The Anglos-Saxons are the undisputed masters of statistics. And this one, which fell at the beginning of the month, did not go unnoticed. According to Sky Sports, who relies on a battery of figures, the best player in the world over these first two months of the 2021-2022 season is called Karim Benzema. This is what puts water to the mill of those who think that the French deserves to win the Golden Ball.
But a little further in the ranking, there is an unknown player at the international level. Téji Savanier is, according to the English media, the eighth best player in the world at the start of the season. And the third in the French championship behind the two Parisians, Kylian Mbappé (4th) and Achraf Hakimi (7th).
His coach: “Téji was extraordinary”
Those who attended the match against Lens (1-0) will not question this record. The Montpellier midfielder was exceptional against the Paris dolphin. He delivered perhaps his greatest game in the MHSC jersey, he who has lined up performances since the start of the season. “We saw a very high level Téji. And when Téji is at this level, he brings that little extra that allowed us to win the match, ”praises his coach Olivier Dall’Oglio.
The playmaker is in total confidence, dares and succeeds almost everything, by the quality of his passes, his deviations, his movements. “Téji was extraordinary,” continues the coach. He set the tempo for the team. He took out the balls which made us feel good and did not balk at the defensive phases. »And an assist (for Mavididi), one more, on the five delivered Sunday having brought a shot. “This pass counts because there is a victory at the end,” recognizes the author of the recital. But as you know, I don’t just think of myself. If today I play a great match but we lose behind, it is useless. “
No European matches, no France team?
This XXL performance, which follows a start to the season hailed by the stats across the Channel, inevitably revives a question that had already been asked last season: Téji Savanier, the only one in the Sky Sports list to have never worn the jersey of his country in the official selection (games at the Olympics do not count for selections with the A), can he dream of a future in blue? The answer lies in the choices of Didier Deschamps, who waits to see the players behave at European level before selecting them. And Montpellier is unfortunately too far away today.
In the meantime, the midfielder continues to feast and catch the eye of all observers, including that of his opponents. “Savanier is a magnificent player,” recalls Franck Haise, the coach of RC Lens. I didn’t wait until tonight to find out he was. He made a huge performance with a lot of intelligence, finesse and technical quality. “