After months of injuries and subpar performances, the Jordanian delivered a big performance against Brest a fortnight ago. Despite a more neutral match at Saint-Étienne last Saturday, the hope of a return of the winger to his best level exists before the arrival of Lille, Sunday December 1 (3 p.m.) at La Mosson.
A breakthrough to bring the penalty to 1-0, another to provoke the free kick transformed by Khazri, then a race to provoke a second penalty, missed by Nordin: two weeks ago, Mousa Tamari (27 years old) had been the one of the main organizers of the match won by Montpellier HSC against Brest (3-1). The performance, noticed and remarkable, was all the more so as the Jordanian had not repeated them in recent months, far from his explosive debut with Paillade.
The trip to Saint-Étienne (1-0), last Saturday, was not of the same ilk. If he provoked and was not sparing in his returns, the winger mainly brought back a cold. This “cold snap” should not call into question his participation on Sunday against Lille at La Mosson. Where the hope of a return of his strength is very great, after long periods of being handicapped by injuries.
The shoulder, affected in the final of the Asian Cup in February, had interfered with the end of last season. When the news broke, a major ankle sprain deprived him of five games. Until this match against the Bretons, a form of reward for an element which “works and always wants to play even when he is not in full possession of his means”confides someone close to the club.
“It takes time to get back to 100%”
“We know very well that he is a very important player. He is capable, on one play, of dribbling past two or three players and scoring a solo goal. Defensively, he makes enormous efforts too. Afterwards, it takes time before returning to 100% after an injury”believes Joris Chotard.
Upon his arrival from Belgium, Tamari did not need it, almost single-handedly dispersing an Olympique Lyonnais sunk with a double, on August 19, 2023 (1-4). But after these ideal beginnings (3 goals, 3 assists in his first 12 matches), he experienced a first slump. A descendant of Palestinians, the one who is an idol in Jordan then made no secret of being very affected by the conflict in Gaza. On the pitch, the ex-Louvain player also lost his element of surprise against his opponents. And sometimes got stuck in the search for individual exploits, dribbling too much.
A trend that Michel Der Zakarian and his staff had tried to mitigate, in vain. When Nordin, at the start of the year, lined up the performances on the right side, the one favored by Tamari, a fan of the “false foot”.
Described as very discreet in the locker room, where he always speaks English and never complains, the Jordanian invited himself back into the game with his match against Brest. He recalled all the good he can do at the MHSC Gasset version. Which is now awaiting a sequel.
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