World Soccer - UK (2021-03)

Yusuf Yazici

LILLE

The Turkish attacking midfielder will

never forget November 5, 2020, the

evening when he pulled off what could

be a career-defining feat: a hat-trick in

Lille’s shock 3-0 win in the San Siro

against Milan. In 65 years of continental

cut and thrust, Milan had never

previously lost by a wider margin

and all because of the artistry and

marksmanship of the 23-year-old

Turkey international, the first away

player to notch a treble against the

Rossonerisince Rivaldo for Barcelona in

a Champions League fixture in 2000.

“When you score three in one game,

it’s an indicator that you were

exceptionally good,” said a beaming Lille

coach Christophe Galtier. “He appears

EUROPA LEAGUE

to adore this competition. He has a

different profile to all the other players

in the team. He adds something unique

to our game: his powerful shooting,

clairvoyance and great left foot.”

Amazingly, his stellar efforts in Milan

were not his only hat-trick in this

season’s Europa League. A month

earlier, he had the net bulging three

times in a 4-1 away victory over Slavia

Prague. Half a dozen strikes in180

minutes: not bad for a player who has

suffered his share of hard times at Lille

and has spent much of this term on the

bench.

Last season, his first in the north of

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France following a€17.5 million switch

from hometown club Trabzonspor was,

to be blunt, an unmitigated disaster. Early

in the campaign, he struggled to adjust

to the physicality and higher rhythm of

the French game. Bit by bit, his

confidence and touch deserted him and

even when he did show signs of finding

his feet – performing ably in autumnal

clashes with Bordeaux and Marseille –

he would be derailed again in December,

snapping cruciate ligaments during a

Ligue1 encounter in Monaco and sent

to the sidelines for six months.

“We’re all very happy for Yus at the

moment,” declared Lille skipperJose

Fonte in the wake of the victory in Milan.

“He’s been through a difficult period.

After his awful injury, he’s had to grit his

teeth to bounce back strongly. The

Europa League has been his prize.

This is for him.”

Hat-trick hero...Yazici

celebrates scoring in

the San Siro

“He appears to adore this

competition”

Lille coach Christophe Galtier