“I always liked to take my time. » Slipped into the middle of the discussion, this sentence sums up Mousa Dembélé’s state of mind quite well. Retired from the field since 2022 and a final stint in China, the former Belgian international now lives at his own pace, « without looking in the rear ». Which pushed him to move away from Football to invest in real estate and settle down under the Portuguese sun. Relaxing.
Mousa, you haven’t necessarily had a lot of media coverage during your career. But since your retirement, we’ve talked about you as a thrill player, with compilations on social networks or YouTube.
It’s true. I felt this recognition after my career. There are many videos of me on social networks, some outright say that I was one of their favorite players. (Laughs.) Football is like this: when you watch every week Match of the Day (Gary Lineker’s show on the BBC, Editor’s note)we always pay more attention to those who score goals or are decisive. Me, with my position, people learned to appreciate me in hindsight. But honestly, I always felt considered, both by colleagues and supporters.
Was it a desire on your part to go under the radar?
It wasn’t a choice, just my personality. I’m not really a shy person like N’Golo Kanté for example, but I don’t like being the center of attention either.
My ball protection is a signature, and it’s great for any footballer to be recognized for a particular aspect.
Like many players appreciated by purists, we often praise the ease you exuded on the pitch, so much so that we found you almost nonchalant.
Clearly, I am nonchalant. (Laughs.) Not just in football, but in everyday life. I liked winning, and you don’t become a top athlete if you don’t seek victory. But let’s say that beyond the performance, I always wanted to do what seemed pleasant to me to watch. It is also a question of education. My parents always told me to never worry about how others looked, and I always kept that phrase in mind.
There’s a completely crazy figure circulating about you: you only lost thirteen balls in six seasons. It’s true ?
This statistic is my urban legend. (Laughs.) Obviously, that’s false, but it illustrates the player I was and the mark I left in people’s heads. I’m even more proud of it, because it’s a technical aspect that I learned from my street matches. When I played street footballthe objective was to keep the ball as long as possible. My ball protection is a signature, and it’s great for any footballer to be recognized for a particular aspect. It’s like a registered trademark.
Where did this self-control come from?
It’s simple. When I entered the field, I looked at my opponent and said to myself: « First, you won’t dribble at me; second, you won’t take the ball from me. » It was my way of starting the match without inferiority complex. On the other hand, all my dribbles worked instinctively. I did a simple analysis: on the ground, when you plan something, it generally goes wrong. This is sometimes seen with young people who lack spontaneity in their actions. We quickly guess when they want to do a hook or a leg pass. What I tried to perpetuate is precisely this sense of improvisation.
Did you have a favorite gesture?
(He thinks.) No favorite technical gesture, but a weakness for body feinting: without touching the ball, I swung my body, the opponent went in the other direction and bam, I sprinted! I worked a lot on my balance, to have good footwork. I also used my hand to protect my ball. It’s a gesture that I get from basketball, because I’ve done it a lot. When I felt the opponent behind me, I put my hand in opposition to prevent him from approaching my zone, like a reverse screen in basketball. It was a reflex, then it became an asset.
This is a criticism that has been repeated to me all my career, my low stats. But from a certain age, I stopped thinking about it.
We spoke with Georges Leekens to prepare this interview, he who really liked you when he was at the head of the Red Devils between 2010 and 2012. He told us that the only thing we could reproach you for on the pitch, it was your lack of goals.
I can understand this criticism, because statistics are part of football. But I remember that at Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino told me that he didn’t care about my number of goals as long as we won our matches. He knew that I recovered a lot of balls, that I broke lines, that I projected myself… I could have scored more, but I also know that I gave a lot of myself physically on the pitch. A player who releases the ball faster necessarily retains energy to be lucid in front of goal. This is a criticism that has been repeated to me all my career, my low stats. But from a certain age, I stopped thinking about it.
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Speaking of Pochettino, what was your time at Tottenham (2014-2019) like?
