Blaise Matuidi
the critics who used to pour scorn
on his alleged technical limitations. At
times, he has needed a thick skin and
this certainly was the case during a
notoriously virulent national team press
conference in October 2017. Asked to
comment on suggestions in the media
that he was not “skilful enough and had
square feet,” he remarkably managed
to laugh it off.
“You’re mean to say that,” he retorted.
“In spite of my feet, I’ve played for
France and two big clubs in Paris
Saint-Germain andJuventus. I think I’ve
proved my quality. There’s nothing trivial
in that. If, as you say, there’s such a
debate about me, I would have been
forced out of the national team a long
time ago. The French team is a very
strong one, there’s a lot of competition
for places and it’s that which forces you
to improve. I had six years with PSG,
where I played regularly. It’s been going
well atJuve too. What’s important is
what happens on the pitch and my
coaches have been happy with me.”
One can become bogged down
solely focusing on Matuidi the destroyer,
pressing machine and ball-winner. While
he could never be described as a
cultured creator, he is anything but a
dud when it comes to driving forward
and breaking lines. He has netted nine
times for France and some of his
goalscoring work has been of the
highest order. The best examples?
A marvellous overhead kick – executed
with his weaker right foot – in a friendly
victory over Netherlands in March
2014; a brace in a 2-1 win against
Serbia in September 2015, including a
magnificent first-time volley measured
at over100 km/h; spectacularly lashing2005, has an interesting theory. He
thinks Blaise always had it in him to
be much more than a water carrier:
“With us at Troyes (2004-07) and
then at Saint-Etienne, he spent years
serving the cause,” Furlan explained to
Eurosportin 2014. “He sacrificed himself
for more basic tasks. Nowadays he plays
alongside individuals of equivalent
calibre and he can express himselfhome from an acute angle as Bulgaria
were seen off in a World Cup 2018
qualifier in Sofia, the only goal of a
hard-fought encounter.
Don’t exclusively think of Matuidi
as one-dimensional, argues Deschamps:
“He can be important in an attacking
sense. If you look at the World Cup in
Russia, he was just as likely to come
up with a final ball as to provide the
penultimate pass in a move.”
Jean-Marc Furlan, the coach who
handed the then17-year-old Matuidi
his pro baptism for Troyes in November“[Matuidi] brings much equilibrium to the team...
He covers a lot of ground, is an intense competitor
and runs all day...All great teams have this, and
that’s our strength”
Didier Deschamps, France coachNOV 23, 2004
Plays his first
senior game,
completing 60
minutes of Troyes’
2-1 victory over
Ligue 2 rivals
Gueugnon.JUL 30, 2005
Following Troyes’
promotion to
Ligue1, Matuidi is
also promoted from
the reserves and
starts his first top-
flight match.Timeline
Celebration...
Mbappe and Matuidi
Trusted...Deschamps
and Matuidi at the
2018 World Cup