Varane: Today’s central defenders are strong and fast, but the art of defense has been somewhat lost.

The "AS" Sports Award will celebrate its 19th edition in 2025. Former Real Madrid and French star Varane accepted an exclusive interview with "AS" as one of the winners. In the interview, he reviewed his career and talked about his plans for the future. The following is the first part of his interview.

——Do you consider yourself a product of Lens?

——Of course, I played from the age of 9 to 18. Lens shaped me as a player and those memories are great. Of course there were difficult moments, because being away from your family at 13 years old is not easy. A lot of sacrifices have been made to get to the top.

——What kind of club is Lens?

——A very family-oriented small club. There are only 30,000 people in the city, but the stadium can accommodate 38,000 people, and it has been full for about 20 consecutive games. The whole region is fully behind Lens because it is a club with a very strong identity.

——Really?

——It is a mining area, so there are many hard-working people living there, sweating for bread. The connection between the fans and the club is very strong.

- Do you remember anyone particularly important there?

- If I could only choose one, it would be long-time president Gervais Martel. He was also the chairman when I was in the academy. He represents the image of the club, is very human, an incredible person and he made it very easy for me to join Real Madrid.

——What was the first time you received news from Real Madrid?

——I study at my mother’s house. I think it was Friday afternoon. The phone rang. The phone rings so often these days that I barely notice who is speaking. I thought: "Another one." Suddenly, I recognized it was Zidane.

——This is a call from Zidane himself!

——I was shocked and asked if we could talk about it another day. I’m very busy now (laughing). And he, elegant as always, said: "Okay, okay, of course..."

- And what happened?

——I immediately ran to my brother: “You won’t believe what just happened!”

——What did he say?

——“You hung up the phone on Zidane? What did you do!” (laughing)

——Did you also talk to Mourinho before joining Real Madrid?

——It wasn’t a phone call, but I went to Madrid and talked to him face to face before signing the contract. I needed confirmation that he really wanted me.

- How was that conversation?

——Mourinho is very charming. I came out thinking, "I'm going to die for this guy."

- Did you have any other offers at that time?

- A lot, really. Ferguson even came to my house to see me in person. He had a trip to Paris and Lille was on the way, so he stopped by.

——He went to your house?

——I can’t believe it. In addition, I don't speak English, and his accent is super strong, making it difficult to communicate. But I was impressed.

——Why choose Real Madrid?

——When Real Madrid comes to you, the whole world stops. There is no choice.

——What is it like to play with Ramos?

- We complement each other very well. He likes to press forward and I protect behind him. So we cover a lot of ground.

——Are you better at chasing back?

——My strength is reading the game and using speed to grab. Players pushing forward rely more on their bodies and fight more.

——Have the responsibilities of the central defender changed much over the years?

——Everything is different. When I first started playing, there were very few players who were both big and fast. Now almost everyone does. The central defenders at that time were strong but slow, and their duty was to defend, defend, and defend again. Today's central defenders are fast, strong, and good with their feet... but the art of defending has been somewhat lost. For example, preventing forwards from slipping behind you, blocking early, and intercepting, these are rare now. But the physical and technical level of the players is amazing. Look at Saliba, Konate, Upamecano... they are all strong and good at kicking.

- Do you have a weakness?

- Later in my career I didn't run as much because my positioning was better. It took me a long time to learn to fight at the right time. I was analyzing so much early on that I missed my chance to make the move.

- Well...

- The center backs have to choose smaller mistakes sometimes. If none of the five options are good, pick the lightest one. If you think too much, you won’t catch that golden moment. My last game was the derby against Haaland at Wembley. I felt like I was in complete control of the pace and really enjoyed it.