Dribbling a soccer ball, Antoine Lemarie might be a long way from home, but the journeyman is now on top of the world having landed his first professional contract and scored online fame in Cambodia.
The 27-year-old midfielder went viral on YouTube after his unexpected signing to the Cambodian Premier League’s Boeung Ket in the capital, Phnom Penh.
Having posted videos on his channel since 2020, Lemarie was shocked at the response to footage of his first match for the Blue Dragons, which racked up more than 140,000 views.
Photo: AFP
“I was stunned, it’s so unlikely,” he told reporters.
“My life has changed completely,” he said, adding that he was signed after years of struggling as an amateur in Europe.
He is to live and play in Cambodia until May under a contract worth several thousand dollars, with the club providing an apartment and a motorcycle for his daily commute.
Photo: AFP
Lemarie has documented online the difficult conditions and scant rewards in the lower reaches of the European game while he worked part-time as an ice-cream seller, pizza delivery man, removal man and valet to make ends meet.
He made headlines last year after leaving a third-division Greek club, alleging that the manager had threatened to assault him.
His experience shone a light on the unscrupulous side of the sport, where young players can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
“There were many ups and downs, very low moments, bad encounters,” he said.
His YouTube channel has more than 20,000 subscribers, many based in France, and it is where he posts videos of his experiences on and off the field.
“It is also interesting to show a bit of the life around me, as I am not in a random club, I am in Cambodia,” he said. “For them, it is interesting to discover another country, I think.”
Cambodian soccer has crumbling infrastructure and relative anonymity, but Lemarie is part of a small coterie of foreigners plying their trade in the nation.
Boeung Ket coach Hong Pheng told reporters that overseas players were an asset and he welcomed the extra attention brought by his newest player.
“I don’t mind ... when he posts a video, it will promote Cambodian football,” he said.
Lemarie is having to handle increased expectations now he is a full-time professional, but having achieved his lifelong dream, he does not mind the added pressure.
“Anything that goes after is just a bonus,” he said.
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