Viktor Gyökeres is the man of the moment. Top European scorer last season, the Swedish Sporting striker is at the center of a soap opera who agitates the transfer window, with Arsenal at the top of the list to welcome him. Sure of its strength, the “cyborg” granted a river interview to France Football in which he traces his atypical journey. But at the bend of a question, he dropped a little sentence which immediately made a few eyebrows rise. A media outing full of confidence, but which could prove to be a formidable trap.
The declaration that changed everything for Griezmann
Asked about his place in the hierarchy of the best attackers, Gyökeres did not hesitate: “Yes, I'm at the same table as them now”, Speaking of Haaland, Kane and Lewandowski. This sentence recalls another, almost word for word. That pronounced by Antoine Griezmann in 2018, who then claimed to be able to “Sits at the same table as Messi and Cristiano”. At the time, French was on the roof of the world. But with hindsight, this statement marked the start of a slow downgrading. He has never found the heights of the Ballon d'Or.
The problem is that the history of football is cruel with this kind of outing. For Griezmann, this sentence has become a boomerang. His failed transfer to Barça, his statistics down, each underperformance was reduced to this displayed ambition. He had put himself an immense and useless pressure, and his detractors have never forgotten him. He was no longer just judged on his performances, but on his ability to justify his self-proclamation.
“At the Table of the biggest”: why the phrase of Gyökeres is a trap
Gyökeres facing the same trap
As he died of the older on himself, Gyökeres has just made the same strategic error. He just gave the stick to get beaten. So far, he was a phenomenal scorer. Now he is the scorer who says he is as strong as the best. Each failure, each match without scoring will be analyzed in terms of this declaration. He voluntarily placed himself under a magnifying magnifying glass, exposing a much more severe criticism.
Of course, his confidence is legitimate in view of his season. But the Swedish has just transformed an exceptional season into a standard which he will have to maintain at all costs. It is the trap of the Hubris: by decreasing arriving, we refrain from the right to make mistakes. The future will say if he has the shoulders solid enough to assume this status. But the example of Antoine Griezmann is there to remind him that in football, it is often more prudent to let others invite you to their table.
