The fault lies in a persistent left knee injury that prevents him from being able to express himself at the highest level, except during his time at Lecce in the 2022-2023 season. The main person concerned recognizes it himself. He sacrificed the rest of his career to go for this World Cup at all costs despite an already sore knee.I took a risk. I pushed myself but I don’t regret that choice.”
Not even if it cost him the French team, which he has not joined since September 2019. Because the Lyonnais was more used to frequenting the infirmary than the pitches after this unforgettable summer. His incessant relapses forced him to play only 49 games for Barcelona between 2018 and 2022.I went through very difficult times. I had a lot of resentment, a lot of things inside me and in the end, it didn’t allow me to move forward.”
To the point of giving in to fatalism to look towards the future.That’s life, I understood that in a career, there are ups, downs, things that happen, some of which I can’t handle on my own. We adapt to the situation, that’s how it is now. It’s a message that I pass on to young people, we really have to live in the present moment, take everything there is to take, realize that we have the chance to do an incredible job and, when we are in good health, we really have to take advantage of it.”
guillementWhen you are healthy, you really have to take advantage of it.
That’s what he was able to do when he was resurrected at Lecce, one of the only clubs that wanted him after his contract in Catalonia ended.”From January onwards, he had become Franco Baresi with his way of commanding the defence and his outings with the ball at his feet,” remembers Marco Baroni, his coach in Puglia.
Last summer, Losc jumped at the opportunity to repatriate him but his demons caught up with him. 713 minutes divided into 13 appearances and one operation. From that damn left knee, of course. At 30 years old, as he enters his last year of contract in the North, Samuel Umtiti is no longer breaking his stride. He just wants to find her. To live, on the meadows, a few more beautiful years.
