Louisa Necib Cadamuro

Early career

Nécib began her career as a youth player for her hometown club Union Sportive de Marseille. After spending two years at the club, she signed on with nearby Celtic de Marseille. Nécib spent six months developing in the academy and, in April 2002, she was selected to attend the under-16 female National Cup representing her region. The competition served as a training camp for the Centre National de Formation et d'Entraînement (CNFE) (English: National Center for Education and Training) located at the Clairefontaine academy in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines. The initiative to allow women to train at the famous national center came about in the 1990s due to the fact that it had quickly become a high-level training facility for male football players. As a result of allowing female football players to train at the academy, younger women were afforded the same benefits from the facilities offered by Clairefontaine as the men. At the National Cup, Nécib impressed and was given an award by coaches for possessing the best shot of any player. After the competition, she returned to Celtic. At the age of 16, Nécib was promoted to the senior team by coach Yohan Silvy in the latter part of the 2002–03 season. While at the club, Nécib was teammates with future national teammate Caroline Pizzala. In the 2003–04 season, Nécib flourished and helped the club reach the Division 3 Féminine league final where they faced the women's team of professional men's club Le Mans. In the…

Youth

Nécib is a former France women's youth international, having played for her nation at every level for which she was eligible. On 11 September 2003, she was called up to international level for the first time by coach Gérard Sergent to play with the under-17 team. She played with the team at the 2003 edition of the Nordic Cup, a premier women's youth tournament, before earning a call up to the under-19 team by coach Bruno Bini. At under-19 level, Nécib featured heavily playing with the team at the La Manga Cup and also representing France at the 2004 and 2005 editions of the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. In the 2004 competition, she appeared in two group stage matches as France suffered elimination in the group stage. In the 2005 edition, Nécib started all five matches France played as the team reached the final. She scored her only goal in the competition in a 4–0 opening group stage victory against Russia. In the final, France faced their group stage opponents Russia and were defeated 6–5 on penalties after the match finished 2–2 in regulation time. Due to France's second-place finish at the 2005 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, the team qualified for the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, which merited under-20 appearances for Nécib. She made her under-20 debut on 12 August 2006 in a World Cup preparation friendly against Mexico. In the match, Nécib scored the team's second goal in a 4–2 victory. At the World Cup, Nécib appeared in all four…

Nécib primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also be deployed in central midfield as a deep-lying midfielder, or as a winger. Domestically, she primarily plays as a playmaker in the number 10 role, while at international level, she plays as a winger in Bruno Bini's 4–3–3 formation. Two of Nécib's most common exemplary traits are her vision and passing, which have been described as "one-of-a-kind" and "sublime", respectively. She is also known for her distinct understanding of the game, which has led to her developing "a great football IQ". In addition to her creativity, eye for goal, and tactical awareness, she is known for outstanding control and dribbling ability, as well as her elegance on the ball. Her technical skill and ability to read the game allow her to determine "when to take a defender on one-on-one, how to find a teammate with a slide-rule pass, and how to exploit tight spaces to create scoring chances for herself and her cohorts". For these reasons, her playing style has drawn comparisons with compatriot and 1998 World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane.

Nécib was born on 23 January 1987 in the city of Marseille to parents of Algerian origin. Her father had emigrated to France from Biskra, while her mother had come from Oran. Nécib was raised in Busserine, a quartier located in the northern suburbs of the 14th arrondissement of Marseille and has a brother and sister. After signing with Lyon, Nécib enrolled at the Université Lyon 1 with hopes of completing her undergraduate studies in Sciences et techniques des activités physiques et sportives (STAP) (English: Science and Technology of Sport and Physical Activity). She developed an interest in football at a young age, prior to which she trained in gymnastics. She, initially, did not look at the future prospects of women's football and played mainly with males for recreation, stating "I'd always played with the boys in my neighborhood" and "I didn't plan to join a club because, to be honest, I didn't know girls' teams existed. Then, one day I found out there was a club in the 14th arrondissement and I signed up". In June 2016, she married footballer Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaïba.