On Dembélé, injuries, and getting through the next four months
There’s something visceral about watching an elite athlete tear something inside them. Especially an athlete like Ousmane Dembélé, whose speed is so unrestrained and fierce. Picturing one of the Barcelona winger’s thigh muscles at full-stretch ripping like raw poultry skin is like something out of the Troma catalog. But there’s nothing fantastic about it, and these very real occurrences can have severe ramifications on both the player’s body and mind, as well as the world around them. As Dembélé, the newly ordained prince of Camp Nou, fell to the pitch last week in Getafe holding his left leg, our guts might’ve been first to hurt, but our hearts and heads swiftly followed.
At the time of his injury, Dembélé had been slowly but aggressively trying to fit into a changing Barcelona set-up following his €105 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund last month. His rapid arrival followed the similarly rapid departure of Neymar from Catalunya just weeks earlier. With the Brazilian gone to Paris, the 20-year-old was abruptly given the reins to one-third of the Blaugrana’s heralded attacking duties, albeit with a twist. You see, unlike Luis Enrique’s reign at Camp Nou, under which Neymar thrived, new boss Ernesto Valverde has already in a short time stamped his own brand of looking-forward-by-going-backwards footballing strategy onto his new project. With this, we’ve seen some early displays of the same midfield domination and frenetic pressing that made the Catalans revolutionaries under Pep Guardiola around the turn of the last decade. There’s even been a reprise of the “false nine” role that was so successful during those glory years. It appears, serendipitously so, that Dembélé’s coming has nicely coincided with the system shake-up currently taking place under Valverde. Simply put, Dembélé hasn’t been the only one learning new things during these last few weeks of training.
It’s not a stretch to say that a naive wave of optimism wafted around Camp Nou upon Dembélé’s purchase. True, that shouldn’t be a statement of note; the Frenchman was Barça’s most expensive signing ever. But considering the depths of ridicule and despair that enveloped the club following both the Neymar split and the Supercopa collapse to Real Madrid in August, it’s a worthy distinction to be made. In Dembélé, Barça finally acquired an all-world talent who could take them into the post-Messi era with assurance. Of course, Dembélé first has to become that player.
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Although it was the result of multiple in-the-moment decisions, the groundwork for Dembélé’s ruptured biceps femoris that will keep him out for the next four months was already laid prior to his arrival at BCN. As rumors began circulating in July about Barcelona’s serious interest in the 20-year-old Dortmund winger as a potential Neymar replacement, Dembélé, a self-proclaimed Blaugrana admirer, promptly took matters into his own hands. Like many modern day footballers before him, Dembélé chose to abstain from any scheduled BVB practices until his future was sorted out, or more specifically, until his bosses caved and accepted an offer. The boycott worked in that it accomplished its ultimate goal. But it wasn’t without consequence. As Dembélé showed up to Camp Nou full of glee and gratitude, he also showed up well short of match fitness. For a team requiring the immediate use of his services, this was a noteworthy issue. Dembélé’s injury was further scandalized in the days after, when footage surfaced showing the youngster anxiously holding his left leg during training in the hours leading up to the Getafe match.
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In many ways, Dembélé’s current nightmare is the result of poor decision-making. Yes, much of it falls onto the shoulders of the 20-year-old. But that’s just it: we’re talking about a goddamned 20-year-old. What level of maturity should we be expecting from him? Valverde touched on this during a news conference on Monday: “[Dembélé] is a player who has never had muscle problems in the past, so perhaps he doesn’t have the experience to recognize little niggles that could be worse in the long term.”
It’s reasonable to believe that a lanky, underdeveloped uber-athlete such as Dembélé might not be fully in-tune with the ways in which his body is changing, nor what it’s like to max-out at a peak sporting level. But consider, too, the reality that a young person with Blaugrana stars in his eyes might just, in the haste of chasing the grandest of dreams, take a passive-aggressive approach to his physical health in a high-stakes scenario. This fear-based reluctance could have manifested itself in numerous ways. In Dembélé’s case, it might’ve lead to him ostracizing himself from his Dortmund teammates, or refusing to mention to his new Barça coaches that his left hamstring felt a little tender. These actions carry with them certain responsibilities, but only as much as anyone is willing to apply to a justifiably irresponsible young person.
