The summer signing has not made a great start to his Lille career but has received a lot of support from coach Rudi Garcia who justified substituting him early on in the 1-0 defeat against Bayern Munich
It’s the 56th minute of the match between LOSC Lille and Bayern Munich. Ivory Coast international, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dimitri-Payet-c11276. In the background,
a capacity crowd at the Grand Stade Metropole is whistling not because of Payet’s introduction but because of seeing last season’s Champions League finalist’s failure to shine for his new club.
Eversince he joined the 2011 champions of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899, Cote d’Ivoire striker, Salomon Kalou has spectacularly failed to live up to his billing. Last night, as a gutless Lille side was defending haplessly against a superior German opposition in Bayern Munich,
Les Dogues faithful were chanting the name of Payet.
Just a few months back, Lille swooped in to sign free agent Salomon Kalou who had just ended his http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 career as a Champions League winner. Many people expected great things from the 27-year-old who spent almost six years at Stamford Bridge winning countless
trophies.
However, the outcome was not the same for Lille. Down the left flank, the Ivorian tried heaven and earth to start some offensive moves. Instead his efforts to be effective were in vain due to some pointless dribbling and wayward passes, something no one
expects from such an experienced player especially if he has played for such a big club of such a big league.
Out of 10, the Ivorian was given a mere 3 points in the team ratings drawn out by L’Equipe. On the bright side, the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Feyenoord-c39258 man has the backing of his coach Rudi Garcia, a man who must have been surprised to see how things have transpired for his
marquee signing.
The Frenchman says that it’s tough for every player to play at his level upon returning from an injury. Garcia insists that he took him off because it was not really going to do Kalou any good had he stayed on the pitch a little while longer.
“It’s always tough. Especially when a player returns from injury. He was fresh in the first game (against Bordeaux) before a backlash in the second. It is not surprising that he was less energetic after fifty minutes. It was not good to have gone further
with him.”
Garcia chose to defend his player by talking about the match against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Francis-c13946 Gillot’s side. However, Kalou was not particularly awe-inspiring in that game either. The only feat that the Ivorian has achieved thus far is a great display against FC Copenhagen
in the qualification games for the Champions League and a goal against Nancy Lorraine in Ligue 1.
Only two great games is not really an output Garcia or anyone at the club was expecting. However, Kalou still has a lot of support in the dressing room starting with Benoit Pedretti, a man who has seen many players rise and fall throughout his career.
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AJ-Auxerre-c38247 man has leapt to the defence of his teammate and says that Kalou will be up and running in no time.
“Now, we certainly expect a lot from him, we have talented players and he is a part of us. He worked well back from injury and will be ready,” assured the midfielder.
However, can a player who was mostly waxed in Chelsea’s bench for the past six years, become a driving force for a less prestigious club? Only time will tell but for now, the answer is no as long as he is not able to find a way past his impotence.
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