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Dimitri Payet lit up the Premier League during his two years at West Ham, but now, back in his beloved Marseille, he seems to be pushing the national and European ambitions of Ligue 1.
His career at Hammers, which made him one of the most sought-after attacking midfielders in Europe given his creative genius, ended on a sour and sour note, refusing to train and telling then-boss Slaven Bilic that he wanted to leave immediately.
The east London club initially bowed to his demands and allowed him to return to his old team in January 2017, and now over three years at Payet he will face, rather than an English team, Manchester City. as a visitor to the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday evening.
Payet passed Victor Moses for an impressive starter in West Ham’s surprising 2-1 win at Etihad Stadium in September 2015, but that appearance was one of only two times he faced City during his time at the Premier League before returning to Marseille.
That transition, albeit back to life in France, has been, like the player himself, fascinating and unpredictable in equal measure.
The 33-year-old racked up a mammoth 23 assists in his first full season in French football and his 10 goals were as important as Marseille reached the Europa League final.
However, for Payet and Marseille, the game ended literally and figuratively in sadness, with tears streaming down Payet’s face when he was forced to retire with a hamstring problem just half an hour after the 3-fold loss. -0 against Atlético de Madrid in Lyon.
The tears not only demonstrated his pain at not being able to try to help his team to their first European silver medal since winning the inaugural edition of the Champions League in 1993, but also confirmed that he would miss the France squad for him. 2018. World Cup.
His forced omission would plunge his club career back into the depths of darkness, seeming to suffer from a lack of motivation after disappointment at missing Didier Deschamps’ World Cup winning team.
Lack of displays and general heartbreak in a season in which he managed just six goals and eight assists also saw him clash with then-club boss Rudi Garcia, who had entrusted him with the captaincy after Steve Mandanda joined Crystal Palace.
But last season saw the arrival of former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas, who rekindled the fire inside Payet’s belly by making him the fulcrum of the attacking and fluidity system the Portuguese has tried to implement.
A box office player with skills galore and exquisite free kicks to match, Payet scored 12 goals in all competitions last season and provided six assists for his teammates when Marseille finished second behind PSG in the aborted French season and won a return to the Champions League for the first time in six years.
Such is the esteem that Villas-Boas has for Payet, who in January of this year compared his situation at the club with that of Lionel Messi at Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus.
“Barcelona depends on Messi, Juventus depends on Ronaldo. If we are dependent on Payet, we are dependent on Payet ”, he reasoned.
But I don’t care. Good players make a difference. But I have no problem handling something like that. ‘
Channeling that burgeoning desire that is beginning to resurface within Payet has been key, but as has been the case so often with Payet, the complications have not been far behind.
Concerns about his weight, which Villas-Boas has wanted to minimize, have already surfaced this season, while the midfield maverick has also allowed this season’s matches against Saint-Etienne, Metz and Lille to overlook him.
Contracting coronavirus in August also saw him miss the first game of the season against Brest, but it was the 1-1 draw against Lyon earlier this month that really saw the best and worst of the Marseille star.
Payet shot Marseille ahead of a pass from former Newcastle winger Florian Thauvin for his first goal of the season, but quickly became a villain when he recklessly lunged at Leo Dubois’s ankle.
Referee Stephanie Frappart initially booked Payet, but upgraded him to a red card after a VAR review.
The rash nature of the challenge may have been apparent to all, but Payet’s commitment to Marseille, reckless as it may be, is unquestionable.
He had suggested last season that he could leave Marseille if they were not ambitious heading into the group stage of the Champions League.
But in June he put an end to all speculation by signing a two-year contract extension with Marseille until 2024 and agreed to cut his salary in half for this season to help the club deal with the ongoing pandemic.
“The club did what it had to do to recover when I needed it. The club has given it to me and I wanted to give it back, ” Payet said after signing the agreement.
‘The idea came to mind when the president talked about things and who better than me to lead by example? I love this club and I am willing to do anything to make it grow. It’s good to say you love, but it’s better to show it. ‘
A more controversial way to show love is to poke fun at rival clubs, and Payet did just that on social media by poking fun at Paris Saint-Germain’s final Champions League loss to Bayern Munich last season.
He then returned to Twitter last month and posted a Photoshopped image of Neymar crying after his team ended its nine-year winless streak against the Ligue 1 champions in a match marred by the Brazilian’s altercation with Álvaro González, with the duo since they were acquitted. making discriminatory comments in the raid.
But many worry that Payet’s behavior on social media has distracted him from the more pressing question of getting in shape, apparently admitting that he is “ lacking juice ” in his legs, while Villas-Boas explained that Payet told him. he had said he might be. making it much better.
The key to doing that, according to Alain Perrin, his former coach at Saint Etienne, is to make sure he’s psychologically prepared.
“It needs confrontation, it will always be able to react to it, given its technical qualities,” Perrin told L’Equipe.
“Once you are in a routine, it is much more difficult.”
However, that confrontation and motivation could come against a formidable, albeit injury-ravaged side, Man City, particularly given that they only managed one assist in the two games they faced in the Premier League.
The French team has players like former Aston Villa left-back Jordan Amavi, captain and goalkeeper Mandanda, as well as Bayern Munich loan player Michael Cuisance among their ranks.
But they will need them, as well as midfielders Kevin Strootman and Morgan Sanson, to react with the club still reeling from their last-gasp loss to Olympiacos in their opening Group C game.
City itself, of course, have battled French rivals in recent seasons, having suffered a shocking knockout in the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season at the hands of Lyon.
That devastating defeat came three years after a Monaco side with players like Kylian Mbappé and current Liverpool midfielder Fabinho knocked out Pep Guardiola’s men with away goals in the round of 16.
While not much is at stake in Tuesday’s game, Villas-Boas hopes that the formidable task they face of trying to get out of the group will spark a reaction from Payet’s bullish and intense side to show that his side belongs. the largest of the European stages.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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