Senegal – Peru: too strong, too “Sarrein” Mamadou

Popular opinion is that a “good” defender is necessarily aggressive. Mamadou Sarr proves that you can be excellent while remaining calm. His Sarrenity, oops what am I saying, his serenity has become his greatest strength. Against Peru, this Saturday in a friendly, he demonstrated it again.

For this friendly match, Pape Thiaw preferred to renew his central duo from the final won against Morocco. Mamadou Sarr and Moussa Niakhaté were lined up side by side. Just like the Lyon defender, who was monstrous, the Chelsea Blues defender once again performed cleanly against Peru, with clean restarts and high quality defensive interventions. He touched the ball 105 times, with 89 successful passes out of 93 attempts, recovered 4 balls, won 3 duels and intercepted 4 balls, all with a clean sheet (2-0 for Senegal). He was not dribbled once during this match.

Mamadou Sarr was never disturbed by the opposing attackers. The question that must be asked is whether, in reality, a football player can disrupt him on the field. His calm and imperturbable character remain his strength. It almost becomes an art for him. He reads his opponents’ every move, analyzes their movements in detail and waits for the best opportunity to steal the ball from them. It’s Virgil van Dijk, but his difference with the Dutch defender is that Mamadou doesn’t back down. With his performances, it will be difficult for Pape Thiaw to remove him from the Lions’ eleven. To avoid leaving his captain on the sidelines, we should expect the national coach to opt for a three-way defense composed of Mamadou Sarr, Kalidou Koulibaly and Moussa Niakhaté.

The Al Hilal defender has absolutely no worries about his succession. At only 20 years old, Mamadou Sarr embodies the present and especially the future of the Senegalese defense.

Yaya SOW