Ilan Kebbal, Marseille-bred and shining at Paris FC, faces OM | OneFootball

Marseille-born Paris FC midfielder Ilan Kebbal faces boyhood club OM on Saturday afternoon. According to L'Équipe, he has seven goals and five assists in 19 matches across Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France this season.

In the reverse fixture at the Vélodrome on 23 August, Paris FC lost 2-5, yet Kebbal stood out with a goal shaped by a move close to his trademark feint.

He forged that signature in Saint-Marcel, perfecting a disguised shot then rolling the ball with his sole to burst the other way. Hours on the city pitch des Néréïdes and at home honed a velvet left foot, and his father often replaced the broken panes.

Kebbal joined Burel FC at five. Serge Obré recalls obvious talent but no dominance because of his size. Eight-a-side suited him, 11-a-side was harder and he was not always a starter. A U17 surge helped Burel climb from R2 to R1, and peers rated him among the region’s most technical.

His height, 1.69m, repeatedly counted against him in pro academies. He trialled widely, including in Corsica, Saint-Étienne, Bordeaux and Reims, but not at PSG or Lyon. Now 27 and capped four times by Algeria, he was not deterred.

The Nike Academy proved his workaround. Kebbal won a place and two clubs moved, including Bordeaux, which he joined in 2016. Reims, Dunkerque and Lyon-La Duchère followed before Paris FC. He still watches OM in the Champions League, a club that once turned him down after he had trialled at Toulouse.

Source: L'Équipe