Should the "unifier" Memphis Depay remain the leader of this OL?

• This Friday (9:10 p.m.) against PSG, in the final of the League Cup, Memphis Depay will play his first official match in seven months and his rupture of the anterior ligament of the left knee.
• Captain and leader of the Lyon team before this serious injury, the Dutch international has regained his feelings since the start of the preparation matches.
• But the 26-year-old player, who has only one season of contract left with OL, should he remain the boss of this team despite an uncertain form and future?

“It makes no sense to play in a full stadium if after the match, we cannot be happy with all the supporters. We want to be one with them but they don't want to be one with their team. "On December 10, Memphis Depay signed a media release of rare sincerity, just after a lunar qualification in the Champions League against Leipzig (2-2), marked by his (new) decisive goal but above all by the tensions between Bad Gones and Marcelo. Almost eight months and a rupture of the anterior ligament of the left knee later, the Dutch star of OL will find the light on Friday (9:10 p.m.) with the final of the Coupe de la Ligue against PSG.

🗣💬 "I'm furious. I have to be careful, because it reminds me of my past and I don't want to be that man anymore. I have become calmer, I have no words for it . "

👉 On the verge of tears, Memphis Depay reacted to the incidents after #OLRBL at the microphone of RMC Sport pic.twitter.com/IGCaMqxmeR

In the very sad context of a Stade de France welcoming only 5,000 spectators, this time there is little risk of seeing the former Mancunien go and tear a banner from the arms of a supporter. But a major question arises before the shocks against Paris and Juve: should Memphis Depay still be the absolute leader of this OL, from his first official match after his serious injury, and before a transfer window that could see him leave Lyon , one year from the end of his contract? With a quadruple against US Port Valais (OK, in a 12-0 against a Swiss D6) and a subtle Madjer against Celtic Glasgow (2-1), the number 11 Lyon proves that he still has something special.

📹 La Madjer signed @Memphis #OLCEL pic.twitter.com/eB9x7OLnrV

"He already has largely the level of Traore or Toko Ekambi"

To the point of taking back the keys to the game of OL, like a franchise player  in the NBA, despite a string of notable successes without him this winter, against OM in the Coupe de France (1-0), ASSE in L1 (2-0) and especially Juve in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League (1-0)? Lyon supporters necessarily keep in mind the previous Nabil Fekir, who has never been so radiant in his training club as in 2014-2015 (13 goals and 12 assists), before a similar injury. “Memphis will remain a leader, simply because there is no other in this team, said Richard, a regular at the south turn. We see that he already has largely the level of Bertrand Traoré or Karl Toko Ekambi, even after seven months without playing. Maybe he will mainly get involved in these games to sell himself in a month, but we can tell he will give everything. "

Because like almost every transfer window since the summer of 2018, the name of the 26-year-old Dutch international will fuel a lot of rumors in the coming weeks, especially since he has so far not materialized the wish to Jean-Michel Aulas to extend it well beyond 2021. In this configuration, a club usually seeks to quickly sell its player so as not to see him go free a year later. But basically, doesn't a player, decisive as he is, lose legitimacy when he seems to be on the verge of ending his adventure somewhere? French champion twice with OL, the former side Jean-Marc Chanelet sheds light on this subject.

It is a management of ego that belongs to the coach, because a player necessarily says to himself that he will lose his place in the eleven. But the OL group must be reassured to find Memphis Depay, who is the guy with a big mind who can make the difference at any time in this team. In addition, he is really a unifying player, and I find it hard to believe that he can be turned towards the transfer window with such titles to play. "

In the footsteps of the “real Memphis Depay” with the co-author of his biography https://t.co/OuaLCR6mES

Aubameyang and Gradel "never played pseudo-stars"

Seventeen years ago, Jean-Marc Chanelet was surprised by the departure from Villarreal of another Lyon attacking leader, Sonny Anderson. “This outcome did not prevent Sonny [12 goals in 24 L1 games that season] from being our leader until the end of 2002-2003. He never picked up, in any way. “In the Saint-Etienne rival, the most recent examples of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who left in 2013 for Borussia Dortmund, then of Max-Alain Gradel (Bournemouth in 2015), left the same impression on Jonathan Brison.

"These are guys who did not risk cheating one day, whether they are six years or six months from the end of their contract, assures the former defender of the Greens. There was a good chance that they would leave ASSE quickly but everyone knew they would do the job until the end. They never played pseudo-stars. "Aubame" and "Max" like their job too much for that. "

"The armband had transcended Eden Hazard"

A feeling shared on the Losc side by Belgian striker Gianni Bruno, very close to Eden Hazard in the North before his transfer to Chelsea in 2012. “We all quickly knew during the year that it was his last season at Lille, says the current player of Zulte Waregem (Belgium). As he continued to make us win matches and gave everything on the pitch, there was no concern in the group compared to Eden. He even scored a hat-trick for his very last match in Ligue 1! At the time, Rudi Garcia also gave him the captain's armband during certain meetings.

“It was a bit like a goodbye gift for Eden and it had transcended him”, remembers Gianni Bruno. So, one of the first decisions of Rudi Garcia in Lyon was precisely, in November 2019, to change captain, from the discreet defender Jason Denayer (chosen by Sylvinho) to the hot Memphis Depay.

🗣💬 "Memphis Depay is a real captain: he acted and spoke like a captain. It shows all the cohesion, solidarity and character of this group."

👉 Find Rudi Garcia's reaction after #OLRBL at the microphone of RMC Sport pic.twitter.com/dxoEhEwwS6

He pushes Tino Kadewere "to work harder"

Even if he could not enjoy it for long, due to his injury against Rennes on December 15, he has never hidden appreciating being one of the people who matter in Lyon. “Sometimes a leader talks to others and sometimes he doesn't say anything but shows things. I think I do both, ”he said, before a Champions League match against Benfica, last November.

A month ago, for the Zimbabwean newspaper  Daily News , OL rookie Tino Kadewere praised the welcome his captain had given him in the locker room: “Memphis is a very good leader. I learn a lot from him. He asked me how my career has gone so far and he pushes me to work harder. Another story twisting the neck of Memphis' reputation as a mercenary "  natural born leader  " Depay.

Lyon

OL: What mark has Memphis Depay left on Manchester United supporters?

Sport

VIDEO. OL: Between “animality” and “arrogance”, isn't Memphis Depay more than a player addicted to anthology goals?

• Lyon
• Ligue's cup
• Sport
• Soccer
• Memphis depay
• PSG
• OL