‘Kylian Mbappe is the best’ says Tchouameni, the man who will mark Leo Messi in the World Cup final
Aurelian Tchouameni, the defensive midfielder of France who once got an earful from his father for being an “ordinary player”, will reportedly be the man to mark Leo Messi. In the absence of Kante, who successfully blocked Messi at the 2018 Russia world cup, Tchouameni has shown this world cup that he is capable of rising to the occasion.
“Doing it against Messi is better, because he is a great player,” is how Tchouameni put it a day before the grand finale. “It’s difficult,, but we’re all going to work together to achieve it. We’re going to make a plan, recover well and work to win this game because Messi will be there, but he also has ten other players his side ,” said Tchouameni
He was indefatigable against Morocco. The Marco newspaper’s stats show that he recovered the most balls (11), even more than Morrocco’s Amrabat (10). Tchouameni also served France’s third-highest passes (40), only the defenders Varane and Konate passed more.
Tchouameni also reckoned that his team-mate Kylian Mbappe will out-star even Messi in the final. “”For me, Kylian is the best… and he will prove it on Sunday,” he said.Subscriber Only StoriesPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
His father has been the biggest fan, and also the prime motivator with timely barbs to inspire and stir him to greater heights. His father tells L’Equippe about a episode in December 2020 with his son.
“In Bordeaux, I was very hard on him…In December, we are on vacation in Paris, I tell him: “I want to see you alone.” And I end up saying to him: “You’re an ordinary player! We don’t talk about you. Nothing. You don’t make the front page of any newspaper. You play quietly. You’re going to end up in Ligue 1, what! “Ah, that was… wow! It hurt him.
“He leaves my hotel room a little angry. The next day, he said to me: “You’ll see.” From January 2021, it is no longer the same. Three weeks later, he scored his first goal in L1 against OM (3-1). It had touched him! Moreover, as soon as he performs well, he sends me “he’s your ordinary player, huh!” the father recalled.
Tchouameni’s chief trait is his relentless ball-winning ability, picking up loose balls and showing the combativeness to block passes. He tends to get close, tight, to opponent strikers to defend. The Athletic once reported on his strength to work on the “blindside of his opponents, which allows him to nick in front and intercept as they receive the ball”. It won’t be easy to replicate that against Messi, the wandering walker who erupts suddenly into thick of things. Tchouameni’s is also known for his progressive passing – active balls into dangerous areas forward rather than merely for possession.
A big follower of NBA, he got hooked to the American culture he told his then club Monaco through “great athletes, great musicians and horical figures like Martin Luther King”.
In the final, he will have Rabiot his side, who had missed the semi-final due to an illness. Both will have to play a pivotal role, alongside the playmaker Greizmann to stop Messi and feed the balls out to the strikers.
“We’ll have to defend well. We’ll have to show all our qualities. It’s a World Cup final, there’s Messi, but there’s also a lot of quality on the sidelines. We have to be prepared, be aware of the opportunity we have to make hory. We’ll see what happens,” Tchouameni has said.
