There is a scene in the Munich end emblematic Ousmane Dembélé. Yann summerthe Swiss goalkeeper of Interhe prepares to get out of the door, in short as always, and the former Barça delantero awaits on the edge of the area. Not in waiting position, but with the body positioned for the rabid race, as if it were on an athletic track prepared for speed test. When Sommer puts the ball at stake, Dembelé It is activated as if he just listened to an exit gun. In a hurry he throws himself at the pressure. On a defense, often Acerbior on the same keeper.
If the image of a indolent and intermittent footballer still bubbles in the imaginary Barcelonista, no one in the PSG Champion shares already such an impression. And less than anyone Luis Enriquewhich has inoculated Dembélé of his own struggle spirit and whom he filled with praise after the final. “Ousmane has always been a phenomenon and is a leader. But a leader from the example, not from the word. Have you seen how he has pressed a '9' in Europe that presses the goalkeeper and the central in that way. When one presses thus he is a leader, the rest only has to continue.”
And he released the magical words in these times when football marketing seeks to individualize success. He spoke of Golden Ballhe who is a coach with an underlined collective sense of the game. The union plan always above the stars. Of course, he did it in its terms. “I would give him the Gold Balon Mr. Dembélé for how he has defended and pressed all year, and exceptionally, in this final, ”he snapped.
Very of Luis Enrique look at the effort before the goal or dribbling, the material with which videos for YouTube or Tik Tok are mounted. And that the French striker was also crucial in three of the five goals that fell to Inter. The two assists cannot be forgotten, one to the young man Gifted and another to the Georgian KVARATSKHELIAand the luxury detail in the middle of the field in the construction of the work of art of the third, conceived by an imperial Vitinha And topped by the 19 -year -old boy, the great find for many spectators of the final, who doubled. Gifted He was chosen MVP From the final but this Sunday it has been known that Dembélé has been distinguished as the best player of this Champions.
The award converts its candidacy for Golden Ball in firm than ever. “Ousmane, Ballon d'Or!” Marquinhos From the bus on the Rúa through the streets of Paris. The offensive numbers endorse. He has 33 goals and 13 assists in 49 games, that is, he has participated in almost a goal for the PSG meeting. He has already been, at 28, the best season of his career, in which he has won three titles and still remains to be played Club World Cup and before Nations League with France. Data demonstrating the reliability of The mosquitowhich seems to have left behind his perennial physical mishaps.
Vitinha, Dembélé and Luis Enrique, before the Champions won after beating Inter (5-0) in Munich in the final. / AP / LUCA BRUNO
Luis Enrique He has managed to handle, with a lot of carrot but some stick too. Like when they had some friction that the temperamental Asturian coach solved away from a match of Champions Before Arsenal and one of the League against Strasbourg. It was Holy. Since then, since that military medicine, Dembélé has propelled in this 2025, benefiting along with a change of position.
The new position
Now that he acts as false '9', combines in construction, with a lot of first touch, rather than haggle, which has always been its maximum virtue. It is still escaped in the band from time to time, exploiting the breadth of the field granted by the Barça Extracheic, which has its explosive speed to break lines wherever it is and, of course, in its ability to press.
Ousmane Dembele carries his daughter about the grass of Allianz Arena. / LUCA BRUNO / AP
Of course, it has nothing to do with the Dembelé who spent six years in Barcelona exasperating own and strangers, unable to live up to the 105 million that were paid for it. He is a renewed player. Parisian fans in the Allianz Arena They chanted their name an hour after the end of the game. One way to remind you that he is now a footballer who is finally leaving a mark. He did too The teamthe newspaper that delivers the individual trophy over which everyone thinks with France Football: “He did not mark, but he was decisive and is more than ever aspiring to the Golden Ball 2025,” he titled.
