Ben Yedder, the barometer of Monaco / C3 / Gr. B / Monaco-PSV / SOFOOT.com
Transparent Sunday during the defeat in Brest (2-0), Wissam Ben Yedder must show his best face this Thursday against PSV Eindhoven to help AS Monaco get closer to qualification, but also to maintain his place in the team of France, while Didier Deschamps must announce his list at 2 p.m.
Sunday on the lawn of the Brest Stadium, Wissam Ben Yedder showed everything that we do not like to see in an attacker: the inability to create an opportunity, bad aggressiveness and nervousness. Warned at 81e minute for a nudge in the face of Lilian Brassier, the Monaco captain again showed his face of bad days, while he remained on an upward slope (six goals in the last five league games). Replaced by Youssouf Fofana in the wake of his stroke, the 31-year-old is far from having honored his status as a leader, and this, at the worst of times, since ASM will bow to the relegation of Brest. (2-0). A gesture that also illustrates his difficulties to remain, like his club, constant and serene over the length.
“I always have this hunger to want to do more”
While the results of AS Monaco are disappointing in Ligue 1 (10e with 17 points), the Principality’s club can get closer to qualifying for the next round in the Europa League if they win this Thursday against PSV Eindhoven, beaten in the Netherlands two weeks ago. Two faces for the same team: an observation that also applies to its attacking leader. Author of an exceptional second part of the 2020-2021 season (20 pawns, his career record over one season, Editor’s note), WBY had a difficult start to the cuvée. Capable of the best (scorer in four consecutive matches in Ligue 1, his second best series after September-October 2019), but also of the worst (no goal in the first six days), the Monegasque has always kept the confidence of his coach this season, even though it did not trigger a C3 match (entered the game against Sturm Graz and PSV, he seated against Real Sociedad). If his statistics remain honorable (190 goals and 65 assists in 402 games since the 2010-2011 season), the former Toulousain always aims higher every year. “The idea will be to continue, to put a little more, explained the Monegasque to the magazine The team before the kick-off of the 2021-2022 vintage. Every year, I always thought I would do better, that’s what helps me take the steps. Maybe I’ll have to be even more able to influence the games at stake. I always have this hunger to want to do more. I don’t doubt myself. ” So much the better because these famous high-stakes matches will be linked together for him and his troop, by the end of the calendar year.
Between the European adventure and domestic shocks (Lille, PSG or even Rennes will stand in his way between now and the truce), the boy from Garges-Lès-Gonesse must now lead a young group whose ambitions depend on results acquired in the near future. A challenge that Ben Yedder gladly takes up, taking his role as captain to heart. “It was a good mark of confidence. I was with a lot of young people, they had to be pulled up, confided the attacker to uefa a few days ago. It was a new responsibility for me, a new challenge to be captain, even though I was in Toulouse. I knew how to adapt, I knew how to analyze, to see the good side of things and I like it well in this role. Today I play with a lot of young people, so I have to show them things. I can’t show them by talking because I’m an introvert. I don’t try to do it with my actions anymore. ”
A blue place to keep
A silent leadership which will have to continue to materialize on the ground, if it wants this to reach the ears of Didier Deschamps again. While the coach must announce his list this Thursday afternoon for the qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup (Kazakhstan, Finland), Wissam Ben Yedder knows he has no room for error if he wants to keep his place in the 23. Systematically called since June 2019, Ben Yedder must be content with crumbs left by Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud when the AC Milan striker was still around. Holder five times in fifteen selections, the last of which dates back to November 2020 against Finland (a few days before catching the Covid, editor’s note), the Monegasque striker scored only two small goals against Andorra in September 2019. Worse, he finished the Euro with zero minutes on the clock and did not come into play in the two League of Nations matches. A difficult situation to accept for a player of his caliber, currently second top scorer in activity in Ligue 1 (107 pawns) behind Kylian Mbappé (112) and fifth French at European level (ahead of Benzema, Griezmann, Gameiro and Lacazette) . That’s good, the boy is not afraid of failure and intends to rectify the situation to ensure a bright future in the Principality and among the Blues, even at 31 spring.
By Analie Simon