🔗 Share this article

Formal or informal? It reveals much about Habib Diarra that his delight at being promoted from the youth ranks at Strasbourg to the senior squad was accompanied by anxiety over the two French words for “you.”

Would addressing new, senior teammates by using “tu” be considered too familiar? In the end, the promising talent played safe and selected the more formal “vous”. This prompted 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 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 ambition of mine and the coach presented me with a clear and interesting project.”

Roughly half a decade later, Diarra is settled in an office at the club's training ground detailing why he turned down offers from, among others, several top European clubs. His innate courtesy remains but it is evident that the 22-year-old Senegal international and doubt are practically unacquainted. Diarra conducts himself with the confidence suited to a player who led Strasbourg at the age of 20 and, only last month, returned from Morocco clutching an Africa Cup of Nations championship trophy.

A Defined Vision

With the groin injury that sidelined him for much of the first half of the domestic season resolved, Diarra is on a mission to show exactly why he agreed to become Sunderland’s most expensive acquisition last summer. Analysts in France and Senegal questioned Diarra’s unfashionable choice but he knew all about the manager's reputation as a gifted youth coach.

“I haven’t been surprised by the coach’s ability because I already knew what he’s capable of,” says Diarra. “Facing his teams I realised he was very good, very strong tactically. He’s someone I know is helping my game progress. And although our primary aim is reaching 40 points, European qualification is certainly a achievable goal this season.”

A Family Atmosphere

Externally, the chilly February wind and heavy downpour makes the region look as grim as it is often depicted. Internally, things are much more welcoming. The atmosphere is free of the type of tension notable at certain clubs where office workers are deliberately segregated from first-team players. Diarra portrays 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 fight for each other,” he says. “We’re all proud of each other.”

Freedom Within a Framework

If the organisation, discipline and immense effort supporting Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a proof of the head coach’s meticulous eye for detail, Le Bris also likes his players to think for themselves. He offers his engine room players full freedom to be creative and interchange positions.

“The coach sets his tactics out within a structure 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. Granit, our skipper, helps us a lot. He’s a really big player 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 understand 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 in his youth in Guédiawaye 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 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 loved playing 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.”