Former Manchester United youth training player: He was ordered to cut his hair by an echelon coach, but his salary was deducted for one week because of a tattoo

June 13: 26-year-old DJ Buffonge spent four years at Manchester United youth training. He trained with the first team under Van Gaal, Mourinho and Solskjaer. He has formed a deep friendship with Rashford, Sancho and Angel Gomez. They are still close friends today.

In an interview with TheAthletic, recalling Manchester United's time, Buffonge said: "It was an unforgettable time, good and bad. It taught me how self-disciplined, how strong my mentality is and how to maintain strong motivation to maintain a stable performance in such a high level of game."

Buffonge joined Manchester United at the age of 16 in 2015, and had previously played for Arsenal and Fulham: "Fulham was the most pleasant time in my football career. At that time, I was very young and full of energy. My only goal was to be the best player. I attracted the attention of a lot of people. At that time, I played as a winger at the U16 and was promoted to U18 to play Manchester United. It was that game that I left a deep impression on Manchester United scouts."

At that time, Buffonge also got two Manchester United legendary players. Recognition: "It was in the preseason, when Manchester United youth training director Bart and first-team assistant coach Giggs were both on the court, and they were very surprised by how I performed. Then they took me to a room where computers were everywhere, and they analyzed my every touch, no-ball run, and what they liked and didn't like, which was very encouraging to me."

After coming to Manchester United's U18, Buffonger was quickly promoted to the U23 with his outstanding performance in the midfield, but according to the players, Manchester United U23 coach Warren Joyce's management style was old-school: "It was almost like a military camp, and it was fine for some players, because some players were very passionate about gym training, while others liked playing and loved everything on the court. I think when the two were combined, the players could play at their best, but the environment was too strict at the time. Some players will find it difficult. "

"No matter how hard I train and how good I perform, he has players I trust, and I can only do a lot of training. From U18 to U23, I did feel the difference between physical confrontation and intensity of the game. At U18, we focus more on technical skills, and at U23, if you can perform good running skills in training, you can get a chance to play, which is a different challenge, so I had almost no chance to play during that time."

Buffonger said that the contradiction between his United U23 coach was not only training, but also some unusual requirements: "Joyce would say to me, 'I want to tell Mourinho that you can't make your debut under him unless you cut your hair.' I couldn't figure it out at the time, they were kidding, but I really wanted to play, I I can't tell what my hairstyle has to do with whether I can play or not. "

" There will be a lot of jokes in football, but at that time I didn't know what the youth training is now, they would make a lot of jokes, but even these knowledge jokes, I still remember because when you're fighting for your position, anything looks like a signal."

"I'm a young player and want to get playing time, I'm looking for guidance, and if the guidance is to ask me to cut my hair, it doesn't make much sense to me. I remember later when I came home and asked my mom, wondering if I should go to cut my hair. I actually cut my hair a few months later, and I didn't shave it completely, but nothing changed after I cut it."

And Joyce said that he didn't remember saying that to Buffonger, but he admitted it was part of his management. Buffonge also revealed that he was deducted a week's salary for a tattoo: "There was a rule that youth team players were not allowed to be tattooed. I followed the rules until I was 18 years old, and then I could have a tattoo. I decided to tattoo a sentence on my chest: 'I came to this world to be the best self, to fulfill my mission, and to do it bravely.'"

"This is very important to me, and I can see myself in the mirror on game day. Even if I wear short sleeves, no one can see it, but I was still punished for it. . Now in Manchester United youth team, everyone has tattoos, expressing themselves in this way. "

Talking about the situation before leaving Manchester United, Buffonger said: "At that time, I began to feel that some decisions were not related to football, more like political issues, but no one could tell me directly what the problem was. For a long time after that, I didn't play at the U23, just occasionally got minutes of playing time, and there was no clear explanation. A few weeks passed, I knocked on the coach's door and asked, 'What do I need to do in training to get back on the team? 'I don't understand, I was confused for a long time. "

" Until one day, after training, I had lunch with some teammates, and Mourinho walked in. I met him when I was in Fulham because his son (a goalkeeper) was there too. He came over and said to me, 'DJ, I want to know why you haven't played lately, you performed well in the last game, is it because you were not in good health? Is there any problem? 'I told him, 'I really don't know. '"

" Then Mourinho said, 'Okay, then you Come and train with us now, and I will tell you why I can't play. 'For the most of the time since then, I've been training with them, but Mourinho hasn't given me a clear reason, but he said: 'If I can say one thing, it's never walk on the court.'"

Buffonger's Manchester United time finally came to an end in the summer of 2019, and then he joined Spezia freely. He has been to the teams such as Pertletes, Nijmegen, and Tersda in the past few years, but he has not stabilized.