SPIRO BLOG: Rémy earning his spurs
16/01/2012
By M. Spiro
Harry Redknapp may have been salivating in the stands as he watched Loïc Rémy destroy Lille, but the in-demand striker has too much going for him at Marseille to leave the club now, explains Ligue1.com’s Matthew Spiro.
The talk in the lead up to Sunday’s big game centered on the Africa Cup of Nations and the impact it would have on the respective teams. Lille travelled to the Stade Vélodrome without their leading marksman Moussa Sow of Senegal, but surely Marseille were going to struggle more without Souleymane Diawara, Charles Kaboré, Andre and Jordan Ayew?
The AFCON has been hanging over Didier Deschamps like a menacing cloud. With the Ayew brothers away and André-Pierre Gignac injured, who will help Loïc Rémy in the striking department? Surely bringing Brandao back is little more than a long shot.
Well, maybe Rémy doesn’t need any help. On the evidence of Sunday’s performance, the 25-year-old is good enough to win big matches on his own. His was quite obviously the difference between the two sides, combining speed and intelligence with a ruthless streak that the striker has developed so successfully in recent months.
Development
Benefitting from Mathieu Valbuena’s service, he threatened on three occasions in the first half. There was an inevitability about the opening goal, Rémy displaying his aerial prowess by nodding home Valbuena’s cross. Lille’s fate was sealed when the no11 outstripped the visitors’ defence, nudged the ball past an advanced Mickaël Landreau, then Aurélien Chedjou, before rolling it calmly in to the empty net.
Redknapp spoke openly about Tottenham’s interest in Rémy last week. The Spurs manager then ‘endeared’ himself to Deschamps even further by travelling to southern France to watch the former Lyon and Nice forward in the flesh. He must surely have been impressed as Rémy added another million or two to his price tag with a tremendously powerful display.
Rémy later admitted he knew Redknapp was in the stands, but the fact that he was not fazed in the least is further proof of a new maturity.
I can understand why Spurs want Rémy. He would certainly bolster their title ambitions. But such a scenario seems highly improbable. As far as the player is concerned, a January switch is “out of the question”, and it is easy to understand why. Rémy is the new darling of the Stade Vélodrome and OM’s season is just starting to get interesting.
Desire to stay
Financial reasons aside, why would Rémy want to leave Marseille for a club that is not in the Champions League and has no guarantee of being in it next season either? Why would Rémy risk changing clubs just five months before the EURO 2012 finals when he has become a first-choice France player?
By inflicting a first defeat in 18 matches on Lille, the nine-time champions have closed to within two points of Rudi Garcia’s third-placed team. They are through to the Coupe de la Ligue semis, the last 32 of the Coupe de France, and the last 16 of the Champions League, where a mouthwatering tie with Internazionale awaits.
With Rémy banging in the goals, this season – which started off in such disastrous fashion – could yet turn out to be a memorable one. Sunday was his 50th league appearance from OM. He has scored 24 goals in that time, despite spending much of last season on the wing, and his strike rate is getting better and better.
Succeed anywhere
Didier Drogba once said that if you succeed as a striker at Marseille you can succeed anywhere. Rémy has unquestionably succeeded at Marseille already and his future – whether it lies in France or abroad – is now extremely exciting.
Rémy has, of course, been compared to Thierry Henry in the past and you can understand why. He has family roots in Martinique, a lengthy stride and blistering pace. Yet Rémy did not appear to possess Henry’s hunger, determination and ruthlessness as a kid. Like many, I had doubts about his ability to fulfill his obvious potential.
When Marseille were eliminated from the Champions League at Old Trafford last term, the image that I found difficult to comprehend was that of the Marseille forward running after Javier Hernandez to ask the Mexican for his shirt at the final whistle. OM had been just a goal away from eliminating Manchester United, yet Rémy had apparently already digested the disappointment and was thinking about souvenirs.
That game, though, might well have proved a pivotal moment in Rémy’s career. It is the day, I believe, he finally understood what it takes to succeed at the very highest level. Since Old Trafford, Rémy has scored 24 goals in 38 games in all competitions for OM. He has become the club’s main striker, as well as establishing himself with Les Bleus. Above all, he has gained in focus and determination. He has at last matured.
Redknapp said last week “I had a chance to get him a couple of years ago”.
Well all I can say, Harry, is ‘you should have got him a couple of years ago”, because Loïc Rémy is a far better – and far costlier – player now than he was then. Marseille are the club that showed faith in him and Marseille are ready to reap the benefits for a little while longer.