Romain Faivre – Brest’s attacking midfield aesthete
Romain Faivre has always been an admirer of the beautiful side of football, consuming copious amounts of football as a youngster with his older brothers, Lenny and Yohan as well as his father, Marc. His father Marc has been a constant source of encouragement for his football career as he grew up watching Saint-Etienne and FC Nantes in the 80s, consistently guiding his son with advice and encouragement at every step of a career which has taken a very winding path to be the revelation of Ligue 1 this season. Faivre’s rise has been filled with many peaks and troughs as well as the French’s unease with the creative rebellion that has become a vital hallmark of his game.
He was born in Asnieres sur-Seine in 1998 to a football-mad father as Faivre’s youth was filled with regular excursions to the Stade Auguste Bonal as his mother was much less enthused with the beautiful game while both parents instilled the importance of schooling in their children. His parents worked for a Cosmetics company as Faivre was kicking a ball as soon as he could run and walk as he would always play above his age-group with his brothers before he used a fake ID to join Entente Sportive Gennevilloise. He was a fan of the 2005 Ballon D’or winner Ronaldinho as well as Barcelona rather than being favouring domestic exports like Paris Saint Germain with his brother, Yohan or Thierry Henry like Lenny which would provide some intriguing foreshadowing.
Faivre’s youth career was a testament to the 22-year-old being unlucky as he constantly found himself at the wrong place, at the wrong time as he started with Racing Colombes where he thrived against the youth sides of PSG before moving to Le Mans. His move to Le Mans would coincide with the club’s financial troubles and eventual liquidation as his stint at the club would not last even six months before he had to return to Colombes. He would then move to Tours as his father would embark on journeys to the Touraine region to watch his son every weekend but even at his new club, he again faced the financial instability of lower level French football. The youngster would face disappointment at being offered at amateur contract while training with the professional side for three weeks before dropping back down to the B side.
Tours would decide against offering him a contract with the U19 side as he had barely turned 18 as they had doubts over his discipline and injuries that he was dealing with. However, a scout at Monaco sensed an opportunity to sign the youngster who would join the Monegasque side at youth level. The shadow of Hatem Ben Arfa and everything that comes with being a creative player in France weighed heavy on him as there was perceived indiscipline, complaints about his unwillingness to defend as well as continuous comparisons to the former Newcastle United playmaker which had its advantages and disadvantages.
Leonardo Jardim would not promote him to the senior side as he was replaced by Thierry Henry who instantly saw his value and gave him his professional debut in the Coupe de la Ligue against Lorient as well as three-days later in the Ligue 1 away to Guingnamp. Henry would continue to utilize him against Rennes in the Coupe de la Ligue before the current CF Montreal Head Coach would depart and be succeeded by his predecessor, Jardim who demoted Faivre to the B side as the attacking midfielder would refuse to go on loan to satellite club, Cercle Brugge. Henry still raves with pride about giving the youngster his opportunity as the 22-year-old is shining with Brest.
“Sofiane Diop, Benoît Badiashile, Romain Faivre ... The success of these players does not mean that I was right or wrong. These are elements that I helped to ripen as best I could and I'm happy for that, because you tell yourself that you saw something that was not wrong. Romain Faivre, he has something that few players have: he breaks lines,” said Henry in an interview with So Foot in January.
Brest signing him for a measly sum of €400,000 euros will prove to be one of the greatest bargains of the modern era of football as they will sell him for a massive profit despite the current financial uncertainties of French football. He impressed from his first training session in the summer as comparisons to Ben Arfa continued while French U21 Head Coach, Stefan Ripoli watched a few of his friendlies as he has become a trusted member of the youth side since the start of the season. Brest employ a rigid 4-4-2 system as Faivre is crucial in linking things together from the flanks and half-spaces becoming one of the leading creative midfielders in European football.
At home to Olympique Marseille, he received possession after a turnover outside the box to poke a pass into a teammate in the box through a congested area. He would also show his ability in transition when he received possession in the right half-space while being surrounded by two players, one on his back and the other in front of him. His first touch would be to flick the ball up before his second would be to flick the ball away from both of his markers towards the flank to swivel and drive the ball forward, searching for an option before cutting inside and threading a through ball into the channels. Faivre has a mastery of setting himself up to beat players and work passes through congested areas as he receives and dribbles the ball with his toes which is uncanny as most coaches instruct players to receive the ball with their in-step. This allows Faivre to manipulate his body and the ball to change direction to beat a man in an instant or release the ball with greater ease.
