Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard has enjoyed a dramatic rise from Bundesliga 2 aspirant with VfB Stuttgart to world ace in the space of two years. A FIFA World Cup wonder goal helped him go from an unknown measure in his fatherland to a crowd favorite they can ’ triiodothyronine barricade spill the beans about. bundesliga.com presents 10 things you should know about Bayern ‘s french defender …

1) He’s following on from Papin Born in the north of France near the belgian boundary line, Pavard first played with his hometown club in Jeumont – the lapp set it all started for erstwhile Bayern and France striker Jean-Pierre Papin. At the historic period of nine, he joined the academy at Lille, and four times a workweek his parents would make a 60-mile round trip to bring their son to educate and back. The dedication paid off, as Pavard made his Ligue 1 debut at the old age of 18 in January 2015. A motion to Stuttgart followed in August 2016, and Pavard – the son of a erstwhile french third division defender – will always be grateful to his parents for helping it happen. “ My parents have always been there for me, ” he said after watching a surprise message from them on alive television during the 2018 World Cup. “ When I was short I joined a cabaret at an early old age and it was n’t easy for them because I was their alone son. ” “ I was very move because of the distance they travelled when I was young. I ended up going a farseeing way from home plate and it was n’t easy for them. It was n’t comfortable for me either and this is the advantage for all the sacrifices they made for me. ” Pavard made 21 league appearances across two seasons for Lille, before moving to Stuttgart.

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2) Stuttgart backed him
Pavard ’ s move to Germany came reasonably by gamble, as a change of director at Lille saw him fall out of favor. Former Aston Villa, Stuttgart and West Ham midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger – who now heads up Stuttgart ’ s young person academy – revealed how the french child wound up at the Bundesliga club. “ I had never flush hear of Benjamin before Stuttgart set the focus on him, let alone know what type of actor he was, ” Hitzlsperger wrote in a column for The Guardian. “ But person mentioned there was this young defender who was struggling to get opportunities at Lille and that we may want to check him out. so I watched some videos, liked what I saw, and made contact with a journalist who covers Ligue 1 and asked for his advice. ” “ He told me Benjamin was a actual talent and the merely reason he wasn ’ t meet at Lille was because the coach there preferred more have players. So my colleague went to Lille to watch Benjamin in coach and, having besides liked what he saw, recommended him to our then sporting director. ” Thomas Hitzlsperger ( l. ) did n’t think twice about bringing Pavard ( r. ) to the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

– imago/Jan Huebner

3) Indispensable versatility    once he moved to Germany, Pavard hardly put a foot faulty. He set up a goal after equitable two minutes on his debut – a 4-0 acquire over Greuther Fürth in October 2016 – and netted the third gear himself for well measure. He got his foremost winner ’ randomness decoration in his foremost year there, as he helped his fresh club earn promotion as 2016/2017 Bundesliga 2 champions. The promising centre-back then started ( and finished ) all 34 matches on Stuttgart ’ s return to the acme flight, separate of a team that secured an impressive seventh-place finish in 2017/18. Although schooled as a centre-back, where he by and large played for VfB, Pavard was used in a kind of defensive positions, including holding midfield. But he seemed to find his place following the arrival of bus Tayfun Korkut, who kept the Frenchman at centre-back as Stuttgart went from the lower reaches of the postpone to the verge of Europe after merely conceding 10 times in the final examination 14 games – besides winning 4-1 in Munich on the concluding day. Watch: How Pavard got the eye at Stuttgart Having impressed France boss Didier Deschamps, Pavard was included in the 2018 World Cup police squad, but not as a cardinal defender. With Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti the copulate in the middle, the Stuttgart valet was deployed at right-back. A side he would make his own, including later at Bayern. however, he would revert to his central position with Stuttgart in the 2018/19 campaign, going another 14 games until missing his inaugural minutes of Bundesliga legal action ascribable to a muscle tear. In fact, over two seasons with VfB as a first-division club, Pavard was on the pitch for all but seven matches and four minutes of 74 competitive fixtures. On only one of those occasions was it not ascribable to injury. 4) He was unknown in France not so long ago Pavard represented France at youth floor, helping the U19 slope to finish third at the 2015 european Championship before graduating to the U21s. His form with Stuttgart proved impossible to ignore, and France coach Deschamps handed Pavard his debut at senior degree in November 2017, when he came on as a half-time substitute in a 2-0 win over Wales. Speaking during Les Bleus ’ incredible World Cup run in July 2018, Pavard was blown away by how cursorily he had won over the nation. “ It ’ s a bit strange because people hadn ’ t necessarily heard of me before, ” he said in an interview with the french Football Federation. “ I however remember when I was called up for the first time in November and everyone said to me ‘ who are you, who are you ? ’ now I ’ thousand playing regularly and putting in dependable performances thanks to the unharmed team and the coaching staff, who give me assurance. ” Pavard ( l. ) did not miss a recoil at Russia 2018 – his first major international tournament.

– 2018 Getty Images

5) THAT goal Pavard ’ s beginning hit for Stuttgart was a thumping header against Fürth in the second tier. His maid top-flight goal came on Matchday 10 of the 2017/18 season, a delightful binding heading during a 3-0 succeed over Freiburg. He then got the whole earth ’ s attention with that breath-taking equalising finish against Argentina in Russia. Leaning back as a cross from future Bayern teammate Lucas Hernandez found its means to the right side of the area, Pavard showed deluxe proficiency to slice across the ball and send a swerve, first-time volley screaming into the top corner. The assume was deservedly vote Goal of the Tournament and made him the first defender to score at a World Cup for France since Lilian Thuram in 1998.

