Selim Benachour has already played a wide variety of roles in his short career. He has been the bright young hope, the forgotten man, the crowd favourite, the transfer target, the prodigal son and, perhaps finally, the role he covets the most - a first-team regular.

Things looked very different in the first half of the 2004/05 season, however. Having made a mere three substitute appearances and seriously doubting former Paris Saint-Germain Coach Vahid Halilhodzic's faith in him, the Tunisian international was close to joining Ajaccio in the winter transfer window.

In the end, he chose to stay at the club he first joined as a 10-year-old.

Laurent Fournier, who took charge for the second half of the 2004/05 season, came in promising to give youth a chance, and when his side were in danger of surrendering their Coupe de France title to Bordeaux in February 2005, Fournier kept that promise by giving Benachour his opportunity to shine.

His entrance in the 56th minute proved to be one of the game's turning points, as the youngster prowled behind the front two and eventually set up defender Mario Yepes for a late equaliser.

His ability to accelerate the pace of an attack, pick the right pass or dribble past an opponent continued to torment Bordeaux in extra-time and the Parisians ultimately ran out 3-1 winners. But perhaps just as significantly, Fournier's trust in the Parc des Princes idol got the crowd cheering for their team again and seems to have gone a long way towards healing the longstanding rift between the club and its supporters.

In truth, Fournier will have known exactly what to expect from the 2004 African Nations’ Cup winner from his spell as reserve-team Coach. He seems to believe the time has come for both of them to step into the limelight, and that means everything to a player previously farmed out on loan to Martigues and Troyes by the club he cherishes. "I never gave up hope," says Benachour. "I always tried to prove my worth even when they wanted to send me out on loan. I love this club, I've been here 13 years and I want to stay here."