Former PSG star: Dembele has made a poor start, with Zidane and Enrique trying to protect him | Goal.com
Jérôme Rothen, the former Paris Saint-Germain player, criticised Luis Enrique's comments in which he described Ousmane Dembélé as having been "brilliant" with the France national team, arguing that coaches overprotect their players.
France coach Zinedine Zidane leapt to the defence of his forward and his selections after the 1-1 draw with Italy. "I found him good in the two matches he started. I'm satisfied with what he does on the pitch. Ousmane does what Ousmane does. He moves a lot, he often drifts out of his position, and that's what matters to us. We often look at the goals, but I see things differently. I don't have much to reproach him for."
Luis Enrique took the same line at Friday's press conference. "For me, he (Dembélé) was brilliant as usual. He's a different kind of player, you can pay for your ticket quite happily just to see him on the pitch. He's always open to showing himself, to shooting, and to linking up with his team-mates. He was very good."
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Rothen wasn't buying it. He hit back on French radio station "RMC": "We're talking about Zidane, who makes statements in which he says: it's fine. There was no problem, even the two full-backs were good. No, it wasn't that good. There were things that worked and things that didn't. And from there, to treat us like idiots. We just have to be fair. He pushes himself to say positive things like this, no problem."
"When you're a player like Ousmane Dembélé, do you think he needs to hear that his national team coach is satisfied, and that Luis Enrique finds him brilliant?" he added. "Ousmane is certainly going through a lot of things at the moment. We have to admit that the start of the season has been a failure with Paris, and not up to the level of his talent. The four matches with the France national team are not at all up to what he can do. And yet he's the Ballon d'Or winner."
Rothen pressed on: "If Luis Enrique or Zinedine Zidane said: he played, there are positive things and things that didn't work, but we'll correct them in the next gathering, is that dangerous? Stop passing on these messages about protecting the players. What are you protecting?"
Former France star Emmanuel Petit saw it differently, backing Luis Enrique's way of communicating. "This is one of the prerogatives of coaches at the very highest level. At no point should a coach attack his player in the public arena, because that gives ammunition to the entire press, unless he has repeated mediocre performances and his behaviour in the dressing room was poor."
Ex-goalkeeper Benoît Costil felt "Luis Enrique cannot tear Dembélé apart" after his performance with the national team. "We're in October, all the big occasions are approaching, and with the current debates around the Ballon d'Or, Luis Enrique is playing on that."
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