Formal or informal? It says a lot about Habib Diarra that his joy at being elevated from Strasbourg’s Under-17s to the first team was accompanied by anxiety over the two distinct words for “you.”
Would addressing new, senior teammates by using “tu” be regarded as disrespectful? Ultimately, the promising talent played safe and chose the more polite “vous”. Cue wholesale laughter from the veterans who told him not to be so ridiculous; 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.’ 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 settled in an office at Sunderland’s Academy of Light explaining why he ignored overtures from, among others, several top European clubs. His natural politeness remains but it is clear 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 age of 20 and, only last month, returned from Morocco holding an Africa Cup of Nations championship trophy.
A Clear Project
Now that the groin issue that kept him out for much of the opening months of the league campaign healed, Diarra is on a quest to show exactly 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 capabilities because I already knew what he’s capable of,” says Diarra. “Facing his teams I understood he was very good, very strong tactically. He’s someone I know is aiding my development. And although our primary aim is reaching 40 points, a place in Europe is certainly a realistic target this season.”
A Unified Environment
Outside, the chilly February wind and driving rain makes Wearside look as grim as it is often depicted. Inside, things are much more welcoming. The environment is free of the type of strain found in certain clubs where office workers are deliberately segregated from first-team players. Diarra describes the environment as “really natural” and praises Le Bris’s role in its creation.
“Our manager repeatedly states 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 organisation, discipline and immense effort supporting Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a testament to the head coach’s attention to minutiae, Le Bris also likes his players to use their initiative. He offers his engine room players complete licence to be creative and interchange positions.
“The coach sets his tactics out within a framework but we have freedom 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, helps us a lot. He’s a massive influence and a superb role model.”
Journey and Adaptation
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 fluent in Wolof, the language he spoke growing up in his hometown near Dakar.
His precocious maturity helped him deal with the frustration of needing groin surgery followed by four months on the sidelines last autumn. “Being injured so soon after arriving here was disheartening, 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 global tournament. Given Senegal have been drawn in the same group as France, a poignant reunion 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 am really comfortable here.”
