France: The league’s top players after two weeks

After nearly two years of no football in France, teams are finally back in action. The league’s top squads have impressed through two weeks, with familiar names such as the Flash La Courneuve, the Marseille Blue Stars, Amiens Spartans, and Aix en Provence Argonauts reemerging as potential contenders.

Throughout the league, there has been no shortage of talent. New faces are raising eyebrows while other familiar names have made their return known. Let’s take a look at some of France’s top players through their first two games.

Canadian passer Kaleb Scott has led the Blue Stars to consecutive blowout victories to start the year. The former Saint Mary’s University quarterback played for Marseille back in 2020 before the pandemic ended the season abruptly. Now two years later, Scott and Blue Stars have reunited and have “unfinished business” this season. Scott has been one of the league’s best passers with 559 yards and eight touchdown passes through two weeks of play.

Staying in the south of France, Ozni Adramann has been the France’s leading rusher to start the year. The Catalan Grizzlys tailback followed up a solid debut with another big game last week in Montpellier. This time rushing for 104 yards and one touchdown. However, he did fumble twice as defenders would rather go for the strip than try and bring down the bruising back alone.

Another Grizzly roaring in the south is homegrown receiver Idriss Ramky. The 6’2 Frenchmen has an excellent football resume playing for the national team and suiting up for two seasons of junior college football in the states. This year, he’s been a focal point of the Grizzlys offense catching a head scratching 23 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns in only two games.

Defensively, Anthony Abandzounou of the Flash La Courneuve simply was the story of week one. Abandzounou was virtually unblock-able as he lived the backfield, finishing the game with three sacks. The Paris based powerhouse defeated the defending champion Thonon Black Panthers in dominant fashion, allowing only one touchdown. Last week, the defensive end played well once again, helping the Flash win in blowout fashion for the second week in a row.

The leading defender on another undefeated team is Marseille’s Eddy Abdullah. Abdullah has made a name for himself in southern France and throughout Europe as a quick and physical outside linebacker. True to form, the Blue Star’s top tackler from 2020 is back on top of the leader board making 17 stops, two sacks, and a fumble recovery for a red hot Marseille team.

Football fans in France have been impressed with the talent and level of play as a proud football sub-culture returns in the country. Along with budding talent on the field, the FFFA’s increased social media presence, and fan support have helped put French football back on the map in style.