Formal or informal? It speaks volumes about Habib Diarra that his delight at being promoted from Strasbourg’s Under-17s to the first team was mixed with worry over the two distinct words for “you.”
Would addressing new, older teammates by using “tu” be seen as too familiar? In the end, the young midfielder played safe and chose the more formal “vous”. This prompted wholesale laughter from the older players who instructed him not to be so ridiculous; he was part of the group now.
“After I had 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 dream of mine and the coach presented me with a well-defined and appealing project.”
Almost five years later, Diarra is settled in an office at Sunderland’s Academy of Light explaining why he turned down offers from, among others, several top European clubs. His natural politeness remains but it is evident that the 22-year-old Senegal international and uncertainty are practically unacquainted. Diarra carries himself with the self-assurance suited to a player who led Strasbourg at the tender age of twenty and, only last month, returned from Morocco holding an AFCON championship trophy.
A Clear Project
With the groin injury that kept him out for much of the opening months of the domestic season healed, 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 questioned Diarra’s surprising decision but he knew all about Régis Le Bris’s reputation as a talented youth coach.
“I haven’t been surprised by the coach’s capabilities 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 aiding my development. And although our first objective is reaching 40 points, European qualification is certainly a realistic target this season.”
A Unified Environment
Outside, the chilly February wind and driving rain makes Wearside look as bleak as it is often stereotyped. Internally, things are considerably warmer. The atmosphere is free of the type of tension notable at certain clubs where administrative staff are kept apart from first-team players. Diarra describes the environment as “really natural” and praises Le Bris’s role in its creation.
“The coach always says to us that we have a familial bond here and we all support 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 out-of-possession shape are a testament to the head coach’s attention to minutiae, Le Bris also likes his players to think for themselves. He offers his midfielders full freedom to be creative and swap roles.
“Our manager establishes his tactics out within a framework but we have license to play within it,” says Diarra, who prefers to be deployed as a box-to-box No 8. “Out on the pitch that feels good. That autonomy is so important. Our captain, Granit, 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 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 growing up in his hometown near Dakar.
His precocious maturity helped him combat the disappointment of needing groin surgery followed by four months on the sidelines last autumn. “Getting hurt so soon after arriving here was frustrating, for sure,” he says. “But it was up to me to manage myself.”
Diarra is now anticipating 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 settled very well,” he says. “I feel really comfortable here.”
