Umtiti is an integral part of the central defense of the Équipe Tricolore.
(Photo: AFP)
St. Petersburg When “Big Sam” was recently asked about his club-mate Lionel Messi, he became really enthusiastic. Now, a few days later, the 24-year-old man-marker from France has done what the 31-year-old football genius from Argentina has never done before: Samual Umtiti himself shot his team into the final in his first World Cup appearance, Messi was able to do four World Championships failed to score in a knockout round.
“We haven’t realized too much yet, but we know that we’ve already achieved great things,” said Umtiti after the 1-0 (0-0) win against Belgium in St. Petersburg on Tuesday evening. “Now there’s one more game so that we can do something really, really big.”
He and fellow centre-back Raphaël Varane have played a part in what coach Didier Deschamps’ young, highly talented side have already achieved: Varane gave France the lead in a 2-0 win over Uruguay – like Umtiti did against Belgium with a header . The duo also signed off Messi, Luis Suárez and Romelu Lukaku one after the other.
Samuel Umtiti, born in November 1993 in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, grew up as a footballer at Olympique Lyon and has been under contract with FC Barcelona for two years. 2016 was also the year of his international breakthrough, or rather it was the European Championships in France.
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Varane, Umtiti’s current congenial partner could not take part in the home European Championship due to an injury, Jérémy Mathieu also had to miss. And then Adil Rami, seeded at the time, picked up the second yellow card in the 2-1 win over Ireland in the round of 16. The time for Umtiti had come. “A tough jump into the deep end of an international knockout game,” wrote Le Parisien at the time.
Two years later, the same newspaper gushed about Umtiti and fellow sideman Varane as the duo that “perhaps reflects the true identity of this French team: ready to tear apart to survive and win, while lovingly hitting the opposition”.
So he is very special, this 1.82 meter tall muscle man Umtiti. Uncompromising on the field, but not mean. One who is tough but fair. And somehow always a bit to cuddle. Recently, Umtiti also endured one of the typical jokes of his much more eccentric selection colleague Paul Pogba.
As Umtiti was taking a nap on the massage bench at the World Cup camp in Istra, Pogba pulled the towel from his head. But nothing more than a tired look and a crumpled face came back.
Umtiti is wide awake on the pitch. The British “Independent” once called him an “insurmountable rock”. So it is not surprising that FC Barcelona ensured clear contractual relationships before the big World Cup stage in Russia. The contract of the 24-time national player and three-time goalscorer was prematurely extended by two more years until June 2023.
