'We’re like a family here': Sunderland's midfielder revels in good times at Sunderland.
Vous or Tu? It says a lot about the young Senegalese star that his delight at being elevated from Strasbourg’s Under-17s to the first team was mixed with worry over the two distinct words for “you.”
Would addressing new, established teammates by using “tu” be considered disrespectful? Ultimately, the promising talent opted for caution and selected the more formal “vous”. Cue wholesale laughter from the older players who told him not to be so ridiculous; he was one of them now.
“Once I received 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.’ England's top flight was always a ambition of mine and the coach presented me with a well-defined and appealing project.”
Almost five years later, Diarra is sitting in an office at Sunderland’s Academy of Light 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 doubt are practically unacquainted. Diarra conducts himself with the confidence befitting a player who captained Strasbourg at the tender age of twenty and, only last month, returned from Morocco holding an Africa Cup of Nations championship trophy.
A Defined Vision
With the groin injury that kept him out for much of the first half of the domestic season resolved, Diarra is on a quest to demonstrate precisely why he agreed to become Sunderland’s record £30m signing last summer. Pundits in France and Senegal queried Diarra’s surprising decision but he knew all about the manager's standing as a gifted youth coach.
“It came as no shock by the coach’s capabilities because I already knew what he’s capable of,” says Diarra. “Playing against 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 heavy downpour makes Wearside look as bleak as it is often depicted. Internally, things are considerably warmer. The atmosphere is devoid of the type of strain notable at certain clubs where office workers are kept apart from Premier League squads. 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. “We’re all proud of each other.”
Freedom Within a Framework
If the structure, rigor and sheer hard yards underpinning Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a testament to the head coach’s meticulous eye for detail, Le Bris also likes his players to think for themselves. He offers his midfielders complete licence to be creative and swap roles.
“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 box-to-box No 8. “Out on the pitch that is empowering. 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 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 deal with the frustration 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 handle the situation.”
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 inner feeling prevailed,” says Diarra. “There’s no regrets. I was born in Senegal; it makes me proud to play for them.”
Similar emotions apply to Sunderland. “I’ve adapted very well,” he says. “I feel really comfortable here.”