It is unorthodox but seems to be a skill tailored to him as it is enthralling to watch and difficult to understand akin to a clown juggling on a unicycle. Faivre also possesses that age-old playmaker’s ability to refine play and instigate innate and incisive passing sequences in what is a workmanlike team by receiving possession, moving into space to receive the ball again while the angles of his passes are precise and innovative. With Brest two goals down, Faivre would link together a passing sequence to score, receiving the ball in the right half-space to receive possession and turn to dart at goal, spreading a pass to his overlapping right-back to cross for Gaeten Charbonnier to back-heel for Faivre to place an immaculate shot past the keeper to leave him standing helplessly on his line.
Faivre is a master of the half-space, he loves to back into the pockets of space in between the opposition winger and fullback to receive possession or make clever movements to release an overlapping fullback into the wide-zones. He is also a master of receiving possession, turning and driving the ball at the opposition goal looking for through ball options in the centre. At the beginning of the second-half, Marseille were pressing as a 4-3-3 but defending in a 4-4-2 medium block as when the winger dropped, Faivre made a timed movement into the pocket of space he left to receive possession from the centre-back. Faivre would then move to the left flank, intercepting a pass to burst forward and thread a pass down the channels for his attacker to square for Charbonnier at the far post who sent his shot wide of an empty net.
After his goalkeeper made a save, he would roll the ball to the 22-year-old playmaker who would use his first touch to take the ball away from his man before lobbing a pass to an attacker in the opposition half to instigate a counter-attack. Faivre would then receive possession on the left flank before driving forward and cutting inside to trade passes with a teammate before switching the ball to the opposite flank. Away to Rennes, he would latch onto a turnover to trade passes with the ball-near striker before driving the ball to the opposite flank while weaving past an opposition player to attempt a through ball for a teammate. Faivre would receive possession on the left again to trade passes with his fullback, Romain Perraud to drive inside and work a pass to a midfielder with his right foot before the ball was switched to the opposite flank.
Faivre’s first touch allows him to be press-resistant as he can use it to guide the ball away from a marker to drive into the centre or push the ball forward as well as in one-touch passing combinations with teammates. He will also move into little pockets of space to receive possession and lay-off teammates to facilitate intricate build-up passing sequences. One his favored moves is to move closer to the touchline and receive possession to work a one-touch pass to a teammate in the half-space as he executed this against Rennes to pass for Irvin Cardona to cross. He would then show the defensive side of his game as a pass would be intercepted for him to chase the opposition player and regain possession before driving the ball forward a threading a through ball onto the flank for a cross and high-quality opportunity on goal.
Faivre’s had a magnificent run of form in the first half of the season as he was subject of interest from Manchester United as he has continued his form and high standard of performances after the turn of the year. Away to Rennes, the midfielder would work a through ball for Franck Honorat to cut-back for Mounie to have a shot hit the post. He then began to utilize his movement in the right half-space in the build-up phase, moving to the right flank to receive possession to spin past one marker, cut past another before moving inside to work a pass to a teammate. He would then play a one-touch pass from the half-space to receive possession and drive the ball into the box before being tackled. He then lobbed a cross from a teammate onto the head of a teammate from the resulting corner.
Away to Reims, the midfielder would take up more central positions as he is also capable of hurting teams from the ten space as he regained possession from Mouhamadou Drammeh to have a shot blocked. He then spun intelligently from a throw-in to earn a foul as he was looking to work connections from deep and receive the ball in between the lines. The attacking midfielder would take up his usual position in the half-spaces to work connections and create crossing situations for teammates. His ability as a counter-presser in the defensive phase shone through as Faivre will regularly chase interceptions to regain possession and make clever interceptions in the defensive and pressing phase. In the second-half, he would set himself up brilliantly by spinning as the ball was being played to him to turn his man and set himself on a break into space to thread a through ball in behind for Mounie to have a shot blocked.
Faivre will frequently back into space in the pockets to receive possession as he is so clever and intuitive with his movements into space. He can also lay-off possession before sneakily backing into space to evade his marker as he is innate at finding holes in the opposition defensive line while also moving into space for his teammate to find him through less congested passing lanes. When Faivre backs into these little pockets, he can use an innate swivel or close control before beating his man and driving at the opposition defensive line.
