http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dimitri-Payet-c11276, joined the spirit of LOSC Lille after scoring a great goal against Evian TG in a 3-0 win. The winger is back in form and Rudi Garcia couldn’t be more pleased
For months, critics have had a lot to say about the intelligence behind signing Dimitri Payet from AS Saint-Etienne last summer. LOSC Lille broke the club’s transfer record to secure the services of the talented winger.
However, Payet’s arrival at the Villeneuve d’Ascq saw him plagued by injuries. Upon return to full fitness, Payet failed to replicate his performances of Saint-Etienne for Lille. Despite all the criticism aimed at him, his coach Rudi Garcia and teammates,
stuck by him.
And, Payet finally repaid all the faith put in him when he scored a goal in a 3-0 win at Evian TG on Saturday. This was the first time the 24-year-old has scored in almost four months. More than ending his drought, Payet’s overall performance has generated
a lot of confidence from Rudi Garcia.
The French tactician is pleased to see Payet showing signs of progress.
“He worked hard in recent weeks, this is a great satisfaction for me,” says Garcia who worked really hard to bring the player to the north of France last summer.
Discreet this season, the native of Saint-Pierre de la Reunion was under a lot of pressure because of his price-tag. Furthermore, competition from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joe-Cole-c18694 also meant that his game-time would be disrupted every now and then.
The youngster has been slow to integrate into the first-team and the game system of Les Dogues. Payet was considered to be a direct replacement for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gervinho-c14755 and this also put a lot of pressure on the winger. Many people expected Payet to match the achievements
of the departed Ivorian which is certainly a radical idea considering how much time Gervinho himself took when he initially joined Lille all those years ago.
Today, things seem to be improving for Payet. Playing behind Tulio De Melo has been good for the Frenchman. With the Euro 2012 on the horizon, Payet can still be hopeful of making it to the squad. Even though he hasn’t featured for Les Bleus for a long time,
Payet’s performances in the last few games of the campaign could earn him a favour.
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