Alan Berrou, physical trainer for the French U-21 team, spoke to L’Équipe about Désire Doué, the 19-year-old midfielder and striker. In his opinion, he’s a complete athlete with identified high potential. Berrou does not yet see him at 100%, but praises his constant efforts to improve.
Berrou “In our physical tests, on this aspect, he was first out of all the players present at the Olympics”
“He’s one of the most complete athletes I’ve ever managed. He has great endurance. In our physical tests, he came out on top of all the players present at the Olympics in that respect. There are two aspects to this: the ability to run for a long time, but also to multiply high-intensity sprints. If we take the references of his team-mates at the Olympics, he’s one of the fastest over short distances. Over long distances too, but he still has some way to go.
Berrou “He’s more than just a perfectionist”
Generally speaking, he’s 19 years old, his cursor is already high, but he can still improve his athleticism in terms of both speed and endurance. He’s at 80% of his capacity. He’s more than a perfectionist; he’s constantly striving to become better. He has a rare vision of work. During the Olympics, we regularly did extra work after the sessions. perfectionniste »
De manière générale, il a 19 ans, son curseur est déjà élevé mais il peut encore progresser sur la dimension athlétique dans la vitesse comme dans l’endurance. Il est à 80 % de ses capacités. Il est plus que perfectionniste, il cherche constamment à devenir meilleur. Il a une vision du travail rare. Pendant les JO, très régulièrement après les séances, on faisait du travail en plus. »
So much praise for Doué, with the added bonus of an even sharper eye on the room for improvement that still seems substantial. If he’s already at the level he’s shown us this season, what can we say if he’s not at his peak? He’s got a lot of room for improvement, and we feel lucky to have a player of his calibre growing up before our very eyes.
Nobody doubts his work, yet he has been disparaged. Today, he’s clearly moved into another dimension, his coach has understood this and he’s no longer the understudy we imagined him to be at the start of the season. He’s managed to impose his style, his style, his will. He’s a valuable player.
