Vous or Tu? It reveals much about the young Senegalese star that his delight at being promoted from the youth ranks at Strasbourg to the first team was mixed with worry over the two distinct words for “you.”
Would addressing new, senior teammates by using “tu” be seen as too familiar? In the end, the promising talent played safe and selected the more polite “vous”. This prompted widespread amusement from the veterans who instructed him not to be so silly; he was one of them now.
“After I had the first call with the coach, I sat down and said to my parents: ‘Sunderland’s where I want to be; that’s where I want to play.’ The Premier League was always a dream of mine and the coach presented me with a clear and interesting project.”
Almost five years later, Diarra is settled in an office at the club's training ground explaining why he turned down offers from, among others, several top European clubs. His natural politeness endures but it is apparent that the 22-year-old Senegal international and doubt are practically unacquainted. Diarra conducts himself with the self-assurance befitting a player who captained Strasbourg at the age of 20 and, only last month, returned from Morocco holding an AFCON winners’ medal.
A Clear Project
Now that the groin issue that kept him out for much of the first half of the domestic season resolved, Diarra is on a mission to show exactly why he agreed to become Sunderland’s record £30m signing last summer. Pundits in France and Senegal queried Diarra’s surprising decision but he knew all about the manager's reputation as a talented youth coach.
“I haven’t been surprised by the coach’s ability because I already knew what he’s capable of,” says Diarra. “Playing against his teams I understood he was very good, very strong in terms of strategy. He’s someone I know is helping my game progress. And although our first objective is reaching 40 points, a place in Europe is certainly a achievable goal this season.”
A Unified Environment
Outside, the chilly February wind and driving rain makes Wearside look as grim as it is often stereotyped. Inside, things are much more welcoming. The atmosphere is free of the type of tension found in certain clubs where office workers are kept apart from first-team players. Diarra describes the environment as “very organic” and commends Le Bris’s role in its formation.
“The coach always says to us that we’re like a family here and we all fight for each other,” he says. “We’re all proud of each other.”
Liberty and Structure
If the organisation, discipline and immense effort supporting Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a proof of the head coach’s attention to minutiae, Le Bris also likes his players to think for themselves. He offers his engine room players complete licence to be creative and swap roles.
“The coach sets his tactics out within a framework but we have license to play within it,” says Diarra, who prefers to be deployed as a box-to-box No 8. “During matches that is empowering. That freedom is so important. Our captain, Granit, helps us a lot. He’s a really big player and a superb role model.”
Path and Settlement
Diarra is speaking through a French interpreter but his English has advanced to the point where he can grasp most questions. He is now concentrating on acquiring the vocabulary to also answer them, which would be his third language. He is proficient in Wolof, the language he spoke growing up in Guédiawaye near the Senegalese capital.
His precocious maturity helped him combat the disappointment of needing an operation followed by four months out of action last autumn. “Getting hurt so soon after arriving here was frustrating, for sure,” he says. “But it was up to me to handle the situation.”
Diarra is now anticipating playing in this summer’s World Cup. Given Senegal have been drawn in the same group as France, a emotional matchup awaits the former Les Bleus under-21 midfielder. “I enjoyed representing for France but my heart spoke,” says Diarra. “I have no remorse. I was born in Senegal; it fills me with pride to play for them.”
Comparable feelings apply to Sunderland. “I’ve adapted very well,” he says. “I am really comfortable here.”