Amazing ! We had very good players, but above all an excellent team. When Pochettino arrived, we started training a lot harder. It was very intense, stricter than before… The results came later: we easily won matches that had given us problems before. What’s a shame is not having gotten our hands on a trophy. But hey, above all I try to remember what we built as a team: there were results, great play and we made people happy.
When we think back to your years in London, we often cite your Champions League match against Juventus in 2018 (2-2). Was it the best of your career?
I actually did very well that day! After a good performance in a big Champions League match, and against a team like Juventus, we are always complimented. But I don’t think it was inherently the best match I played. Even though Juve had a good team, I don’t think they were that strong at that time. For example, I played much better matches against Manchester City or Liverpool who I consider to be stronger.
We also remember a match against Real Madrid, a few months earlier, where you contained Casemiro well. Does it feel good to say that you stood up to one of the best midfielders of the decade?
I remember that match against Madrid: it was very tense. It actually ended in trouble with Sergio Ramos, people still talk to me about it. To be honest, I hadn’t really paid attention to who I was facing. I never watch football and therefore didn’t often know the players I faced. Generally, if I haven’t already faced a player, I will know their name, but will be unable to tell you their qualities. Mind you, that’s not arrogance, it’s just that I really never liked watching football! (Laughs.)
Was this already the case when you were a child and you dreamed of becoming a footballer?
My father loved football, he used to tell me: « Come watch the match, you can learn a lot. » But why watch other people play when I can do it myself? I didn’t understand this concept. The other day with Jan Vertonghen, we wanted to watch the Classic between Real Madrid and Barça. But after a few minutes, we started talking and we didn’t follow the game. Well, I’m still trying to give my son a taste for football by watching a few matches with him, it’s working a little.
I am ready to fight if anyone criticizes Andrés Iniesta.
We talked about your great performances. At the same time, there is also a bad one: against France, in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
I had to have an important tactical role that day: I was supposed to receive the balls, eliminate players, break lines. The coach (Roberto Martínez, NDLR) gave me a lot of responsibility and I didn’t want to disappoint him. Mentally, I made a mistake: putting enormous pressure on myself. During the match, I forced actions that I don’t usually try, I dribbled at inopportune moments. Even simple gestures didn’t work for me.
How do you explain it?
The coach told me that I would play the quarter-final against Brazil, before changing his mind. Against France, I motivated myself too much. Maybe because it was a semi-final, maybe because I hadn’t played the previous match and I wanted to prove my level. Normally, I’m relaxed, confident with the ball, but that day, I wanted to show that I was capable of dribbling a guy, two guys… Then when we lose a few balls, we think. Summary: We lost and I didn’t do well.
Since then, France-Belgium has become a rather special rivalry.
(He cuts.) Not really. For my part, there has never been any real rivalry with France. In Flanders, we do not feel this duality. This is more the case in the French-speaking part, in Wallonia. For the Flemings, the rivalry perhaps concerns the Netherlands, at the limit.
You have 82 caps with Belgium, but you have had relatively little playing time in major tournaments compared to the other stars of the squad. For what ?
What few people know is that at Tottenham, I had pain every day. I was playing undercover. Theoretically, the international breaks should allow me to rest, but I had to join the selection. So I never ended up having my rest periods. I really wanted to play for Belgium and I loved it, but it was too much sometimes, the traveling and the load of matches.
The Red Devils are often criticized for not having won anything. The label of “ golden generation » Was it too heavy to carry?
To tell you the truth, I never paid attention to this nickname. On the pitch, I knew what to do, Hazard too, De Bruyne too… Why didn’t we win anything? Great question. There are several factors, but I don’t think this “ pressure” is one of them. Other teams participated in these competitions, and it was not necessarily the most qualitative that won.
Even though you don’t follow football much, who are your favorite players to watch?
I’ll give you my top 3, it will be simpler. First, my favorite player remains Ronaldinho: I played against him twice (during the 2008 Olympics, Editor’s note)it’s an immense pride. Then there’s Iniesta, then Okocha, who really, really made me like it. Iniesta, I’m ready to fight if anyone criticizes him!
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