Apart from the fortuitous result of postponing a €10 million payment, Dembélé’s absence doesn’t change much for Barça. Although the winger was already a nailed-on starter — €100-plus million sort of demands it — how exactly he would fit in and what exactly Valverde’s total vision would look like are questions that remain unanswered at the moment. While Gerard Deulofeu and Aleix Vidal are not the most inspiring deputies for the French international, there’s an underlying sense that this post-Lucho edition of Barça will thrive via the unsung and unforeseen. It’s inarguably already happening when individuals like Paulinho and Denis Suárez are propelling the team to an unblemished league campaign. It’s still early days, but new ideas are currency at Camp Nou right now.
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There’s a special exhilaration in watching a budding talent like Dembélé, particularly at a club that is widely believed to be the pinnacle of a climb rather than another station along it. When such a player arrives at Camp Nou, the masses genuflect as if the Pope just pulled up. During the 122 minutes of Blaugrana action Dembélé saw prior to his injury, the collective heart rates across Culé-dom accelerated every time the Frenchman touched the ball. He justified the madness, too. An inch-perfect assist to Luis Suárez on his debut showed his playmaking finesse. The chest-and-turn-and-go that lead to Messi’s opening goal against Juventus displayed his uncanny natural skill. Later in the same match, his sea-parting run that gifted Messi his brace showcased his intelligent off-the-ball prowess. The crowds barely even got to witness his alien ability to beat even a Monstar off the dribble, but the suspense alone made them shudder. Dembélé’s first days as a Barcelona footballer weren’t mould-breaking, but they were magical.
Confronting the harsh reality of injury isn’t something football fans usually make room for, especially when watching youngsters who have a seemingly endless supply of potential. When that promise isn’t realized, it’s easy to blame poor direction from coaches or clubs, only because those are burdens often thought to be within control of the individuals involved. But sometimes bodies just break. Muscles tear. Bones shatter. These things should leave pits in our stomachs, because they emphatically put a person’s livelihood in jeopardy. In the case of Dembélé, it’s not only his hamstring in danger when he falls to the ground; it’s his dreams, too.
Still, a line should exist between our anguish and his. Although our experience carries with it some level of empathy, it’s smothered by our own self-interest; we toil because our football-viewing enjoyment has been negatively affected. Dembélé might not care about the broad, trivial fallouts we encounter because, well, he’s at ground zero of the actual disaster. His hurt is realer than ours could ever be. This is why, perhaps, the donning of a “Courage Ousmane” t-shirt isn’t quite as empty a gesture as some have suggested. Waiting for his return is easy; making that return a reality is something far more challenging.
So while we weep at the altar of our gross and problematic sports fandom, Dembélé’s story waits to be told, with much of the outcome being beyond his control. His body should recover, but it’s not guaranteed. Just ask Jack Rodwell or Kevin Strootman or Abou Diaby, whose injuries have branded them for life. Or İlkay Gündoğan and Giuseppe Rossi, who’re both unsure if they still have professional football careers whatsoever. Even one of Dembélé’s new teammates, Thomas Vermaelen, has only featured eleven times for Barcelona in the three years since he signed.
Dembélé isn’t a tragic case yet. As Valverde noted, this is his first major injury. He’ll have to mature, however. That includes learning from mistakes and making more calculated decisions, two things that will be more difficult than they sound, especially as his star gets brighter and his pockets get fatter. The early signs are, well, mixed. On Wednesday, following a successful surgery in Finland, Dembélé posted a shot on Instagram reaffirming his commitment to rehabilitation. While that much is innocuous, he ended the photo caption with the hashtag, “#jarrivedans2mois.” Translation: “I’ll be back in two months.” There’s a fine line between efficiently recovering and hastily rushing back to the detriment of your own health. For the benefit of everyone involved, let’s just hope he discovers where that line is.
