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7 months ago
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The word ordeal would be far too weak to describe what Mamadou Doucouré has been experiencing for almost 7 years. Captain of the French U17 European champion team in 2015, alongside Dayot Upamecano, Odsonne Edouard and Jonathan Ikoné, the 25-year-old defender has never been able to touch the dreams of a career as a professional footballer. Not because he didn’t have the skills, but quite simply because his failing health played too many nasty tricks on him.
Considered one of the greatest European hopes in his position, the player trained at PSG chose to join Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2016. If Nasser al-Khelaïfi had taken the matter in hand to try to convince his player to stay , to the point of offering him a signing bonus of one million euros, the player remained faithful to his initial idea: to join Germany. But there, Doucouré had to move forward against all odds, and above all, be patient before making his debut with the professional team.
Extended by his club despite missing 139 matches in 4 years
In May 2020, after missing 139 matches due to countless physical problems, including a serious thigh injury keeping him away from the field for almost 2 years, Marco Rose finally gave him his first minutes against Union Berlin . “We’re really happy for him, it’s incredible that he was finally able to make his debut for us, he deserved it. I hope this will give him momentum and strength for the next few weeks, the most important thing now is that he stays healthy.declared the current Leipzig coach after his players’ victory.
Another proof of the confidence shown by Gladbach in its player: its contract extension signed in February 2020, while Doucouré had until now never played a single minute in four years. But reluctantly, the player drowned in his worries again a few months later. After being offered a minute of play against Union Berlin then Wolfsburg, the Dakar native started the following season injured, again. But it is certainly this rupture of the Achilles tendon detected in April 2021 which will have sounded like the real blow. After another absence of 238 days, it is difficult to return to the field reassured. And Doucouré then had COVID, muscle problems, tears, and knee problems…
He just relapsed
This season, four years after making his debut with the Poulains in the Bundesliga, he obviously hoped to find sensations again. If he did not play a single match between August and January, he was able to demonstrate iron-clad obstinacy to come back, but inevitably, always with this little unconscious fear of relapsing. On February 10, he played his first minutes of the season in Regionalliga West, the fourth order of German divisions.
Coming into play with the Mönchengladbach reserve against that of Schalke 04, the former Parisian was thus able to take part in the last 25 minutes of the match. But as revealed BILD, the player finally had to miss the training session the next day. The reason ? A new relapse due to muscle pain, which should keep him away for several more weeks. If the player has always wanted to return to the field, it will no longer be with the German club, which will not extend him at the end of his contract in June. Strength, Mamadou Doucouré will need it to find a club. Hoping that good weather finally arrives for him, because he deserves it.
