Since the beginning of his career, Ousmane Dembele has consistently received the trust of all the coaches he has worked with, even though he does not always perform well or effectively. Why is this 26-year-old French international treated so “specially”?
The final 24 minutes of the match in the 3-0 victory against Strasbourg certainly did not leave any mark for Dembele. However, it delivered a different message: it was the warm-up for the former Barca star’s return to the starting lineup before the showdown with Milan at Parc des Princes this week.
In the simplest terms, whatever happens, except for a last-minute injury, Dembele will still occupy a starting position against Milan this week. In the press conference after the victory against Strasbourg, coach Luis Enrique received many questions about Dembele, especially the recent criticisms of the French player, who has not scored a goal in PSG colors in 10 matches on all fronts.
In response, Lucho wholeheartedly defended his player and asserted his absolute confidence in Dembele. “I think we have to make the most of Ous. To me, he is a unique player. I don’t see any problem when Ous doesn’t score or assist. He always creates numerical superiority when three opposing players are focused on marking him, creating space for his teammates.
Ours is not afraid of being blocked or tackled. He pressures the opponent and tracks back to support the defense. We want to take advantage of that. And as for scoring goals? Sooner or later, Ous will score. I have no worries about him at all. I like Ous’s style of play, and I don’t see him doing anything wrong,” Enrique emphasized why he always trusts Dembele like this.
Lucho is not the first (and certainly not the last) coach to have “blind faith” in Dembele. The French winger has faced regular efficiency problems since the start of his career. In his first ten appearances for PSG, Dembele has not scored a goal and has only provided two assists.
“Ousmane quickly adapts to new teams. He is excellent at dribbling confusing opponents when marking him. He only needs to improve his effectiveness in the penalty area. But this is nothing new. Ousmane needs to work more on his finishing,” Julien Stephan, one of Dembele’s first coaches at Rennes, recently emphasized.
Stephan also said that Dembele is a rare player who poses great danger to opponents, opens up space for his teammates, and can solve situations with technical skill. “We need to demand rigor from talents like Ousmane but not forget the positive things he brings to the team,” coach Stephan added.
Meanwhile, when Ronald Koeman was coaching Barca, he also affirmed his trust in the French player. “I admire Ousmane because he is always different from the rest. Ousmane has qualities that other players do not have. With those qualities, he is willing to fight, dribble, and find solutions,” Koeman emphasized Dembele like that in 2021.
Before moving to PSG with a €50 million deal, Dembele also received unwavering trust from Xavi Hernandez, even though he did not always perform explosively. Before that, Thomas Tuchel also stated that he liked Dembele’s spectacular style of play and always trusted him when they worked together at Dortmund. In the French national team, coach Didier Deschamps prioritized the former Rennes player in the right-wing position for the Gaul Roosters.
“Ousmane? No need to worry. He doesn’t score because other players have scored. Look at what he brings to us. Simply because Ousmane can do many things that others cannot,” Deschamps responded to the media when asked about his “hard-to-understand” trust in Dembele.
Like other coaches who have led Dembele, Deschamps wants to utilize his dribbling and robust playing style, not afraid of being tackled, to make a difference in the Les Bleus attack.
Returning to the upcoming match against Milan, Coach Enrique emphasized that the understanding between Dembele and Achraf Hakimi is undoubtedly one of the keys to helping PSG penetrate Milan’s defense and defeat goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Dembouz will especially face his French national teammate, Theo Hernandez. Let’s see how Dembele responds to Lucho’s trust.
