Arguably, French footballer and Hublot ambassador Kylian Mbappé truly showed his greatness during his most disappointing defeat.
It was a cool December evening in the shining city of Lusail in Qatar, which was playing host to the biggest game of the world’s most popular sport — the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. At half-time, Argentina was leading 2-0, thanks to goals by Messi and fellow veteran Ángel Di María.
More than 13000 kilometers away, in the streets of Buenos Aires, hearts were soaring at the prospect of a third World Cup triumph. It felt almost scripted, that this should be the World Cup of Lionel Messi, the last to hold the honour of greatest-of-all-time, pursuing the one major trophy that has eluded him in his illustrious career.
Just over 6000 kilometers away, an anxious silence has fallen over Paris – a similar silence pervaded France’s dressing room in the Lusail Stadium. It was not broken by team captain Hugo Lloris, who was no doubt haunted by the two goals he conceded in the first half.
Then, 23-year-old Kylian Mbappé stepped up. “It’s the World Cup, guys. it’s the match of a lifetime,” he said passionately to his teammates. “Whatever happens, we can’t do any worse than what we did (in the first half). We’re going back out there on to the pitch: either we let them play us like idiots, or we put a bit of intensity into the game, get into the one on ones and change things, guys.”
The respect that Mbappé has garnered from his peers and colleagues in his relatively short international career was obvious — there was a palpable stirring among his teammates. He continued, shouting: “It’s a World Cup final! We are two goals down. We can come back! Something like this only comes round once every four years.”
The French side that came out for the second half was a different one. They were livelier, more spirited, and this renewed energy paid off when Argentinian defender Nicolas Otamendi brought down Randal Kolo Muani in the penalty box 10 minutes from full time. Mbappé took the penalty, cool and collected in the world’s biggest game, in the football match with the highest stakes, and scored. The French revival, spurred on by Kylian Mbappé, had begun.
Mbappé’s second goal came 97 seconds later, when he exchanged lofted passes with Marcus Thuram before firing home an exquisite volley into the bottom corner of the Argentine goal. It was a goal marked by poise, agility, intelligent movement, and precision.
With the goal, French hearts the world over soared with an amalgamation of emotions — relief, joy, hope, awe — as only Kylian Mbappé can inspire. Four years before that final, he was a precocious teenager with the world at his feet when his four goals helped France win the World Cup. On that day, he showed that he could be their saviour.
As we all know, the game ended 3-3, and Argentina would go on to win the resulting penalty shootout, with Frenchmen Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni missing the decisive kicks. What a lot of us missed was that Kylian Mbappé was the only French player to go forward to Coman and Tchouaméni after their respective misses, console them, and bring them back into the group.
He was officially made France’s team captain only in March 2023, but he had been playing the role long before the announcement. When asked about his decision to name Mbappé as captain, French head coach Didier Deschamps said: “Kylian meets all the requirements to have this responsibility — on the field as in the life of the group, by being a unifying element.”
We sometimes speak too much of great players that we forget the great leaders who play the sport. In the greatest footballing stage on Earth — the World Cup — Mbappé has shown that he is both.
L’Enfant Magnifique
Kylian Mbappé was born in Paris’ 19th arrondissement in 1998, a historic year in French football for it was in that year that the great Zinedine Zidane led France to its first ever World Cup triumph.
Mbappé grew up in the Parisian suburb of Bondy and came from a sporting family — his father Wilfrid coached the local football team AS Bondy, while his mother Fayza played handball professionally. The latter now serves as his agent.
“We make every decision together, as a family,” Mbappé said in a documentary about his childhood in Bondy. “I think it’s the strongest possible thing. This has pushed me higher and allowed me to be where I am today.”
His performances for AS Bondy as a child allowed him to enroll in INF Clairefontaine, France’s most prestigious national football academy. He made an immediate impression and was scouted by the biggest clubs in France and Europe. Among them was Arsene Wenger, who wanted to bring him to London to play for Arsenal.
Mbappé chose to stay in France instead and made the move to Monaco. Comparisons with another French striker who took the same route from Clairefontaine to Monaco’s Stade Louis II — the legendary Thierry Henry — came almost instantly. Both are speedy attackers, blessed with composure and instinctive finishing. But it seemed that Mbappé was destined for more.
