The forgotten world star stuns the EM
The French football team shows a barely inspiring pragmatism at the EM. The offense is lacking, but the defense is exceptionally secure. Their leader is a man who had supposedly already vanished.
Where on earth is he coming from? N'Golo Kanté suddenly appears, no, here, no, next to, ah, who knows exactly ... now, he's standing next to Kevin De Bruyne and steals the ball from him. No one had seen that coming. Not even the Belgian superstar. He spreads his hands in despair. Someone could have told him that an unwelcome guest was announcing himself. A small defensive speech for his Belgian teammates: They too would have probably not seen where this Kanté had reappeared.
France sent the "Red Devils" home from the European Football Championship on the previous Monday. A 1:0 in the round of 16 was enough for that. In the 85th minute, the ball flew over the leg of the Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen into the goal. It would have been nice to credit Randal Kolo Muani with the goal, but the UEFA counted it as an own goal. For the Star Offensive of the Tricolor Team, this is a bitter attribution. Officially, they remain without a goal from the game.
This is really dramatic for the team of Didier Deschamps, not that it matters much. After all, what do grenades have if not: Kylian Mbappé! Antoine Griezmann! Ousmane Dembélé! And the others whose names I don't even know. But the debates can be handled, as long as the success is there. And it is. France is in the quarterfinals (Opponent is Portugal - Saturday evening, 9 PM/ZDF/MagentaTV and in the ntv.de-Live Ticker) and that without much effort. Or at least with plenty of room for improvement. At least when it comes to spectacle.
Kanté is everywhere again
They have their own store under control. That means: Customers come rarely. In football, different rules apply than in free market economy. The absence of customers often ends in bankruptcy or business closure in free market economy. In football, on the other hand, it is goal-oriented (in the sense of title ambition), if as few people as possible get lost in their own store, that is, their own defense. And this ensemble of Deschamps excels at this tournament. In four games, there was only one goal conceded. The only customer who took something was Robert Lewandowski with his much-discussed penalty kick against Poland.
The French let Belgium come up short again. Striker Romelu Lukaku was in good company with the center backs Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba. The tricky wingers Jeremy Doku and Yannick Carrasco were well taken care of by Theo Hernandez, who is a candidate for FC Bayern, and Jules Koundé, who was later named Man of the Match. But they all stand in the shadow of a man - where on earth is he coming from - who, despite his height, is not meant to cast too many shadows. With 1.68 meters, Kanté is not a great absorbing type. His shadow power comes from his play. Once upon a time, there were T-shirts with the inscription "70% of the Earth is covered by water, the rest by N'Golo Kanté." That means: He is always present. On the field, in training.
Team colleague Marcus Thuram was confused in front of the omnipresence during the Euro training camp and wondered if there were indeed three Kantes: "I have the impression that they have come in threes to Clairefontaine," he joked. "It's terrible, we can't train anymore. We know that we've won when he's with us. He's incredible."
Marked by personal blows
Yet he had been gone for a long time, lost in the desert. Like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and many other aging stars, the defensive midfielder had succumbed to the great call of money in the past summer. The Saudi football project had promised so many glitters that the now 33-year-old went to Al-Ittihad. Surprisingly, it was Kanté, this shy star, whose hearts were drawn to him. Surprisingly, he bestowed his brilliance on a country under international criticism for human rights violations. After all, he is a devout Muslim, and his religion binds him to the criticized state.
Kanté was a star because he didn't want to be a star. Because he didn't live in the limelight and was shaped by harsh personal blows. People love that kind of thing, apparently. "Why the whole world loves N'Golo Kanté," the magazine "France Football" wrote a few years ago. Early in his life, his father died, and he was only eleven years old at the time. Six years ago, his brother died. As a footballer, he experienced the brutal dark side of business. With a gun held out, he was reportedly asked to change his agent. He himself speaks little and, when he does, very quietly.
"His conquests were monstrous"
Glitz and Kanté don't go together. Neither does the Frenchman present himself as a brand like many of his prominent colleagues, nor does he entertain the crowd with the ball. Instead, he is the spectacle against the ball. When the Tricolor Équipe played against the Netherlands in the group stage, the Parisian native darted through the midfield like a devil. He was hardly graspable. It was just as hard to grasp how he disturbed the balls everywhere. "His conquests were monstrous," Koundé marveled. Nothing had changed.
Since he was in the desert, since he last played for France before this Euro preparation, it had been precisely two years. Knee problems and then a stubborn thigh injury had kept him out of action for months. He missed, among other things, the 2022 World Cup, which France finished as vice-champion. Since then, he had not been called up again. His time seemed to be over, especially with the move to the desert. There, it's not about football at the highest level anymore, it's about a powerful financial upgrade for footballers' pensions.
But Deschamps relied on the old man's help. Because the dazzling star Paul Pogba was suspended for doping, because Aurélien Tchouaméni got injured just before the tournament and it was unclear if things would still fit, and because Kanté was a World Cup winner under Deschamps in 2018, the coach relied on the veteran's services.
For the 33-year-old, there seems to be no expiration date. He is on par with the German metronome Toni Kroos. He plays as if he has never left the big stage. He plays like in his best times, when he surprisedly won the Premier League with Leicester City and afterwards, when he won the Champions League with Chelsea. He has covered 41 kilometers at this EURO already. His trainer is raving and amazed: "Kante runs more than ever." Kante was defining for defensive midfield for years. Just like he interpreted the role as ball thief and engine, so this role had to be filled. He deserved to be awarded the trophy as the best player in the world. But such a trophy rarely, if ever, goes to footballers who renounce the spectacle with the ball and instead create spectacle against the ball. An international injustice. Kante never complained about it. He runs and - huh - steals balls. Not just for fame. For the title.
France will face Portugal in the quarterfinals of the European Football Championship 2024, with Kante once again playing a crucial role in their defense. Despite his move to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, Deschamps relied on Kante's experience and talent, and the French midfielder has delivered, covering more ground than ever before.
N'Golo Kante's absence from the French team had been significant, but his return for the European Championship 2024 has been marked by impressive performances, as he continues to steal the spotlight with his ball-winning abilities, reminding everyone why he's considered one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
