The rise of Ngolo Kante, from arriving to training in a scooter to a France regular

When N’Golo Kante lifted the Premier League trophy with Leicester City in 2016, the midfielder’s smile – all teeth showing – lit up the King Power Stadium as he got his hands on the silverware and enjoyed a brief moment in the limelight. But he was almost too embarrassed to do it.

That moment perhaps encapsulates Kante best. The Frenchman is a quiet and humble person – awkward and shy, but always kind. On the pitch, he’s a monster; a combative midfielder who intercepts loose balls, cuts off passing lanes and presses opponents into submission. When he plays, his team is more likely to win, and the trophy he hoised into the air on May 7 2016 was a tangible reward for his efforts.

It wasn’t always this way – Kante faced more than his fair share of rejections as a child; from Rennes, Sochaux, Amiens, Lorient and even Clairefontaine.

Eric Vandenabeele, a former team-mate at Boulogne, once told Kante while they were watching the Europa League together: “That’s going to be you one day, playing in that competition on the TV.” The response? A laugh. “No chance!” N’Golo grinned.

There was sincerity in his surprise – it’s the same expression of disbelief seen on Kante’s face when he won Leicester players’ Player of the Year award in 2016. He’s elite at what he does, but that’s blossomed from his work ethic. He doesn’t feel entitled to attention, nor does he ask for it; rather he receives it because there are very few players on the planet who can do what he does.

“N’Golo has never wanted to be a superstar and even today I know he isn’t bothered by fame,” said Vandenabeele. “He just wants to be the best he can be.”

Kante instead spent his spare time chasing academic and professional goals, seeing little reward in the noise that nightlife brings. At Boulogne, he attained a diploma in accountancy while also playing through his amateur contract. “He didn’t socialise much,” Vandanebeele recalled. “He liked to keep himself to himself and never went to parties.”

Tomasz Bzymek, Kante’s former youth coach at FC Suresnes, told Sport.pl: “After training, Kante just goes back home and rests. No clubbing, no party lifestyle or sightseeing.”

Kante came from the humblest of beginnings – one of nine children, he lost his father aged 11 and grew up in the grey Parisian district of Géraniums in Rueil-Malmaison. The attitude his upbringing engendered hasn’t left him. You might say he’s the Warren Buffett of footballers – playing for the joy of the game, with little attachment to the materialism that comes with it.

At Caen, the club he spent two seasons at before joining Leicester, Kante arrived at training on a scooter while his colleagues drove Ferraris. According to a former youth coach, Piotr Wojtyna, the midfielder only bought a car – a second-hand Renault, of course – when his mother gave him an earful.

He had no left foot to speak of, but when this was pointed out to him by Wojtyna, he set about improving the flaw immediately While Kante’s positive attitude and down-to-earth nature remain a constant, his contributions on the pitch are evolving.

At the age of 10, though, Kante had weaknesses in his game. He had no left foot to speak of, but when this was pointed out to him by Wojtyna, he set about improving the flaw immediately. Within two months, he could juggle the ball 100 times on his weak side.

There was more to work on. Kante was short – two heads shorter than many of the boys he was playing with – and not overly strong. But even now, still only 5ft 6in, he’s rarely outdone physically.

His ability to bring the ball forward is what separates him from Claude Makelele, the midfield anchor Kante is so often compared to. It must be flattering for the 27-year-old to be likened to one of the greatest defensive midfielders to ever play the game, but Makelele once said his so-called protégé still has work to do if he wants to become an “exceptional” player.

All in due time. Kante is still only 27, at the peak of his career. Until now, he’s been ahead of schedule, leap-frogging his way over older players due to sheer talent. Before the age of 16, Kante outshone over 100 kids at local club JS Suresnes and almost instantly joined the under-18 squad… when he was an under-15.

“When N’Golo was 16, Piotr [Wojtyna] asked me to take him into the first team,” former youth coach Tomasz Bzymek explained. “Our policy was not to make transfers, but usually we only introduced players who were 18 to the seniors. At the beginning I had to take care of him so he didn’t get demolished physically in midfield, so I decided to put him on the bench. After a few games, he was a regular first-team player. During the training [sessions] that were supposed to improve your football IQ and feeling of the game, N’Golo was able to understand and learn new things in two-three weeks. I know there are some players not capable of learning these things in their whole lifetime.”

At Suresnes, sometimes an extra 50 people – not including the families of the kids already playing – from Rueil-Malmaison would show up just to see Kante play, such was his ability. He was signed without hesitation after a trial at Boulogne, where his first-team performances caught attentions in Caen. In his first season he helped them win promotion to Ligue 1; after his second, he joined Leicester for €8 million.

Each of those moves were stepping stones; there hasn’t been a single relapse in Kante’s career to date. The progress was always forward, and fast: from the third division of French football in 2012/13 to becoming a Premier League champion in 2016 and 2017, and a regular in France squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.