EXCLUSIVE: Eduardo Camavinga on the UCL, Real Madrid and a rapid rise | OneFootball

From the very first time he was on a football pitch, Eduardo Camavinga was compelled to have the ball at his feet.

“The first time she [my mother] took me to the pitch to sign me up for football. I was holding her hand, while she was talking to the coach. Then she let my hand go and I went right out onto the pitch,” the Real Madrid midfielder tells OneFootball.

“There were some kids of my age already playing there. And I do not know why, I took the ball from them. Suddenly, the little kids, they all started coming at me for the ball. But I took the ball. And there was a fence… And I shot and scored, and it went above the barrier. Then the ball was gone, it was lost over there. So the coach had to stop talking to my mother and go and get it.”

Since then the only way has been up for the 19-year-old, who lists the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho and Paul Pogba as just some of the “great” players he has tried to learn from.

Joining Stade Rennais at the age of 11, Camavinga went from strength to strength with the French club.

“I remember, I was training and my coach, Nicolas Martinez, told me that I was going to play a match with Stade Rennais against Laval. Afterwards, I wrote it down in my diary, and then I went to the match. As a left fullback. And it went well. After that I played another match, some tournaments and that was it.”

Before long he was playing for the first team, becoming the club’s youngest ever player at just 16 years of age.

“The first training… I struggled on a physical level. It was not the same as at the training centre, with coach Lamouchi. I even almost threw up, I think. We did some crazy stuff. Then I adapted and I continued to evolve with them. But as I kept training with Stade Rennais, it became normal.”

Still 16, Camavinga became Ligue 1’s youngest ever Man of the Match and Player of the Month in August 2019, his real breakthrough coming against Paris Saint-Germain, the side he hopes to face in the Champions League this week.

“It was one of my first games as a professional,” the midfielder explains.

“During the week with Stade Rennais we prepared well to play against PSG.

“And of course after the game, I saw that I was receiving crazy messages. Even my parents congratulated me. The next day, others told me, ‘What you did was crazy!’ but at the time, I didn’t realise what I had done.

“It’s true that in regards to other people, this game changed the way I was seen. Then, as I said, it’s a game like any other. Of course, I had a big game, but that’s not something you can put in your head because after there are other matches, and you have to keep performing.”

Keep performing he did and that’s how he finds himself where he is now, a Real Madrid player, signed by the Spanish giants last summer at just 18.

“The first time we heard that Real Madrid were after us — Or should I say after me! — my agent came to my house, towards the end of the transfer window. My parents and I didn’t necessarily jump for joy, because we knew that in the world of football nothing is certain, until it is. So we calmed our joy. But afterwards when we saw that it was for sure, we jumped for joy.

“It’s a club that everyone would like to play for. Afterwards, for sure that, from the moment you sign, you know you enter another dimension.”

Looking back over the recent history of the Champions League, it is obvious that Los Merengues would stick out for the Frenchman.

“I watched the Champions League Final against Atlético Madrid. In my head, saying this, makes me think of Bale’s goal with his head. I also watched the final of Real Madrid against Liverpool, Bale’s overhead goal from a pass from Marcelo. There are certainly lots of Champions League moments that stick in my mind.”

Does that history bring a certain amount of pressure to perform the club? Not for the teenager.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s pressure,” he explains. “It’s something that boosts you, because you know what you’re getting into, a club that has won thirteen Champions Leagues. And you know the Champions League, it is a club goal.

“So for sure, from the moment you set foot in the Champions League, you have to give it your all, give it your all to triumph, because the goal is to win. To get a 14th one for Real Madrid.”

Speaking to the midfielder for just a short while, it becomes clear that he has the approach, the mentality, to fit in at one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“I think the first lesson you learn as a footballer is that the game is unforgiving. And you can be at the top and go down very quickly. You have to be consistent, and you can’t afford any mistakes.

“I am very hard on myself. Even if I had a good game, if I made any mistakes, I’ll keep those mistakes in my head. And then I’ll talk about them, or I will watch myself after the game. I have an app which allows you to see all that. But for me, I prefer to watch the game myself and then discuss it with my agent. But otherwise, I’m watching myself.”

Of course, life at Real Madrid means life alongside some of the world’s most accomplished players. How does Camavinga fit in with a midfield that has dominated the Champions League, winning the competition five times in four years between 2014 and 2018?

“There’s Casemiro playing here, and I’m trying to learn a lot from him tactically. Before games, when I start, Casemiro tells me to play simply, and to be efficient.

“Then there is Luka [Modrić] and Toni [Kroos]. I learn from the trio, because I could play in all positions in midfield, and I have to learn from everyone to be ready when the coach puts me on the pitch.”

On-field mentors to match the off-field mentors Camavinga has in the form of his family.

“My parents always strived so that me and my siblings could have a peaceful life.

“They didn’t necessarily talk to us about problems on a daily basis. But as I grew up we talked about their struggles. But me, on a daily basis, I didn’t necessarily see it. But thinking back about it, I realise that we did struggle.

“The fact that all that happened in my life, I think it is a positive thing. Because I know that we went through a lot, I will always be respectful to my parents. Always. Because it’s thanks to them that I am like this today.”

That’s how he is today, but even at just 19, it is already important to Camavinga to make sure he leaves a mark that lasts beyond his own playing career.

“I hope I’ll be remembered as a person who does not give up,  who is always there. A good person, someone who won a lot of trophies. A very good footballer, a footballer who played with love for the shirt, and who scored a lot of goals and got many assists.”

Helping Real Madrid to that 14th title would surely help the Frenchman be remembered as all that and so much more.

READ MORE: You can also find our exclusive interview and scout report with Lille striker Jonathan David.