There has always been a maturity about Kylian Mbappé. Scouts and coaches have noted his intense focus and application during training. Even as a teenager, he was training harder than his more experienced teammates. It gives him a refreshing humility and self-awareness that eludes the young millionaire footballers of today.
“One day, I’ll be old and I won’t be fast anymore,” he said in a Hublot video from 2018, “so I need to be precise.”
Hublot and Mbappé
Speaking of Hublot — Mbappé’s qualities on and off the pitch made him the perfect ambassador for the Maison, a relationship that began in 2018 after his exploits in the World Cup in Russia.
The Maison wrote of him at the beginning of his ambassadorship: “With his extraordinary talent and immensely likeable personality, Kylian Mbappé is considered one of the best football players in the world. He embodies a new generation poised to set new records in the beautiful game. And Hublot is delighted to welcome him as its new ambassador.”
Mbappé himself is a fan, saying: “Hublot is a real favourite. I’ve been a fan of their watches and their philosophy for a long time.”
It is perhaps fitting that the most important watch brand in football has such deep ties with football’s biggest superstar.
Hublot’s association with football began in 2006 with its ‘Hublot Loves Football!’ campaign. Two years later, Hublot became the Official Watch of the UEFA EURO tournament in Switzerland and Austria. In 2014, the Maison began its association with the most watched sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup, as the Official Timekeeper.
Since then, Hublot has become an essential part of the game. The brand also created the fourth official’s board, which mirrors the design of the Big Bang watch and has become an iconic symbol when signaling player substitutions and extra time. In 2018, Hublot made another significant contribution by developing an ideal tool for referees during the FIFA World Cup in Russia — the Big Bang e, a connected watch specifically designed to aid them in their duties.
This will continue in this year’s UEFA EURO 2024, with an update to the Big Bang e Gen 3 specifically for the tournament — the Big Bang e Gen3 UEFA EURO 2024™. This new connected watch will allow its wearer to follow — in real time — the final phase of the UEFA 2024 European Championship, set to take place in Germany from 14 June to 14 July.
The Big Bang e Gen3 UEFA EURO 2024™ is an impressive smart watch that aligns with the watchmaking standards of the Big Bang collection. The 44mm titanium case features a sandwich construction, a technique introduced by Hublot in 2005. It includes a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and a rubber strap with a deployant buckle. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ processor, making it Hublot’s most advanced connected watch. Collectors can also change the colours of the background and the straps to match those of their favourite teams.
The Two Kings
Mbappé’s association with Hublot has also connected him to the Maison’s other ambassadors, such as Brazilian footballing legend, the late, great Pelé. This was a momentous occasion, as never before in footballing history have two individuals shared such similar destinies.
Both came from more humble beginnings, both were teenagers when they first helped their respective countries to World Cup triumphs, and both shouldered the weight of their nation’s hopes in every major tournament. If Mbappé’s career continues its current trajectory, it is most likely he will reach Pelé’s lofty feats.
Pelé said of Mbappé: “I am honoured to have the opportunity to personally meet Kylian. He embodies the new generation of footballers, and espouses the values of a sport that inspires and unites the world.”
Pelé also contextualised Mbappé’s importance to the footballing fraternity, and in his role as a global superstar. He adds, “I am happy that he symbolises hope; the hope that anything is possible, for the dreams we must believe in and fight for, regardless of our origins or our social status. For me, the key to success can be captured in two words: humility and perseverance. That is the message that the new generation must convey, and Kylian has perfectly understood this.” In football, there is no higher praise than praise from Pelé himself.
It is a sentiment shared by many who have watched Mbappe’s rise to greatness. The great French author Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (better known by her cross-gender pen name George Sand) wrote: “Il est presque impossible de savoir ce que sera un homme, difficile de savoir ce qu’il est, aisé de savoir ce qu’il a été.” It is almost impossible to know what a man will be, difficult to know what he is, easy to know what he has been.
In the case of the great Kylian Mbappé, we have a good idea of who he was, who he is, and, with a rather high degree of precision, we know what he will be: the greatest of all time.
