People often let players who are on the less flamboyant side of the game slip their mind once their career is over. One such star was Lassana Diarra!
When the conversation about who the beautiful game's best defensive midfielders ever are arises, it seems the Frenchman is rarely ever brought up. The list would often include Sergio Busquets, Claude Makelele, N'Golo Kante, Xabi Alonso, Roy Keane, and Lothar Matthaus, among others, but where is the player who seemed to have an almost flawless list of attributes?
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The now-39-year-old decided to retire in 2019, with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain being the last club he played for. His career saw him travel across Europe, playing for the biggest clubs and winning trophies with them. His other most renowned stints were at Chelsea, Portsmouth, and Real Madrid. He won league titles in England, Spain and France, and even won the FA Cup with Pompey in 2008.
Interestingly enough, it is because of his stint at the English club that we have evidence to his true might and ability. Former Premier League star Jimmy Bullard once recalled an encounter in which the former France international took him by surprise. He admitted that he "never watched a lot of footie" so he was unaware of what Diarra could do and was given a practical demonstration of what the former midfielder was all about.
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"I was warming up and Danny Murphy went, ''You mark the (number) four'. So I'm warming up looking for the four and I look over there and I thought, 'four-and-a-half foot! Yeah, I'll mark the four, no problem,'" he said on a talkSPORT broadcast.
"The first 10 minutes, he (Diarra) gets the ball from the right-back, he gives me a shoulder dip on the left and he's gone away from me, and I've went, 'Wow'.
"You know, every now and then you come up against someone that's a bit special!
"I went, 'Alright, I'll let that pass', but 10 minutes later, the keeper's kicked it in the air – 50 yards in the air – and he does a Cruyff turn on the boing and gets away, and I'm trying to track back.
"We went in at half-time, and I said: 'Who's the four, Danny?' And he said, 'That's Diarra, he's off to (Real) Madrid next week'."
The former PSG midfielder was labelled as a jack of all trades, and quite rightly so. As Bullard indicated, the Frenchman possessed the technical and dribbling ability to beat a player in any scenario, making him a valuable asset for any team's midfield. The set of skills he possessed, however, went way beyond that. He was crafty at winning the ball back for his side through either timing an interception or putting in a well-timed tackle.
With the ball at his feet, he would use his strength to shrug opponents off as he dribbled his way up the field. The former Los Blancos star was the ideal description of a holding midfielder (or a No. 6, as it is more commonly referred to in today's time) because he was good at what the position required.
If he were to be playing at the peak of his powers in today's game, his ability to win the ball back, recycle possession, break midfield lines using his quick feet, and use his strength to hold on to the ball would be highly valuable assets for a possession-based side. Regardless, for the type of player he was, he should be appreciated, remembered and carved into the book of football history.
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