Vous or Tu? It speaks volumes about Habib Diarra that his joy at being promoted from Strasbourg’s Under-17s to the first team was mixed with worry over the two French words for “you.”
Would addressing new, established teammates by using “tu” be regarded as disrespectful? In the end, the promising talent played safe and chose the more polite “vous”. This prompted wholesale laughter from the older players who instructed him not to be so silly; he was one of them now.
“Once I received 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.’ England's top flight was always a goal of mine and the coach presented me with a well-defined and appealing project.”
Roughly half a decade later, Diarra is sitting in an office at Sunderland’s Academy of Light detailing why he ignored overtures from, among others, several top European clubs. His innate courtesy endures but it is apparent that the young Senegal international and uncertainty are practically unacquainted. Diarra carries himself with the self-assurance befitting a player who led Strasbourg at the tender age of twenty and, only last month, returned from Morocco holding an AFCON championship trophy.
A Defined Vision
Now that the groin issue that kept him out for much of the first half of the league campaign resolved, Diarra is on a mission to demonstrate precisely why he agreed to become Sunderland’s most expensive acquisition last summer. Analysts in France and Senegal queried Diarra’s unfashionable choice but he knew all about Régis Le Bris’s standing as a talented youth coach.
“It came as no shock by the coach’s ability because I already knew what he’s able to achieve,” says Diarra. “Facing his teams I realised he was very good, very strong in terms of strategy. He’s someone I know is helping my game progress. And although our primary aim is reaching 40 points, a place in Europe is certainly a achievable goal this season.”
A Family Atmosphere
Outside, the cold winter gusts and driving rain makes Wearside look as bleak as it is often stereotyped. Inside, things are much more welcoming. The environment is devoid of the type of tension found in certain clubs where office workers are kept apart from first-team players. Diarra portrays the environment as “very organic” and commends Le Bris’s role in its creation.
“The coach always says to us that we have a familial bond here and we all fight for each other,” he says. “Each of us takes pride of each other.”
Freedom Within a Framework
If the structure, rigor and immense effort underpinning Sunderland’s defensive organization are a proof of the head coach’s attention to minutiae, Le Bris also likes his players to use their initiative. He offers his engine room players full freedom to improvise and interchange positions.
“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 all-action No 8. “During matches that feels good. That freedom is so important. Granit, our skipper, helps us a lot. He’s a really big player and a fantastic example.”
Path and Settlement
Diarra is speaking through a French interpreter but his English has progressed to the point where he can understand most questions. He is now focusing on acquiring the vocabulary to also answer them, which would be his third language. He is proficient in Wolof, the language he spoke in his youth in his hometown near Dakar.
His precocious maturity helped him combat the frustration of needing an operation followed by four months out of action last autumn. “Being injured so soon after arriving here was frustrating, for sure,” he says. “But it was up to me to manage myself.”
Diarra is now looking forward to 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 loved playing for France but my inner feeling prevailed,” says Diarra. “I have no remorse. I was born in Senegal; it makes me proud to play for them.”
Similar emotions apply to Sunderland. “I've settled very well,” he says. “I am really comfortable here.”
