Olympique de Marseille, which hosts Sporting Portugal on Tuesday October 4 for the 3rd day of the Champions League, is already back to the wall in the competition.
Beaten during the first two days, the Olympians will be able to count on the invaluable contribution of Jonathan Clauss for this crucial game for their European future, which will be played behind closed doors.
Coming to face the leader of their group, who have recorded two wins in two matches against Tottenham and Eintracht Frankfurt, all without conceding, the Marseille right piston is in sparkling form.
Much sought after by Croatian coach Igor Tudor since a very honest start to the season, Jonathan Clauss was starting to score physically before the recent international break.
Called up to the France team by Didier Deschamps to play, on September 22 and 25, the last two matches of the Blues before the World Cup-2022, the former Lensois, although selected twice, came back fully pumped up.
The ideal piston for the Tudor system
Friday, he was the driving force of OM during the victorious trip to Angers (0-3), on the occasion of the 9th day of Ligue 1. Aligned in the left lane to compensate for the absence of the usual holder , the Portuguese Nuno Tavares, Jonathan Clauss made an excellent copy by signing the opener and two assists.
Involved in the three goals of his team, he was logically elected man of the match.
"Jonathan Clauss is an incredible player, I knew it from the first time I saw him, said his coach at a press conference after the game. And he's a good boy, it's a pleasure to play. be his coach."
Even when playing on the left, @Djoninho25 is unstoppable 🤯
⚽️ 1 goal
🤝 2 assists#SCOOM (0-3) pic.twitter.com/hUKYko1FBO
— Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@Ligue1UberEats) September 30, 2022
Quickly adopted by the demanding Marseille public, who appreciate his fighting spirit and his ability to repeat efforts throughout a match, the French international (30 years old and six caps) has become an indispensable part of OM.
It must be said that his tireless piston profile fits perfectly with the very offensive system put in place by Igor Tudor.
Very toned, he struggles in his lane, in the offensive or defensive phase, and multiplies the races, sometimes at supersonic speed since he was flashed at 35.28 km / h this season in Ligue 1, which makes him the one of the fastest players in the championship behind Kylian Mbappé (36 km/h).
A decisive defender… offensively
But Jonathan Clauss is not only a machine for chaining races, he is above all a key player in the Marseille offensive animation with sharp calls and worked crosses, which give cold sweats to the opposing defenses.
And he is decisive, since in addition to the goal scored against Angers, he is his club's best passer in Ligue 1 with four offers in nine games.
In total, since August 2020, the native of Strasbourg, who scored five goals and delivered 11 assists in the colors of RC Lens last season, seems determined to panic the statistics: he is involved in 30 Ligue 1 goals ( 9 goals and 21 assists), the highest total for a defender in the five major European leagues over this period.
Proud 🇫🇷
—@equipedefrance pic.twitter.com/MRD4K7Ipg9
— Jonathan Clauss (@Djoninho25) September 15, 2022
All that remains is for him to confirm his talent against Sporting on the European scene, where, like his team, which was undefeated in nine league games (2nd in the standings with seven wins and two draws), Jonathan Clauss does not yet show the same efficiency.
A matter of time assure Marseille supporters completely infatuated with their side recruited this summer for nearly 7.5 million euros by president Pablo Longoria, even as Manchester United tried to attract the player from Lens to England.
It is true that Jonathan Clauss, from the amateur world, has demonstrated that he knows how to bide his time patiently.
Passed by Raon L'Etape or Avranches, he only knew the elite when he arrived in Lens, in the summer of 2020, after stints in the professional environment in Quevilly-Rouen (L2) and Bielefeld (D2 German).
An atypical career that did not prevent him from catching the eye of coach Didier Deschamps, who seems on track to take him to Qatar in a few weeks.
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