Since his first Ligue 1 goal, back in November 2008, Ryad has been going from strength to strength. The club, with its core beliefs in friendship and humility, can take a lot of the credit... everyone knows everyone in this big family.
"These friendships have been created over the years," said Boudebouz, whose understanding with Ligue 1’s top assist provider and best friend Marvin Martin is a prime example. "Since we were all kids, we've done every together; school, training, living - obviously this makes it easier out on the pitch."
All the ingredients
His strengths: speed, agility, acceleration and an amazing left foot. All the requisite ingredients for scoring some spectacular goals! Ryad has scored twice in his ten Ligue 1 appearances this season, one each against Saint-Etienne and Nice.
"In my opinion, the goal against Nice is better. First of all, it killed the game off. I made a lot of runs to the back post in that game and the ball didn't come, but I gave it one more try. I saw it coming my way right from the start and I just hit when it got to me."
It didn’t take long for Ryad's performances to catch the eyes of the international powers that be and despite having played youth football for France, he decided to play his senior football for Algeria.
This decision earned him a place in his first World Cup in South Africa, an incredible moment for the player nicknamed 'Debza', which means 'brawl' in Arabic dialect...
World Cup dream
"I'll never forget it. We headed out into a stadium holding 80,000 fans and playing against guys like Steven Gerrard, players you dream of playing against when you're a kid. There, they were opposite us. Honestly, I don't think I fully realised what was happening. It was after the match, when I watched it again that I thought, I have to make the most of this experience, because I may never get another chance to play in the World Cup finals."
Despite his two superb goals this season, Ryad sometimes drifts out of matches, not that Sochaux coach Francis Gillot is surprised after all the demands that have been made on the young player in the last few months.
Gillot: ‘A decisive player’
"He had a little run of poor form because he didn't really get a break after the World Cup," explained Gillot. "We gave him a couple of weeks off. Today he's paying for it a little, but he's an immensely important player for us because he's incredibly skilful and is has a major role to play for us going forward. In my opinion, he's a decisive player for Sochaux."
After two seasons with Sochaux, the young midfielder has a host of clubs chasing his signature; Palermo, PSG and Marseille have all expressed their interest publicly. But despite all the talk, Ryad isn't planning on quitting his one and only club this season.
'No desire to leave Sochaux'
"Every young player dreams of playing for a big club. But you can't be in too much of a hurry. I have to step up here at Sochaux. We have a group of youngsters here, 14 of us and we get along well, even with the older players. For the moment, I have no desire to leave Sochaux."
