A lot of friendships are made in football but, due to the constant movement within the sport, they tend to grow apart. But life has a funny way of reuniting people and for childhood friends Alphonse Areola and Viviane Asseyi, they were brought back together at West Ham United.
Flashback to 2006. The pair both attended INF Clairefontaine, France’s National Centre of Football which specialises in training and developing the country’s best young talents. Clairefontaine is a hub for skilled players, having graduated the likes of Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Nicolas Anelka into the footballing world, and Areola and Asseyi are two players who are proud to be part of such a prestigious list.
The pair were close friends during their time at Clairefontaine. Asseyi plays the loud half of the duo, and admitted she had a slight tendency to act as a distraction during lessons, as they reflected on their careers so far in the players’ lounge at West Ham’s Chadwell Heath training ground.
One day in history, the 31-year-old forward was being particularly loud and was getting a stern telling off from the teacher. But deflecting the attention away from Asseyi, Areola took her bag and simultaneously took the grief - quite literally taking one for the team. That embodied how close their Clairefontaine cohort were, a real brothers-and-sisters relationship between everyone in their year. “If someone had trouble, the other had their back,” said Areola.
Although they looked out for each other, the pair still had their fair share of laughs - and that’s still the case 19 years later. Playing darts in the players’ lounge, Areola more than showed up Asseyi on the oche, audaciously throwing a 140 with his first three darts of the afternoon after she had struggled to hit the board. But the women’s team attacker made sure to make a jibe about the shot-stopper’s carousel of haircuts in response, comparing his current style to that of Jamaican musician Sean Paul.
Areola, who signed for the Club on loan in 2021 before making his move permanent the following summer, couldn’t believe it when Asseyi joined West Ham United women’s team in August 2022 - and the pair have both created lifelong memories in Claret and Blue so far.
An obvious, standout, memory for the goalkeeper was being part of the team that brought home the UEFA Europa Conference League on that famous night in Prague, in June 2023 - an evening that will stay with him forever.
The former Real Madrid and PSG shot-stopper also played a key role in the Hammers’ run to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals the season prior and is now nearing the 100-appearance milestone for the Club.
Meanwhile, Asseyi is in her third campaign as a Hammer and has already eclipsed her best scoring season in a West Ham shirt, with four games of the campaign remaining. Having accumulated ten goals and six assists in all competitions, the versatile attacker is vital to the way manager Rehanne Skinner wants her side to play.
Her impressive form mirrors the brilliant run that the women’s team are on. The Irons secured a late point against Manchester City, defeated London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and came from 2-0 down to clinch a dramatic draw with WSL leaders Chelsea ahead of Saturday’s fixture with Manchester United.
Asseyi’s quality is clear. She joined West Ham from German giants Bayern Munich where she dealt with the pressure and expectancy to win every game, and every trophy, and lifted the Frauen-Bundesliga in 2021.
She also has more than 60 caps for her country and represented them in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which was held in her homeland. Playing in front of her friends and family was a dream come true for Asseyi.
Areola has had success on the world stage as well, as he was part of the squad that won the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and now, whenever he returns to Clairefontaine, he is reminded he did them and his country proud.
It must have been a dream to play at Clairefontaine?
VA: For me, it was a big thing [to be called up to Clairefontaine]. I started playing football because of France winning the World Cup in 1998. When you arrive, you have the big World Cup at the entrance. It was a dream for me to be there.
AA: It’s always good to go back there, I consider it as a second home. I grew up there and arrived when I was 12. I was lucky to get there and looking back, I have such good memories. They have a museum now which has memorabilia of us winning the World Cup.
VA: I remember him [Areola] because he was the tallest one in school. Everyone was short, he was the only one [who was tall]! He was strong, he was ready. For me, I had no doubt he would have a good career, and he was really focused on football and school.
AA: I looked tall because everyone else was small!
You must love representing your country, particularly at World Cup finals?
VA: The whole country is behind the team and was so happy when they won the World Cup in 2018. It also meant a bit more because I knew people who were on the team.
It feels good to represent France. The World Cup inspired me to play football, and I was lucky to play in the World Cup in France. It was such a special moment, my friends were there, my family was there, everyone’s behind you and it gives you a lot of power. It was a good experience.
