French football is boiling. The announcement of the transfer of Rayan Cherki to Manchester City, where he will evolve under the orders of Maestro Pep Guardiola, triggered a wave of enthusiasm and disproportionate hopes. The young prodigy trained in Lyon, by his raw talent and his ability to illuminate the game, seems intended for a bright future. But in the ambient euphoria, a well -known voice of the media landscape has slipped, daring a comparison that made more than one purist jump. Put on the same pedestal the new darling of tricolor football and the absolute icon, Zinedine Zidane? A bold parallel, even sacrilege for some, which revives the specter of
“New Zidane” who have never confirmed.
Cherki, the “successor to the Zidane, Platini”?
It was Jérôme Rothen, in his program “Rothen ignites” on RMC, who threw this pavement into the pond. Evoking the historical need of France to have “Great game leaders”, He saw in Rayan Cherki a potential heir. “If it matches well (Cherki and Guardiola), since technically he is above average, we may have there 'The renewal of the EDF' (…) I wish him to be the successor of the Zidane, Platini and so on, “ led the former international. If he did not explicitly say that Cherki was stronger than Zidane, the evocation of this prestigious line is enough to place the bar at a dizzying height.
Rothen recognizes the positive evolution of Cherki : “He erased things that I annoyed me. He didn't play simple enough. (…) There, it is effective. »» The passage to Manchester City is undeniably a major CAP. However, the history of French football is punctuated by early talents compared to Zidane, like Mourad Meghni, Camel Meriem or Marvin Martin, who unfortunately did not have the expected career, sometimes crushed by the weight of such expectations. If Cherki has undeniable technical qualities, the road to the Pantheon of the Zidane and Platini is still long and strewn with pitfalls.
The shadow of Zidane: a burden for the nuggets?
Comparison with Zinedine Zidane, if it is flattering, can be a poisoned gift. It puts immense pressure on young players and often obscures their own identity. Each dribbling, each pass is then scrutinized in terms of the master. It is crucial to let Rayan Cherki flourish, develop his own style under the leadership of Guardiola, without the burden of such overwhelming filiation. We hope with all my heart that he will draw his own path to the summits.
Jérôme Rothen is known for his passion and his sliced positions. If we know that he does not necessarily wear Zinédine Zidane in his heart at a personal level, dare such a parentage for Cherki, even with the best intentions in the world for the young player, seems a bit precipitated. A little more nuance would not hurt, even if you share your enthusiasm for the future of Cherki in blue. Hopefully this time, the comparison will bring luck and that Rayan will become this large number 10 that France is waiting for.
