In north eastern France, 80 kilometres outside of Paris and around 100 kilometres from the Belgian border is the city of Reims.

Known as the Coronation City, the iconic Cathédrale Notre de Reims is a site where for more than 1,000 years the kings of France were crowned and, to reinforce the city’s cultural significance to the French, it is also the unofficial capital of the Champagne region.

Reims is also the unlikely destination of two of Ireland’s young talents John Patrick and Ike Orazi.

Both players play their football with Stade de Reims, have represented Ireland as underage internationals and began their love of the game on the streets of the city of their birth.

But after that, their journey to become teammates at the six-time French champions is one which couldn’t be more different. For Ike, it was honing his skills on a patch of grass in west Dublin, for John it was 5-a-side football on his school playground in Madrid.

These are their journeys.

John Patrick

“I started off on the football team of my school with my friends when I was three or four years old. This is my first memory of football,” recalls John.

“After school I would play for a club in Madrid and this is where I learned 11v11 and 7v7 because in school it was small games of 5-a-side.

“I wasn’t trying to play like another player, I just worked with my dad and my family to get better in my free time.”

John is named after his father, who lived in Galway when he was young, but John Patrick would visit Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, where his grandfather Michael hails from. It was a place the 21 year old would go to often as a child. John’s father later moved to Madrid for studies and while in Spain met John’s mother Odette where they settled and raised a family.

They would visit the west of Ireland frequently and John recalls those family gatherings back in Ireland, he said: “I have visited Ireland many times since I was a baby. I would go over in the summer and see the family and my aunts would come visit so we could see each other. A few times I’d go to the football pitches in Ballyhaunis with my brother just so we could play and I loved it, it was a great time. I didn’t play GAA Football when I was there but my grandfather Michael is a really big fan of Mayo, I’d follow them as I know he loved them but every time they got to a final and lost I’d always feel a bit sad.”

Those summers in Ireland even saw John Patrick make a guest appearance for Salthill Devon in the Galway Cup with pictures showing him sporting the blue and white stripes of the Galwegian club. His father had previously played for Devon Celtic (as they were known at the time).

With an Irish father, he would keep an eye out for the Ireland football team and cites Ireland captain Roy Keane as someone he liked: “I really liked Roy Keane. I have watched video clips of him but I wouldn’t say I play like him as I play a bit more deeper than he did.”

For John his family took his football seriously and always encouraged him at every opportunity reminding him his hard work would see him ‘achieving good things.’

In 2012, while playing for his local club, John was spotted and recruited for Real Madrid’s academy where he spent three years. He left and continued his football at Madrid-based teams Canillas and Alcobendas before signing for the youth team of La Liga’s Getafe in 2018.

It would be at ‘Geta’ John would achieve the first of good things coming his way.

Two years after joining the club, a 17-year-old John Patrick came on for his La Liga debut against Levante making him the youngest ever Getafe debutant. Speaking about that moment back in September 2020, John said: “It was a shock moment, but when I came onto the pitch I just thought there was no pressure on me. It was what I was working for and I knew I had to enjoy the moment and show the best of myself.

“It was good to learn from first-team football for sure.”

A year after making his La Liga debut he was invited to train with the Ireland Under-21 squad as they prepared for qualifiers against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Luxembourg. Weeks later, the 18-year-old midfielder would earn his first of two Irish caps playing in a friendly against Sweden in Marbella.

Reflecting on that experience John said: “My family were very proud. It was unusual for me as it was a lot of new people, a new team but this is something I knew I had to get used to to be a better player, it’s a good experience and this is part of football. The coach, Tom (Mohan) is a good coach who gave me confidence, who gave me the key to play with freedom, to not to be worried in the first game and he created a very good spirit.”

John would go on to make 10 appearances for Getafe but felt the time to kick-on in his career would be with a move away from Madrid. In January, he made the switch from the Spanish capital to Stade de Reims and ten days later he was starting against French Champions, Paris Saint Germain. It was a fast start to life in a new country. 

John said: “The first days have been great, adapting to a new club and new city, and also playing some games. I’m excited about working hard and helping the club improve their results.

“It was a tough game against PSG. You have to be really focused because they have a lot of ability and tactics to create goals so you have to be really focused on the game and always have to look at ways to be involved to stop them playing their game.”

Part of that match-day squad that day was fellow Irishman Ike Orazi and the ex-Shamrock Rovers forward has already impressed John: “I find him a good technical player with the ball. He is very fast and has great movement and if he keeps doing this he will be a great player.”

John’s performance against PSG won huge plaudits and a highlight reel put together by the club excited football fans from Reims to Ballyhaunis and back.

“It was nice they did a highlight reel. I was really happy about that.

“I’m a player who likes to have the ball, to get the ball, who likes to play forward and make key passes. Also, I love to win. That’s my main thing, is to win. When it’s needed, without the ball, I’m aggressive and put pressure on players with the ball. 

