→ A large, very large volume of play
While ill-intentioned minds decried his choice to join Karim Benzema at Al Ittihad, N’Golo Kanté finally established himself as THE monster of National of Saudi Pro League. Established 44 times and accumulating 3822 minutes of play in all competitions, no one, not even the formidable chalk eater Hassan Kadesh, has done better than him. Well, Ittihad finally finished 4e of the championship 28 points behind the champion Al Nassr, but that is purely secondary when we see what resources the former Caen player still has under his belt at the age of 33.
→ Already a benchmark match this season
On October 24, you should not tune in in front of APOEL Nicosia-Borac Banja Luka, or even Jagiellonia Białystok-Petrocub Hîncesti. The real star of this Thursday evening was indeed Al Ittihad-Al Riyad. Not to see Birama Touré play again, who has since left for Montpellier, but to attend the masterclass bangeresque from N’Golo who takes a free kick from Moussa Diaby at the edge of the area, taken at ground level and thus offering victory to his club, currently second in the Saudi championship. The craziest part of all this? N’Golo completed no less than 105 (ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE!) passes, the best total by an SPL player this season. Maximum respect for this chicken, right?
→ An already winning armband port
Yes: N’Golo Kanté captain of the Blues, it’s 100% victories for the France team. Well ok, it only happened once (last September 9 against Belgium), but it still counts.
→ He’s small, he’s nice and that’s a big advantage
Since the reform of the protocol linked to interactions between the referee and the players, only the captain can now “ discuss » with the man with the whistle. In other words, the choice of the armband wearer should not be taken lightly, because entrusting it to a blood type could lead to the opposite effect of said discussion. But with a man as taciturn as he is discreet at the helm, there is no doubt that the referees will fall under the placid charm of N’Golo Kanté. Enough to imagine a post-career in international diplomacy? What’s better than a match against Israel in the middle of an international geopolitical mess to cut your teeth?
→ A boss and not just on the ground
It is well known that a captain must have a leadership mentality. So, certainly, N’Golo Kanté is far from what one could call a loudmouth, but he makes his leadership speak differently. By buying a club for example. Thus, since its arrival at the head of Excelsior Virton, the Gaum team has monopolized the top of the Belgian third division, where it currently occupies third place with a plethora of high-sounding names in its ranks, such as Logan Bailly, Florentin Pogba , Bilel Hassaini (nothing to do with the singer) or even Yanis Mbombo. When you manage to bring together a project like this, leading the French team is a piece of cake.
→ Who else actually?
This Monday evening, the training scheduled at Clairefontaine brought together only four players: Michael Olise, Adrien Rabiot, Randal Kolo Muani and… N’Golo Kanté. The latter is not only the oldest member of the group (33 years old), but he is also the only player to have won the 2018 World Cup (with Benji Pavard). When we are in the middle of a reconstruction phase, it is better to rely on solid foundations. Of which act.
A pro-Palestine rally planned on the sidelines of France-Israel
