Just minutes before Lyon prepare to enter the Stade Louis II for their pre-match warm-up ahead of the clash with Monaco in February 2005, Coach Paul Le Guen comes across to have a quiet word to 20-year-old defensive midfielder Jérémy Clément.

Despite a man-of-the-match performance against Toulouse in the midweek Cup game, Le Guen tells the France Under-21 player that he will be watching the match from the stands due to ‘tactical reasons’. Given the choice, Clément decides to warm-up with his teammates regardless and when Anthony Reveillère pulls up quickly after an acceleration and can’t fill his place on the bench, Le Guen gives Clément the nod.

Then as the first half draws to a close, Clément’s teammate Bryan Bergougnoux takes a knock and won’t re-emerge from the half-time break. Suddenly Clément finds himself in the biggest game of his career. His diminutive 1.74m, 61kg frame is dwarfed by the likes of Mohamed Kallon and Andreas Zikos.

“That was easily the toughest match I’d ever played,” he revealed. “I’d never seen a midfield so fierce, at times pushing the rules to the very limit.”

Clément survived the toughest of his 11 Ligue 1 substitute appearances he had already made that season, and with just seconds remaining in injury-time, the smallest man on the pitch rose to head home an astonishing equaliser from Juninho Pernambucano’s free kick. The 1-1 scoreline effectively ended Monaco's title challenge, as Lyon went on to claim a fourth crown.

Having joined Lyon aged 13, he received his first call-up to the senior squad in April 2004. Clément has since proven himself a more than worthy replacement. Competing with the likes of Michael Essien, Juninho and Mahamadou Diarra for a spot in central midfield, he knows better than most the quality and depth of the champions’ professional rota - of which he can now count himself one.