Idrissa Gueye: The driving force behind Lille’s charge towards Europe

There are only two weeks left in the Ligue 1 season, and with the title finally in the hands of Paris Saint-Germain the focus turns to the race for the third and final Champions League place and of course the Europa League. Lille travel south to Montpellier in what is a must win game for Les Dogues if they want to play in Europe next season. One small problem, Lille hasn’t picked up three points at the Mosson since 2004.

Back then, the midfield trio consisted of Stephane Dumont, Mathieu Bodmer and Jean Makoun II, not a bad threesome under the leadership of then coach Claude Puel. Current coach Rudi Garcia has had some excellent midfield units in his reign but recently he has been dealt a dilemma: for the first time in years the midfield doesn’t pick itself.

When Lille lifted the 2010/11 title Yohan Cabaye, Florent Balmont and Rio Mavuba was easily the best combination in France and probably one of the best in Europe. Once Cabaye left, Garica struggled to find a replacement, with Benoit Pedretti never really finding his feet, Lille moved for Sochaux’s Marvin Martin to fill that void. Martin has struggled at times this season, but, he is slowly but surely making that position his own. The jury is still out, but he remains Garcia’s choice for the creative part of the Lille midfield.

Lille’s season started early when they had to face FC Copenhagen over two legs for a place in the Champions League. Both Mavuba and Balmont were superb in the second leg: they absolutely bossed the game from start to finish. It was an experienced performance for the duo with a combined age of 62-years-old. Four days later Lille’s challenge was cranked up to 10 as they faced title favourites Paris Saint-Germain. Balmont was rested and Garcia went with Mavuba, Gueye and Pedretti and the Parisians controlled the game. Happy to let Lille have the ball in their own half, Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti stopped any chance of Les Dogues dominating possession in any area that would cause them problems.

Missing from that midfield was the spark that Balmont brings to the team. The fiery, combative player is the force that drives Lille forward as he bridges the gap between the defence and attack, and without him, all of Lille’s play was comfortable for the PSG midfield. Poor league form was combined with an awful European campaign and there was a feeling of malaise setting over a team that was the champions of France only 24 months previous.

In January, during the Coupe de la Ligue defeat to Saint-Etienne, captain Rio Mavuba had to leave the pitch after picking up an injury to his left knee. An injury that had already cause problems earlier in the season when he missed six weeks and three league games, but this time it was much more serious and Mavuba would be missing from the squad for 14 games.

In the 20 games before Mavuba was injured Lille had only managed seven league wins. After his injury they managed eight wins in only 14 games. This saw Les Dogues re-join the race for European football. One of the main reasons for this was the rise of Senegalese midfielder Idrissa Gueye.

The 23-year-old only started twice in 2010/2011 campaign but this season he has featured in the starting line-up 20 times. His playing time has significantly increased over the past few seasons, going from 500 minutes as they won the league to 1800 this season, steadily making himself an integral part of the squad.

Gueye was signed in 2003 from the renowned Senegalese football academy Diambars de Saly. Founded by the likes of Patrick Vieira, Bernard Lama and others it is quickly becoming a conveyor belt for talent making the jump from Africa to Ligue 1. Lille have been admirers of the academy in its early years, with Pape Souare and Omar Wade blazing the trail before Gueye’s breakthrough (also see Sochaux’s Joseph Lopy and Genk’s Kara Mbodj). Idrissa Gueye is easily becoming the most talented product to emerge so far.

Now part of the first team squad, game after game Gueye is growing in confidence. Alongside Balmont, the youngster would initially concentrate on winning the ball, protecting the defence and doing the simple things well. He would leave the more attacking element to both Balmont and Marvin Martin. However, with more game experience, Gueye is now looking to move the ball forward, finding his teammates and become a more comprehensive member of the team.

He is technically very gifted and has a great awareness of his surroundings. He also reads the game really well, and, although he looks slight of frame, he has the speed and strength to match up with anyone in France. When asked about his development back in March, Gueye was clearly happy with his growth:

“On a tactical level and in terms of communication with my teammates, I have progressed,” he said. “The sequence of matches, it builds my confidence. I am taking more risks and playing further forward.”

His defensive attributes are vital to his team but he has also developed his game when Lille are in possession. Always finding space on the pitch to keep himself open, he also covers the flanks and protects the defence when Lucas Digne and Franck Beria burst forward from full back. He is making it very hard for Rudi Garcia to leave him out of the team.

Last weekend against Reims, the pairing of Mavuba and Balmont was reunited, and Lille enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win. In the last three games Garcia has also tried Mavuba and Gueye and Gueye and Balmont, to varying degrees of success.

Although the Reims game was the only of the three that Lille won, the game against Sochaux was easily the best performance of the season, well for 75 minutes anyway. Sochaux may have come back to steal a 3-3 draw but both Gueye and Balmont were superb for the majority of that game and the blame for the collapse could in no way fall at their door.

The win over Reims with both Mavuba and Balmont back together masks the direction this team is going under Rudi Garcia. It’s sad to say that with Balmont backed up by the more mobile and energetic Gueye the midfield is much more dynamic. When both Mavuba and Gueye played together against Toulouse, Lille lost that drive from the midfield, the force that puts their opponents on the back foot and that allows Lille to dictate the game. No surprise that Toulouse won that game 4-2.

Gueye provides the energy and mobility that then allows Balmont to do what he does best. However, with Mavuba alongside Balmont–both players not getting any younger–the defence is exposed and gaps are starting to show, which the better teams are starting to expose.

Rudi Garcia has a huge decision to make, not just for the important trip to Montpellier on Saturday, but for the future of his team. He needs to determine what his best midfield duo is. Rio Mavuba is the club captain and not easily dropped. Florent Balmont is a one-off talent and it will take a long time to find a replacement of his calibre. But, at least in Idrissa Gueye, Lille have already found the long term replacement for Le Captain.