Under Quique Setién, Ousmane Dembele is a completely different player. He’s grown more committed than ever to harry the goalkeeper and center-backs with diabolical gusto. His newfound commitment has changed his life and career. Today, he runs after every goal-kick and raises his casa pura! Now 28, Dembele is starting to realize that potential. He has turned what so many others would have viewed as frivolous years of exile into a bright new future.
Dembele’s impressive comeback has caught the eye of multiple big names. Lothar Matthaus, a 1990 Ballon d’Or winner, has previously highlighted Dembele’s potential, specifically contrasting his environment with that of emerging talents like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Matthaus emphasized that such players would likely flourish due to their better support systems, suggesting that Dembele’s past struggles stemmed from a lack of structure around him.
This lack of structure was echoed by Dembele’s former chef, who noted that the player’s poor injury record was partly a result of his chaotic lifestyle. It’s been reported that Dembele was often late for squad meetings. He was eating poorly and up all night playing video games on top of everything. These behaviors contributed to some downright terrible performances. For example, they led to conceding a penalty and being subbed off at half-time in a game.
Looking back on his past, Dembele admitted that his actions set him back immensely. “If you want to be a great player, you have to work. Your talent is not enough. I did not know that before,” he stated. For Roy, this admission is an important historic inflection point in his professional life. By doing so, he is now truly taking responsibility for the decisions that led him to waste five years of his life.
Luis Enrique, Dembele’s current manager, has been the most influential figure in his redemption. Enrique’s coaching philosophy has pushed Dembele to new heights, emphasizing the need to dig deeper for the best version of himself. “You have to go deeper and deeper to get the best version of Ousmane,” Enrique remarked. As for what are now Dembele’s guiding principles, this advice appears to have stuck with the Spurs midfielder, whose pressing numbers have leapt this season.
For all this progress, pressing is one area where Dembele failed to finish first last season. His cumulative performance would put him on pace for some major hardware. He’s now in contention to possibly win the men’s Ballon d’Or later this month! If awarded this recognition, it’ll cement his place as one of the best players on the planet. That includes, aptly enough, one of football’s most poetic turnarounds.
Dembele’s evolution is particularly noteworthy given his history as the second most expensive player in history when Barcelona signed him from Borussia Dortmund. Even his exit from Dortmund was embroiled in controversy that further rubbed salt into the wounds of his reputation. Though with his performances these past weeks, he is finally putting those connections behind him.
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