From our special envoy to Al-Khor,
The whole question is where. Well yes, where are we going to erect the statue in honor of Antoine Griezmann, finally named man of the match in this competition, after his XXXXXXXL performance in the semi-final against Morocco on Wednesday. His first nomination since the start of the competition, he, the man in the shadows who has never been so badly named as he appropriates all the light in the Qatari night. Paradoxically, it is the evening when he will not have been decisive strictly speaking, by a goal or a decisive pass, that the child of Mâcon is rewarded.
And so much the better, one would be tempted to say, because this trophy restores a bit of justice by rewarding those that football is too often used to ignoring, the needy of middle-earth, those without whom attackers would be nothing. And in a match where our attackers were so little in sight, it happens, and where the opposing team will have been too much, it took a Griezmann of this level to hoist the Blues where they wanted to go. From his cowhide sofa in Madrid, it’s a safe bet that Diego Simeone went there with his little teardrop on Wednesday evening, seeing with his own eyes the full and complete accomplishment, both of his player, but also of his philosophy of football.
Griezmann, the ultimate footballer
A few days ago, when Jules Koundé was asked at a press conference if Barça were not going to regret having sold the Frenchman to Atlético de Madrid, the boy released his joker. Being freer than him to answer this question, since it is not the cules who pay us handsomely every month, let’s say it: yes, the Blaugranas have enough to eat them in paella. Even if it is doubtful that a player like Griezmann can really flourish in a team like Barcelona, which claims too much good football and not enough dirty work. However, it is clear that it is in hard teams that the former Real Sociedad best expresses his talent.
If we dared – and we are going to do so – we would go so far as to say that the player who has been playing before our eyes for a month with the France team is the very prototype of the ultimate footballer. At the end of the meeting, his friend Paul Pogba gave him a new nickname that goes in the direction of our reflection: “Griezmannkante”. Sometimes conductor or metronome, sometimes American quarterback, when he is not in his own area clearing the danger as was the case many times on Wednesday (57th, 63rd, 93rd), we find him at the forefront. positions to give the penultimate goal ball to Mbappé on the opener of Théo Hernandez.
Washing machine on legs, capable of transforming the most disgusting balloons and returning them to you immaculately on a tray with a straw and a slice of lemon, no, frankly, this boy can do everything. Hence this question: Have we sincerely seen a more complete and impacting player on the team’s game since the retirement of Zinedine Zidane. So ? We’re waiting… Well, that’s what we thought. More than the figures, which already speak for themselves, it is the comparison with the others that really gives an idea of its off-road domination.
- Six assists in the final third of the field, joint-best total for his team
- 88% successful passes in the final third, best total of the match
- Last four passes before a shot, best total of the match
- Four crosses, team best total
- Seven duels won, second best French record with Giroud and behind Thuram
“He has been criticized a lot lately”
“Antoine is a player who does not calculate his efforts, he was still remarkable today, agreed Jules Koundé in the mixed zone after the match. He has a big slaughter, he plugs the holes. Every time he has the ball, he tries to light up the game and does it quite well. We are very happy for him and for us that he is at this level. “For Aurélien Tchouaméni, his friend in the middle, Griezmann “shows during this World Cup that he is a top player in the world”. “We are happy for him because he has been criticized a lot lately, he adds. He is showing all his qualities, it is very important to have him in the squad. »
As if it were necessary to add more, the number 7 tricolor is also someone whose voice counts with the coach. Aware of the big problem of imbalance of the French team on the left side after returning from the locker room, the combined fact of the absence of Adrien Rabiot and the unwillingness to bring down Mbappé to cut the Moroccan passing lines, Griezmann alerts Deschamps before it is too late. In the next minute, the coach takes out Giroud, puts Mbappé back in the center and brings in Marcus Thuram, whose contribution was instantly felt.
“They caused us a lot of problems, the coach realized it and he made a change, he modestly explained after the meeting. Marcus’ entry on the left did us good, there were more people to help Theo defend. »
Already focused on Argentina on Sunday
To see his livid complexion, his serious face and his square speech when he presented himself, in socks, in the mixed zone of the Al-Bayt stadium, we understood three things. The first is that he was empty (how many kilos can he lose per match? It’s a real question we ask ourselves), the second is that we found the Griezmann of the great era, far from the one who dragged his sentence these last two seasons in Catalonia; the third is that he is focused as ever on the goal he has set with the team, that of getting a second star in four years, which no other nation has done from Brazil (58-62).
“After the game against Belgium [en demi-finale en 2018], I was crying… There, I am more concentrated, I am already thinking of Sunday, I have my feet on the ground, he assured us. We will have to be focused, recover well and prepare for the match against Argentina tomorrow [jeudi]. This duel against Leo Messi’s Albiceleste promises to be epic in every way because, in addition to the supreme title that the two teams will be fighting for, that of best player in the competition will also be played out there. So, Griezmann, Messi, Mbappé? Do not ask us for our opinion, we have already given it to you.