“ I haven ’ t slept a wink, ” Pavard said the next good morning during an appearance on french television receiver show Telefoot. “ I ’ m still on swarm nine. To score at a World Cup in this blue new jersey is huge… I ’ ve been watching video of my goal on a loop topology. ” Following the World Cup, Pavard told L ’ Equipe that it was a character of volley that he likes but tries rarely. “ It was only afterwards that I realised : that finish, that rap, will stay with me for life, ” he said. “ It ’ mho changed my life… In 20 years, when you type ‘ Pavard ’ in YouTube it will be [ followed by ] ‘ goal Argentina ’. It ’ randomness something huge to be associated with that, in a contest like that. ” 6) Not a fluke Although he said it ’ s not the classify of shoot he normally goes for, it ’ mho become a bite of a trademark of his. Any ball that comes out to the right field corner of the penalty area prompts flashbacks of that mint in Kazan as Pavard comes running onto it looking for the army for the liberation of rwanda top corner by putting his laces through it. But whether the musket ball ’ mho on the deck or in the air, Pavard always poses a menace at the other end, on top of his defensive duties. He got four goals in his first Bundesliga season with Bayern and chipped in with five assists. Two of those came against Union Berlin, with one a header and the other another confidently taken fusillade from the edge of the box. Watch: Pavard ’ s volley in the 2019/20 win over Union ( from 00:15 ) 7) He has his own chant During the World Cup, fans of Les Bleus came up with a song for the new defender after his stunning volley finish helped France come from behind to beat Argentina 4-3 in the last 16. To the tune of Achy-Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, the chant makes address to the defender ’ s meteorologic ascend – suggest that you might not have heard of him because he ’ randomness “ come from nowhere ” – before boasting about his hell of a snapshot. shortly after the goal against Argentina, his Stuttgart teammates did a rendition of the song as part of a estimable fortune message to the musician ahead of the World Cup quarter-final.
And the french fans ’ songs did not go unnoticed by Pavard himself. “ There were a draw of songs that came out about me, ” he told the FFF. “ It means a lot to me that the people in France are happy. I ‘m person who gives everything when they put on the shirt and I ‘m not afraid of who we ‘re up against. ” 8) Won it all Pavard ’ s move to Bayern was announced in January 2019 and he would join the golf club for the 2019/20 temper – a class that would swell his trophy collection to levels most players can entirely dream of over their careers. “ I have gallant goals, ” he told L ’ Equipe. “ I ’ meter athirst for trophies. A global title won ’ thyroxine meet me. ” well, he might feel a little full now. While the Frenchman was however lone 24, he was simultaneously the holder of the Bundesliga, DFB Cup, UEFA Champions League, DFL Supercup, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and FIFA World Cup prior to the ending of the 2020/21 season. He besides has a Bundesliga 2 achiever ’ south decoration in his cabinet from 2016/17. Pavard besides secured his set in Bayern history as the musician who scored the winning goal in the Club World Cup final examination against mexican outfit Tigres. The strike earned Hansi Flick ’ s team their sixth trophy in the space of a year, which is a feat only Barcelona have previously achieved . Since lifting the World Cup, Pavard ( 2nd.l ) has added the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League to a growing solicitation of trophy wins.

– MIGUEL A. LOPES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“ It ’ s constantly been in me forever – I want to be one of the best players in the global, ” he told L ’ Equipe. “ I have exalted goals… I ’ m hungry for trophies. A world title won ’ thymine meet me. ” 9) He’s prone to tears of joy Pavard is very close to his parents, who used to travel six hours to go to every Stuttgart home plot. When they surprised him with their television message following THAT goal against Argentina – telling him how proud of him they are – the rising headliner could not hold back the tears. “ I won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate ever be able to thank them enough for all they did for me, ” he responded. Pavard has frequently stated that his first base goal is to make his mother and father gallant, and he surely did that in the summer of 2018 as he helped France become world champions for barely the irregular prison term in their history . Pavard got his hands on football ‘s biggest respect on alone his 12th senior external appearance.

– imago/Sven Simon

Speaking after the 4-2 winnings over Croatia in the final, he revealed that he had besides cried during the match as the reality of what he had achieved started to hit home. “ Two years ago [ at Euro 2016 ] I was in the winnow partition in Lille with my friends, ” he told french television receiver. “ A class ago, I was playing in the german second base division. “ I have come out of nowhere, as the song about me says. I still have n’t amply realised what we have done. It ‘s great. During the bet on, when there were two or three minutes left, I shed a few tears. ” 10) An unbeaten world champion One of the most remarkable things about Pavard is that he won the World Cup without always having lost a meet for France – a run of 31 matches from U19 to senior level. It was in fact 17 caps before he lost a bet on and has only been on the miss slope twice in his foremost 34 international appearances. But the 25-year-old is not done so far. “ It ’ s constantly been in me forever – I want to be one of the best players in the world, ” he told L ’ Equipe.

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“ You have to win, win, and win again, ” he continued. “ In two years, there ’ s the european Championship – I want to win it. I want to win everything. The World Cup several times, the Champions League, all the possible titles. I want to be a player with a huge phone number of honours. I ’ molarity savouring it but after that we ’ ll go back to struggle. ”