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#3 Led a young Monaco side to an improbable Champions League semi-final
Before every Champions League season, every fan has a set of teams that they think will feature in the semi-final. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are always among the common names that spill out of most mouths.
Among others, Juventus and Paris-Saint Germain are also considered for the place, but the fun part, is that the latter are yet to feature in the top four after being bought by the Qataris.
While PSG are always considered as the favourite to go furthest in the Champions League as the representatives of France, it was Monaco that did Ligue 1 proud by making it to the semi-finals last year.
Leonardo Jardim’s team was young-blooded and highly talented, featuring the likes of Tiemoue Bakayoko, Fabinho, Thomas Lemar, Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva among others – and they were captained by Radamel Falcao.
However, it was Kylian Mbappe whose performances in Europe allowed Monaco to go past some of the best teams in the competition and make it to the semis. His performances earned him the Golden Boy award for 2017 – which is given to the best U21 player in the world.
