Formal or informal? It speaks volumes about Habib Diarra that his joy at being promoted from the youth ranks at Strasbourg to the senior squad was accompanied by anxiety over the two French words for “you.”
Would addressing new, older teammates by using “tu” be seen as too familiar? Ultimately, the promising talent opted for caution and chose the more polite “vous”. This prompted wholesale laughter from the older players who told him not to be so silly; he was one of them now.
“After I had the first call with the coach, I reflected 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 ambition of mine and the coach outlined for me a well-defined and appealing project.”
Roughly half a decade later, Diarra is sitting in an office at the club's training ground explaining why he ignored overtures from, among others, several top European clubs. His innate courtesy endures but it is evident that the 22-year-old Senegal international and uncertainty are virtual strangers. Diarra conducts himself with the self-assurance suited to a player who captained Strasbourg at the age of 20 and, only last month, returned from Morocco clutching an AFCON winners’ medal.
A Clear Project
Now that the groin issue that kept him out for much of the opening months of the domestic season healed, Diarra is on a quest to demonstrate precisely why he agreed to become Sunderland’s record £30m signing 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.
“I haven’t been surprised 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 tactically. He’s someone I know is helping my game progress. And although our first objective is reaching 40 points, European qualification is certainly a achievable goal this season.”
A Unified Environment
Externally, the chilly February wind and driving rain makes the region look as bleak as it is often depicted. Internally, things are much more welcoming. The environment is devoid of the type of tension notable at certain clubs where administrative staff are kept apart from first-team players. Diarra portrays the environment as “really natural” and praises 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. “Each of us takes pride of each other.”
Liberty and Structure
If the organisation, discipline and immense effort underpinning Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a proof of the head coach’s meticulous eye for detail, Le Bris also likes his players to think for themselves. He offers his engine room players complete licence to improvise and swap roles.
“Our manager establishes his tactics out within a structure 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 feels good. That autonomy is so important. Granit, our skipper, guides 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 advanced to the point where he can grasp most questions. He is now focusing on acquiring the vocabulary to also answer them, which would be his third tongue. He is proficient in Wolof, the language he spoke in his youth in Guédiawaye near Dakar.
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 disheartening, 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 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.”