“I immediately said to myself: he looks like Ben Arfa,” said Brest goalkeeper Gautier Larsonneur. “Whether physically because he has a few looks in his face, but also technically, because they are a bit the same styles of footballer.”
He would then face Bordeaux and more importantly, the man who he had been compared to for most of his career in Ben Arfa. His movement in between the lines was exceptional as he worked a pass for his fullback for Charbonnier to smash over before weaving out of a tight space, driving the ball forward and then backing into the central areas to receive possession. In one moment, Ben Arfa had a pass intercepted for the ball to be played into Faivre to work a one-two with a teammate to drive forward and switch a pass to the right back in space who was unable to cross. He had little bursts of pace to drive into space in the opposition half while evading markers as he played a pass for his fullback to have a crossing opportunity. The angling of his passes to his fullbacks making runs off him is intelligent as he consistently manages to find them in premium crossing positions behind their marker with perfect weighting.
Faivre would move from the left half-space to the right half-space as he switched possession to the opposite flank, receiving possession again to work a one-two with his fullback to weave out of a situation where he was surrounded by three opposition defenders to work a pass back into the centre for more connections in the box. He made his side’s game more beautiful and cohesive, moving into space to receive possession and work quick passing moves before creating space by sidling into little channels and pockets. He also looked to play the through ball when he had the opportunity as he cut inside to have a through ball intercepted. This continued in the second half as he backed into space to receive a lobbed ball in between the lines to drive the ball forward and glide past two men before being fouled by a third.
He then utilized an amazing directional first touch to beat his man before cutting inside to beat another man as he was fouled again. One of the greatest compliments for a playmaker is when he receives possession and his teammates instinctively make runs in behind as they know the player in possession has the ability to find them. He then showed his balance and dribbling in the opposition box, receiving a pass on the edge of the opposition box to maintain his balance to change direction to cut past his marker and have a shot saved. Another move started with Faivre moving into space to receive possession in the half-space to poke a pass for his fullback who crossed for Charbonnier to shoot wide.
Brest would come back from a one goal deficit to level the score as Faivre would have the opportunity to make it 2-1 when he received the ball in between the lines to slide a through ball for Mounie who had his shot blocked. However, a few minutes later Faivre would receive possession to lay-off before backing into space to receive possession in between the lines again to surge forward and thread a pass for Jean Lucas whose opportunity was blocked for Faivre to regain possession to beat his man and send a deflected shot over the keeper to win the game for his side. Faivre was in such a groove that at times, one could have forgotten that Ben Arfa was on the same pitch.
Faivre is such an effective playmaker because he has mastered the nuances of his game like receiving the ball on the turn, backing into space and dribbling with the ball on his toes. These are essential in thriving in tight spaces while he can create chances from a plethora of situations such as crossing and lobbing passes into the box from half-spaces and wide areas, threading passes to put fullbacks in crossing situations and being an elegant through ball player. He can not only provide assists but prove to be an instrumental conduit in attack, playing the pass before an assist while also being a pivotal set-piece threat with his stronger left foot. The 22-year-old is not only an extraordinary ball-player but also an effective ball-carrier with his bursts, dribbling and lethal changes of direction. His abilities as a transitional player are also intriguing as he seamlessly turns defensive situations into attacking situations with a turn, dribble or a one-two to create space for himself and charge at the opposition defence.
“When I got here, I was on tiptoes. But mentally, I hadn't come to tell myself that I would be a rotation player. The teammates helped me a lot, it allowed me to be confident quite quickly. I was a little apprehensive about Ligue 1 and all that it generates like stress and adrenaline. In the end, I wouldn't say that's normal, but Ligue 1 is full of people like me. It just happened naturally,” said Faivre in an interview with Le Telegramme from last month.
Brest have signed the 22-year-old to a long-term contract which expires in 2025 but with the current predicament with Ligue 1 television rights, Faivre could provide an intriguing bargain for the summer. Scouts constantly flock to Ligue 1 for value for money purchases as he is not an unknown quantity as clubs from Germany, Spain and England will be circling. His international future will also provide an intriguing sub-plot as his mother is Algerian but he is starring with the French U21s. His metrics are in the top tier of creative players in Europe while he is in an exciting playmaker who could help many teams across Europe.
