"I totally blacked out and forgot where I was."
Layvin Kurzawa could afford a moment of oblivion in the 95th minute of his side's 3-2 home win against Reims on Friday after scoring a last-minute winner that crowned an outstanding individual performance and allowed Claudio Ranieri's team to stay in the French league title race.
AS Monaco had been struggling and were on course for a draw against the promoted side when the 21-year-old homegrown left-back, roaming in the penalty box in the very last seconds, poked home James Rodriguez's shot hitting the post into an empty net.
Taking off his shirt and running around surrounded by his team-mates, he had been rewarded for his efforts on the night and his consistency since the start of the season.
This was already his fifth goal of the season but his very first in the Louis II home stadium, as if the pitch he first trod at the age of 15 intimidated the homegrown AS Monaco youth product.
It is unusual for a left-back to be his team's main actor going forward (6 shots on Friday) and the most daring in one-on-one duels (18 in total).
With a terrific showing that may see him receive his first call-up for the French national team in a few days for their friendly against Netherlands, Kurzawa allowed AS Monaco to remain within touching distance of leaders Paris Saint Germain, topping Ligue 1 with five more points than their rivals after their 4-2 away win at Toulouse on Sunday.
Before even making their comeback on the European scene after their promotion from Ligue 2 last summer, and exactly ten years after reaching the Champions League final under Didier Deschamps, AS Monaco are already the target of many a prejudice.
The ambitious side from the Principalty, acquired by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in late 2011, has been subjected to critics labelling their transfer policy short-sighted and their side full of declining players.
Not only have the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Eric Abidal or Jeremy Toulalan (who scored his first Ligue 1 goal since October 2004 on Friday) been instrumental in their side's outstanding Ligue 1 campaign despite being on the wrong side of 30.
AS Monaco's current success is also the upshot of a carefully planned development of young players, best embodied by 21-year-old Kurzawa who joined the side seven years ago from the local club of his birthplace Fréjus, located less than an hour's drive from the Principalty along the French Riviera.
With three youth academy products (Kurzawa, Rivière and Germain) in the starting line-up, for a total of six players aged 24 or under, it has become obvious that former Chelsea and Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri (62) currently builds a side for the future as well as one capable to challenge for the Ligue 1 title already this season.
The Italian coach is an expert in fostering academy talent. Over the course of his 25-year career, he was the one who dismantled the World Cup-winning duo of Marcel Desailly and Franck Leboeuf in the Chelsea back line to make way for John Terry in 2000, having previously carried out the difficult post-Maradona transition in Napoli by throwing in a youngster named Gianfranco Zola in 1991.
His experience now benefits Layvin Kurzawa, who just two seasons ago struggled for playing time as his side was suffering in the depths of Ligue 2, the French second league.
A questionable work ethic, irregular sleeping patterns and frequent ventures in the Principalty's nightclubs saw the France U21 left-back (born to a Polish father and a Guadeloupean mother) fail to make an impact and collect just four appearances in 2010-2011.
The wake-up call came in June 2013. On vacation with fellow AS Monaco academy products Nampalys Mendy and Valentin Eysseric at a time of unparalleled competition in a side about to spend €166 million on the likes of Falcao, Moutinho and James Rodriguez, he considers the option of leaving a side he joined aged 15.
His friends (now both at OGC Nice) encourage him to stay, convinced of their team-mate's talent. As does Ranieri, who appreciates his technical abilities and encourages him to change his ways off the pitch to include him in the first team.
With 24 starts this season, Kurzawa is growing into a symbol of this ambitious AS Monaco side looking to storm the European football scene next season to reproduce the feats of 2004, when they reached the Champions League final under Didier Deschamps only to come second best to Jose Mourinho's FC Porto.
Now the coach of the France national team, Deschamps considers giving Kurzawa his first senior call-up to step in at a position where his AS Monaco predecessor Patrice Evra, and other contenders like Manchester City's Gael Clichy, all currently fail to impress just a few months from the World Cup.
On Friday night, Kurzawa showed he enjoys seizing opportunities at the very last minute.
Talking points
– There is no stopping Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the French league this season after his hat-trick in PSG's away win against Toulouse.
The striker has scored 42 goals in 42 games for club and country this season. Asked what it will take his Russia side to stop the Sweden striker in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign after all groups were drawn on Sunday, Fabio Capello had a simple answer: "Kill him."
– With Sir Alex Ferguson retiring and planning to spend more time in Southern France, it looks like his trademark 'Fergie Time' is also starting to translate to Ligue 1.
Nine of the ten games played this weekend witnessed one or more goals in the last ten minutes of regular time, and four games were decided in stoppage time including Monaco's crucial home win against Reims.
– With third-ranked Lille drawing at home to Olympique Lyonnais, Ligue 1 is now officially a two-horse race between leaders PSG (61 points) and their rivals AS Monaco (56 points), who sit ten points ahead of third-ranked LOSC after 26 games.
– Another former glory of French football, AS Saint-Etienne are making a strong case to reach the Champions League next season. Currently fourth with 45 points, the 1976 European Cup runners-up have lost only once in their last ten league games.
