Hatem Ben Arfa’s Lyon beginnings, hype, jealousy and audacity | OneFootball

L'Équipe reports how Hatem Ben Arfa’s early years at Lyon combined breathtaking talent with early stardom and a combustible edge.

Arriving at the academy in 2002 aged 15, he carried a formidable reputation and was granted privileges that bred jealousy, including a rare single room usually kept for seniors. At school, a teacher even refused to teach him, noting the teenager already earned more.

On the pitch he delivered instantly. In 2003, during his first U17 derby with Lyon trailing 0-2, he came on to score a hat-trick in 10 minutes, two goals arriving in stoppage time. Away from football, as recognition grew in Lyon, he once brushed off attention in a McDonald’s by pretending to be his twin.

First-team regulars quickly heard of the reserve-team phenomenon. Sidney Govou recalls watching him on Sundays and says Ben Arfa was the main attraction, even more than Karim Benzema at the time, with bursts of brilliance he had not seen before, including among professionals, at just 16.

Promoted to the senior squad at 17, he reportedly embarrassed veterans in his first session with nutmegs and sombreros, forcing coach Paul Le Guen to halt training to keep tempers in check.

Former agent Frédéric Guerra says his dominance alienated senior players within months, sometimes without him realising, and at times he crossed lines. In one flashpoint, after Juninho told him to collect equipment with the other youngsters, Ben Arfa retorted that a free-kick specialist could not order him around.

His Lyon spell, like much of his career, mixed dazzling peaks with darker patches.

Source: L'Équipe