Maxence Lacroix is treating Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley as just another game but the same can’t be said of his mother. “She’s more stressed than me right now,” the Crystal Palace defender says. “But I think it’s really good for a mother or father to see their son running his dream and playing this type of game because she knew it was difficult before and now she sees her son growing, having a family and doing what he wants. So I think she’s proud, a little bit stressed but it’s all right.”
Growing up in Ajat, a village in the Dordogne, Lacroix knew he was never going to follow in his mother Corrine’s footsteps by becoming a doctor. Having moved to Germany from the French side Sochaux as a 20-year-old after coming through the prestigious Clairefontaine academy, he reunited with Oliver Glasner – his former manager at Wolfsburg – in south London last summer. The elegant defender is the heartbeat of the Palace side that will face Aston Villa for a place in the final and has been tipped to win his first senior cap sooner rather than later after representing France at every youth level.
“One day I will be in a national team – I know,” he says confidently. “But right now it’s to look at what’s happening in Crystal Palace, the semi-final and win this Cup.”
Lacroix reveals that a chat with the club captain, Joel Ward, has ensured he is fully briefed on Palace’s history in this competition. Heartbreaking defeats in finals by Manchester United in 1990 and 2016 mean Palace have never won a major trophy, and they may not get a better chance than this year.
Lacroix believes team spirit has been the secret to their superb form since failing to win any of their opening eight Premier League fixtures, with Glasner’s side racking up seven successive away clean sheets in all competitions before recent defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle. “This is really important – to build something off the pitch also,” he says as the striker Jean-Philippe Mateta lurks in the background trying to distract him. “We can see it on the pitch. Everyone wants to fight for each other. This is why we are difficult to play.”
Faith is another key factor that underpins Palace’s unity. Ward, Eberechi Eze and Lacroix’s central defensive partners Marc Guéhi and Chris Richards are among those who have spoken about how Christian values have influenced their careers. But it wasn’t until Lacroix signed that a group of them started praying together before matches.
“We have a lot of Christians in this team and I said when we have a lot of Christians, normally Christianity is a big family,” says Lacroix. “I said before games we come and we put this game into the hands of God and we pray together. We have done this since the first games I’m here. I think a lot of guys wanted it but didn’t know how to do it. I said let’s do it and now it’s normal.”
He adds: “I’m more like the pastor of this team. I speak a lot about Jesus, about God. I love God. I know a lot about the Bible, about Jesus and I try to give what I know, the knowledge about the words, because sometimes it’s difficult to understand. I try my best to spread the word.”
Lacroix learned English while in Germany on the advice of his Wolfsburg teammate Josuha Guilavogui, who now plays for Leeds and helped him settle when he moved to Palace. Lacroix has a nine-month-old son and his mother, a former specialist in nutrition and psychology, is regularly on the phone offering advice.
“She helps me every day,” he says. “If I don’t speak with her I’m in trouble. She accomplished everything in her own way. To be a doctor is difficult, it’s really long, you have to give a lot, you have to go to school for a while. But it was my plan to play football.”
Lacroix was 21 when he was made captain at Wolfsburg by Glasner, who was adamant he was the ideal replacement in the middle of Palace’s back three after the sale of Joachim Andersen to Fulham last summer. It has proved to be a shrewd move because Lacroix’s ability on the ball and recovery speed have complemented the attributes of Guéhi and Richards.
“He takes the best of you,” Lacroix says of the Austrian manager. “He can make a normal player into a good player because he helps you to give everything you have. I think this is the biggest point.”
The 25-year-old’s eyes light up when he looks forward to the prospect of running out in front of 35,000 Palace supporters at Wembley. Lacroix has become a firm favourite at Selhurst Park and wants to repeat the celebration he performed against Manchester City in December when he scored his only goal for the club and dropped to one knee in prayer.
“I hope on Saturday we’re going to do it again, because I think Wembley will shake,” he says. “Our fans are like the 12th man on the pitch. When you play against us, especially in our stadium, the fans are incredible. I heard there’s going to be like 35,000 fans. So it’s more than our stadium.
“It’s going to be hard for us against Villa. It’s difficult when you play against these guys because they will push us. But [the fans] give us a new energy when it’s difficult on the pitch. When you hear them, they push you, you want to give everything for them.”