Yet to be called up to the France squad since the defeat in the 2016 Euros final, Patrice Evra’s absence in the national team has caused the media on the other side of the Channel to panic a bit.
The uncontested vocal leader in that team, the Juventus full-back was known for his fiery half-time team talks that turned performances around, despite Hugo Lloris being the designated captain.
He said, in a video published on Eurosport’s website: “Patrice was, or is, an important player for the France team, whether it is in the team or in the dressing room. He had this ability to speak up and played his leader role perfectly. After that, choices are made by the manager.
“When you lose a player, it allows others to express themselves. These things happen naturally. A few have a bit more responsibility than others, and I’m one of them. There are key players like Blaise Matuidi, Laurent Koscielny, Paul Pogba or Bacary Sagna. We’re not lacking leaders.”
Often described by his teammates as the silent strong type, who commands respect with his actions rather than his words, Lloris certainly has something about him, otherwise he wouldn’t be captain for both club and country.
However, every team needs someone who can get the blood boiling with choice words, and out of the four mentioned, there’s only one that stands out as excitable enough to do that, and that’s Evra’s protégé Paul Pogba.
Before that happens, though, he first needs to impose himself on the pitch, at least for his country.
