic didn’t rate him too highly at first, and Ghoulam was forced to watch his first international tournament from the bench. Upon returning to St Etienne, he discovered that Jonathan Brison had taken his place in the starting line-up, and spent most of the first months of 2013 on the sidelines. He was on the bench again when his team lifted the Coupe de la Ligue after beating Rennes in the final.

Disappointed in the extreme, Ghoulam asked to be put on the transfer list that summer, and a move to Torino was on the cards, only for the negotiations to break down at the last moment. Looking back, Faouzi will readily admit that it was a blessing in disguise. Instead of joining a relatively small outfit, he fought his way back into St Etienne team, and his excellent performances didn’t go unnoticed by Rafa Benitez, who was desperately searching for a new left-back. Napoli reportedly came close to signing Luca Antonelli from Genoa, but the Spanish coach vetoed the deal and demanded to go for Ghoulam.

Nothing could possibly have been better for Faouzi. He comes from a family of Napoli supporters, and Diego Maradona has always been his idol, even though he was born exactly when the Argentinian genius was leaving Italy for good in disgrace. “All my family is in love with Maradona, so I had to love him. I know by heart how Argentina won the World Cup in 1986, and my brothers kept showing me the tapes of his games. We had his posters on the wall, and dressed in his shirts”, the Algerian said in an interview to Le Buteur. No wonder that he checked the possibility of wearing the No. 10 at Napoli, but was naturally told that it had been retired.

Moving to a new club in mid-season was a big gamble with the World Cup just around the corner, but it certainly paid off for Ghoulam. He immediately became an integral part of the team, and Napoli only lost twice in 14 games with him on the pitch, conceding just eight goals in the process.

Remarkably, the Partenopei kept a clean sheet in both games against Serie A’s leading clubs. Ghoulam capped a superb performance against Roma with an assist, his inviting cross finding the head of Jose Callejon for the match-winning goal. That was followed by a 2-0 triumph against Juventus in April – arguably Ghoulam’s best game in Italy so far.

The Coppa Italia brought even more joy to the Algerian. After overcoming Roma in the semifinals with a great 3-0 win in the return leg at home, Napoli lifted the trophy – beating Fiorentina 3-1 in the final. Unlike a year previously, Ghoulam was on the pitch this time. That cup belonged to him.

Given his sensational performances, a place in Algeria’s squad for the World Cup was assured, but Halilhodzic changed the tactics for every game during the tournament, and thus Ghoulam only played twice. He was on the pitch in the 2-1 loss to Belgium, then watched Djamel Mesbah taking his spot when Les Fennecs made history and qualified for the second round with four points against South Korea and Russia.

Ghoulam was back in the team for the big clash with Germany, and played an outstanding game versus the future champions. In fact, he could have changed everything. Towards the end of the first half, El Arbi Soudani noticed Ghoulam’s surging run from behind and provided a great pass for the defender. Manuel Neuer was there for the taking, but the ball went wide. It was hardly surprising, as Faouzi has only scored once in his entire career so far. Finishing is one aspect of his game he needs to improve significantly.

Algeria lost in extra time and went home immensely proud of their achievement. Ghoulam was now an established star, and numerous top teams, including Manchester United, Juventus, Roma and Paris Saint Germain were reportedly considering making an offer. It was way too early for him to leave Napoli, though, and this Monday he hopes to win his second trophy with his beloved team.

The season start has been somewhat disappointing for the Partenopei, as poor form in midfield has put defenders under a lot of pressure. The biggest fiasco came in August when Napoli lost to Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League qualifiers, and the pain was even worse for Ghoulam, quite literally, as he fractured an elbow and missed the first three weeks of Serie A season.

His record is still phenomenal as far as the top teams go. Roma were beaten 2-0 again in the league, and now Juventus await him in the Supercoppa in Doha. For Ghoulam, playing in Qatar for the first time will be a very special occasion, and a perfect way to finish 2014 – an extraordinary year for him.

Will 2015 be even better, starting with the African Cup of Nations in January, where Algeria are considered favourites with new coach Christian Gourcuff? Only time will tell, but Ghoulam is on a fast track to becoming one of the best left-backs in Europe.

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