“My focus is first to give everything and to improve as a player and put in great performances and after that the things that will come will be good things.”
 

Ike Orazi

On Sunday, 17-year old Dubliner Ike Orazi made his professional league debut when he came on as a substitute for Stade de Reims in his side’s Ligue 1 game against Lyon.

It would be a new chapter in the journey of the teenage winger who began playing football with his brothers on a field behind his home.

“My first memories were playing football in Avondale in Mulhuddart where I lived. At the back there was a big patch of grass we used as a pitch,” recalls Ike.

“It was mainly me and my friends but sometimes my brothers would let me go with them. They are like five years older than me so I learned from them.

“I never had a player I looked up to it was more just trying to be as good as my brothers. They were who I aspired to play like.”

Those days kicking a ball about Dublin 15 led him to join local club Corduff. It was on the club’s astro pitch Ike stepped up his love of the game. 

“I was around six or seven when I joined. They used to do a community mini league where loads of kids in the area would play in a tournament. I just remember having so much fun and playing against kids from around Blanchardstown and you’d get to know who were good players were from around the area.”

Ike remained with Corduff for three years before he and his family moved to Manchester in England. He joined a local team before being spotted by Bolton Wanderers: “Even though I was at Bolton,  I would always come back to Dublin in the summer and I couldn’t resist playing with my friends for Corduff before heading back to England. We left Manchester and returned to Blanchardstown by the time I was 12.”

It was shortly after his return from England that Ike went on trial at Shamrock Rovers.

“I must have impressed and I was able to join. I went in at Under-12s and Under-13s and from there I just had coaches who encouraged me in every aspect of my game.”

He won a league and cup double with Rovers’ Under-15s team and his club form saw him earn a first call up to Ireland at Under-15s level. His first goal for his country came months later against Croatia in April 2022. 

But it would be later that year that Ike’s stock for Ireland would rise. Playing for the Under-16s, he and his Irish teammate Mason Melia struck up a devastating partnership that saw them help Ireland clinch a first Victory Shield in five years.

Ike’s performances at the Victory Shield earned him a spot in Colin O’Brien’s U17 EUROs Squad in Hungary in May 2023. It took Ike just four minutes for him to net in the European Championships as he put Ireland in the lead over Poland. His performances at the EUROs were noted by Stade de Reims and they quickly made a move for the then 16-year-old winger.

“The EUROs were a global opportunity to show myself, show what player I was and show what I could do. When I went to Stade de Reims they outlined the path to the first team. They outlined that they wanted me in with the first team but first I’d have to start with the B team who play in a competitive league in France - so straight away I would be going into men’s football. I knew it was a good way I’d improve and make my game better.”

Ike says that before he moved to France he sought advice from a fellow Irishman from Blanchardstown who also so happened to adorn the colours of Stade de Reims, Glory Nzingo. Once the move was confirmed he focused on getting up to speed with the challenges of men’s football.

“Rovers definitely prepared me for my transition to men’s football as I’d train with the first team,” said Ike.  “But when I came to France it was completely different, it was my first time doing full-time training, it’s physical, you can’t show the ball much playing in men’s football because the opposition will come in hard with a tackle.”

Remaining patient, Ike had to bide his time to get a chance with the first team. But that moment would come in December in the Coupe de France. Ike said: “I didn’t think I was going to come on because it was a cup game and we were winning. Then they equalised and all of a sudden they started to send out the stars of the team to warm up and I thought ‘maybe I won’t get on’ but I actually did get on. I was really happy to make my debut.”

After tasting first-team action, Ike knew the next step was to make his league debut. He was a substitute when Stade de Reims faced PSG and the teenager admits just seeing the level from the bench was a great experience. 

He said: “That was 100 per cent the biggest game I’ve been involved with. To go to the stadium and think this is where Messi, Mbappe and Neymar played, it’s incredible. The stadium was amazing, so was the atmosphere. When you’re shaking hands with players after the game who are established it gives you an incentive to keep pushing because you know you’re not that far away from that goal.”

It was during that game his new teammate John Patrick made his debut and Ike was full of praise for his fellow Irish international.

Describing the midfielder, he said: “He’s a lovely guy. He’s definitely impressive in training, he’s very big and plays as a Number 6. He breaks the lines and for his first appearance against PSG it was a very good performance.”

After making his league debut he’s the latest Irishman to play in France’s top division in the last 12 months. Irish senior players Jake O’Brien (Lyon) and Andrew Omobamidele (Strasbourg) are the most recent while Ireland Under-21s goalkeeper Noah Jauny has been around the first team for Stade Brestois in both Ligue 1 and their Champions League matches.

Ike says France embraces young talent, he adds: “I think when it comes to Ligue 1 they give opportunities to young players and aren’t scared to give players their debuts. They give people that chance to impress and it brings out a lot of young talent and the clubs here give a chance and that’s why I think a lot of good players are coming out of this league.”

Ike will be looking to add his name to that list.