Any amateur footballers who have seen their name appear on a national squad list over the years would have done so with their hearts pounding and their mouths agape, amazed and jubilant. That feeling of joy would have instantly dissipated though as they were abruptly awoken from their improbable dream by a blaring alarm clock.<\/p>\n
Julien Pontgerard lived through this very scenario this week, except on this occasion there was no alarm clock to be seen. The forward\u2019s name was indeed present on the list of names selected to represent Madagascar during the upcoming international window.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t allow myself to believe it till it happened,\u201d the delighted amateur player told FIFA.<\/p>\n
\u201cA while back, a friend of mine told me that the national coach of Madagascar [Romuald Rakotondrabe] was running training camps in France and was making his way around the country. My friend put us in touch with each other and he came to see me in Brest one week.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Breton city, home of top-flight Stade Brestois, who booked a historic spot in the UEFA Champions League this past weekend, Pontgerard dons the jersey of lesser-known AS Brestoise, a Regional 2 side (France\u2019s seventh tier).<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m originally from the south, from Cap d’Agde, but I\u2019ve lived in Brittany since 2015 \u2013 the army brought me here,\u201d said the front man in a melodic southern accent.<\/p>\n
While it is definitely not unheard of for amateur footballers to be called up to the national side of certain nations, it is a rarity for someone playing so far down the domestic pyramid to be involved. And although he was aware that the coach was keeping tabs on him, Pontgerard was doubtful that the 58-year-old national boss would actually add him to his squad. \u201cHe stopped by to observe me at the turn of the year, but I wasn\u2019t called up for the friendlies in March,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
However, the forward-thinking tactician, who took the time to talk to Pontgerard in person, watch him train, and attend his team\u2019s top-of-the-table defeat by Plouzane, remained in contact, resulting in the 27-year-old\u2019s hopes rising once again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spoke often on the phone, and he\u2019d already asked me for my kit size and mentioned the documentation I would need,\u201d he recalled. \u201cBut my mother used to always say, ‘Until your see your name in black and white, don\u2019t start celebrating as otherwise you\u2019ll be disappointed,\u2019 and she was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, however, there was no disappointment. On 17 May, Pontgerard was called up for Madagascar\u2019s forthcoming FIFA World Cup 26\u2122 qualifying matches. “We\u2019ve got two games lined up at Johannesburg\u2019s FMB Stadium in South Africa, against Comoros and Mali,\u201d he said enthusiastically.<\/p>\n
A robust centre-forward who can also pick out a pass or perform proficiently out wide, Pontgerard, who works in the restaurant business and \u201chad to take unpaid leave\u201d to live out his dream, is on the verge of entering a whole new world.<\/p>\n
Despite spending his entire life in France, Pontgerard has always retained a connection with Madagascar, his father\u2019s homeland. Although he has only visited one time, he has kept abreast of events in the island nation along with the results of its national football team. After a solid 3-0 win over Chad and a tight 1-0 loss to Ghana in their opening two World Cup qualifiers, the Barea will go into the pair of June games full of confidence.<\/p>\n
Due to his military background, the long trip to the southern hemisphere should not prove too daunting for him. In addition, the nature of his current profession has assuaged any potential anxiety about meeting his new Madagascar team-mates, such as Auxerre\u2019s Rayan Raveloson. \u201cI\u2019m not too worried about that \u2013 working in the restaurant business has removed any apprehension I might have felt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In fact, according to Pontgerard, he is \u201cnot afraid of anything\u201d that might come his way in the international arena. \u201cI\u2019ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and if I can pick up a few minutes of playing time, that would be absolutely incredible,\u201d he concluded with a hopeful grin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Any amateur footballers who have seen their name appear on a national squad list over the years would have done so with their hearts pounding and their mouths agape, amazed and jubilant. That feeling of joy would have instantly dissipated though as they were abruptly awoken from their improbable dream by a blaring alarm clock. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":981463,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27192],"class_list":["post-981458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=981458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/981463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=981458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=981458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=981458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}