At the other end of the line, Rudi Garcia remembers with tenderness his beautiful years in Lille and this memory shared with Lucas Digne, on August 17, 2012: “We inaugurated the Pierre-Mauroy stadium with Lucas, against Nancy. At the time, it was still called the Grand-Stade. A few days later, Lucas had scored his first goal there with LOSC in the preliminary round of the Champions League.” Having launched Lucas Digne into the deep end of professional football at 18, Garcia knows the boy well.
Ten years later, Digne is preparing to return to the Pierre-Mauroy stadium with the France team, for a friendly match against South Africa on Tuesday March 29. During the opposition yesterday in training, he started and should start this evening after not having played last Friday in Marseille during the victory against Côte d’Ivoire (2-1). “It’s going to be a very important moment for him“, assures Rudi Garcia, who is still in contact with his former protege.
The last time Digne walked on the lawn of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium was in May 2014, with Paris Saint-Germain. The one who now plays at Aston Villa, after his transfer from Everton last January, was on the scoresheet during the draw between France and Switzerland at Euro 2016 in Lille. But he had attended the entire meeting from the bench. This time, Digne will have the chance to play and try to stand out from Théo Hernandez, now holder in the 3-4-1-2 installed by Deschamps since last September.
This status as Hernandez’s understudy sums up Digne’s career with the Blues well: if he is the second most experienced defender (43 selections) on the current list behind Raphaël Varane (84 selections), the left side trained at LOSC n has never been considered an indisputable starter with the Blues. And this since his debut at the international level in 2014. Since September, it is therefore Theo Hernandez who has grilled his politeness by taking over the role of number 1.
Before him, it was the brother, Lucas Hernandez but also Ferland Mendy (7 selections), Benjamin Mendy (10 selections), Laywin Kurzawa (13 selections) and even Benoît Trémoulinas (5 selections) who had questioned the place of Digne in the French team. “He is not afraid of competition, he never doubts”, assures Rudi Garcia. Apart from Lucas Hernandez, none has indeed managed to settle in the long term like Digne, who has not missed a gathering of the Blues for two years.
It was after the World Cup, after seven months without playing in the France team, his longest drought since his debut in 2014. A blow at the time, when his teammates won the World Cup in Russia, which in would have discouraged more than one. Not Lucas Digne. “What served him was this great strength of character“, emphasizes Jean-Michel Vandamme, director of the LOSC training center, who continues: “This was also the case when he was younger. We had recruited his big brother before recruiting him, then he arrived at 13 and very quickly asserted himself.“Before reaching the very high level with Lille under the orders of Garcia.
“What he has more is this mind and this unfailing determination, which make him go through prestigious clubs like Barcelona”assures the coach, currently a consultant for Canal+. Garcia, who reunited with Digne for several months in Rome (2015-2016), also highlights the “reliability” of the tricolor: “He will never give you a bad match.” A word that also comes out in the mouth of Jean-Michel Vandamme: “It is a guarantee of reliability. Lucas is a BMW or a Mercedes, you are rarely disappointed.”
However, since 2014, Digne has never played three games as a starter in the France team. Sign that there remains, in the mind of Deschamps, a second knife. A replacement solution in the event of a problem with the job holder. But for what reason: too much discretion among the Blues? “He’s not an introverted player. He’s always ready to mess around, in a good way. He is especially appreciated by everyone, the staff as well as his teammates“, judge Garcia.
211 – Since 2018/19, only Trent Alexander-Arnold (267) has delivered more last passes before a shot than Lucas Digne among Premier League defenders (211). Villans. pic.twitter.com/NyxndyfIGJ
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) January 13, 2022
A 3-4-1-2 that would not suit his qualities? “It’s a system that’s even more conducive to his formidable counter-attacking qualities.“, refutes Vandamme. Currently, it is above all his rival at the left piston position, Théo Hernandez, who annihilates all competition thanks to his good performances with the Blues since his debut last September (5 selections, 1 goal and 4 assists ).
If he is less explosive in attack than the youngest of the Hernandez brothers, Digne presents more defensive guarantees. Failing to be an indisputable like left piston, “Lucas is a starter in the group. He is always in the rallies and the choices of Deschamps, it is a real recognition“Says Garcia. Eight months from the start of the World Cup, Digne would still like to instil doubt in the head of the coach.
Accustomed to thwarting the emergence of competitors at the left-back position, Digne will still have to be wary of the return to form of Ferland Mendy, performing well with Real Madrid. But in the meantime, the former Lille player has things to prove this Tuesday, during the friendly match against South Africa. And what better place for that than the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, in which he revealed himself to the general public?