AA: Winning the World Cup was an unbelievable experience.
As I said, when you arrive at Clairefontaine, you see the World Cup at the entrance, you see the national team players walking around, you just dream about that.
At that moment [after winning the World Cup], I was walking with Franck Raviot, the goalkeeping coach, and he was my goalkeeping coach at Clairefontaine, so there was a connection between me and him. We just celebrated together after the whistle. After many years, we did it, and we lifted the World Cup together. It was unbelievable.
How was it to play for clubs where you were expected to win trophies every season?
VA: At Bayern Munich, you had to win everything.
My dream was to move to another country to see what football was like elsewhere, and I like travelling. I think football gives you an opportunity to see what things are like outside of your country.
With Bayern Munich, we won the league, so it was a really good experience. Here at West Ham, there is also a different way of playing and I think the WSL is the best league for women’s football.
When I went to Bayern, you had to win everything. You couldn’t give anything to the opposition, you had to win the cup, the league, the Champions League. Everything.
AA: It was a privilege to play for Real Madrid and PSG.
It was an unbelievable experience. You know the story of Real Madrid, you can feel it straight away. When you walk into the training ground, even in the city, you feel it. It’s Real Madrid’s house. Not just in football, in basketball as well. It was a great feeling to be there and I’m blessed to have experienced it.
One of my first professional games with PSG was David Beckham’s last game. The club was waiting for the league to come home after 19 years and we won the league that season. It was the last game at home of the season, so everyone was celebrating, having some fun.
I started training with the PSG first team at 15 years old. Then PSG got new owners and bought Zlatan Ibrahimović. When he arrived, you could feel the aura around him and feel he was not there to have fun. He was there to win and move the club up.
How did it feel to win a European trophy, Alphonse?
AA: Winning the UEFA Europa Conference League will stay with me forever.
The bus [in the parade] couldn’t move! Which was good, because we wanted to stay there forever. Celebrating with the guys, with the fans, it’s still in my head, I’m still thinking about that day. They are memories that I’ll be able to share with my family and my kids.
Added time felt so long at the end. You didn’t look at the clock, you just stayed focused on the ball and waited until the referee’s whistle. I had cramps, I didn’t even run to celebrate with the guys. It was amazing, my family was in the crowd, it was the perfect night.
VA: Of course, I was watching on the TV and I was really happy. It was so good for the Club, for all of them and they deserved it.
How are you working to get back to those moments?
AA: We’ve all been working hard since the arrival of Graham Potter.
Obviously, it's been frustrating with the results because we’ve been working hard since the new manager came in, and we have to push even more to get the results that we deserve. Hopefully, we’ll keep everyone on track and build up for the next season.
We’ve had good results, Arsenal was one no-one was expecting and we showed something good. The results reflect everything, but we are the only ones who can see, who can feel that we are working well, trying our best.
The women’s team have thrived this season, Viviane!
VA: The mentality in the squad is so strong, and the fans have been so important this season.
The new players that have come in have given us strength, the mentality [in the squad] is good. You can see in our games that we’re better and I’m enjoying it more on the pitch.
I think we deserve it [the recent run of results], we work hard every day. When the group is good and the mentality is good, the winning mentality is there. We take every game the same, we know that this league is open, everyone can win, so we just take our chances and it’s working.
We want to finish as high as we can and continue at the level we’re at now. The four games we have left will be hard, but we trust in ourselves and work every day to be the best we can be.
This Club is the first I have played for in this league and what I was surprised about the most is, whether we won or lost, the fans were there for us all of the time. You can feel it, and they push you to give your best every day. Even though the first half of the season wasn’t easy, they were still there, and now we are playing better, they’re still there, pushing us.
Finally, how does it feel to be together again?
VA: It was great to be reunited with Alphonse.
When I signed for West Ham, I was really happy to be at the same Club as Alphonse. But he was no help at all [in helping me settle in]! But I know that if I have a problem, he will help.
AA: When Viv signed, I was like ‘is that real?’ I told the guys straight away that I knew her and we’ll have to do some stuff with her. It was good to see her again.
