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Jules Koundé not only attracts attention with his head of hair
Photo: Angel Fernandez / AP
Jules Koundé is currently curly haired, and Diego Maradona actually played a season in Seville.
But that is not the reason why the French central defender has recently been ennobled with comparisons to the deceased genius.
It just so happened that he was no longer busy with the guard of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann in the cup semi-final against FC Barcelona last week and started a solo run from his own half.
A dribble won against Griezmann, a tunnel against Samuel Umtiti and a precise finish against Marc-André ter Stegen later, Koundé scored a, well, Maradonian goal.
It is true that it has not only been known since Tuesday evening that there are tougher touchstones than the Barça defense.
But Borussia Dortmund should still be on their guard when visiting Sevilla FC in the evening (kick-off at 9 p.m.).
As little fear as the actual attack of the Champions League opponent with players like the still unfinished Youssef En-Nesyri, the failed Luuk de Jong in the Bundesliga or the prevented Barça prodigy Munir El-Haddadi may instill - so dangerous are unusual suspects .
Above all Koundé, the latest example of the French abundance of talent in a position where sextet winner FC Bayern has just bought Dayot Upamecano from Leipzig and also employs Lucas Hernández and Benjamin Pavard, who are suitable for the center, in the squad.
Where there is Presnel Kimpembe at Paris St. Germain, Aymeric Laporte at Manchester City, Kurt Zouma at Chelsea, Clement Lenglet and Umtiti at Barcelona and of course the defender of the 2018 World Cup, Raphael Varane, at Real Madrid.
At the age of 27 he is already the old master of this class of extraordinary stoppers.
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In a duel with Lionel Messi
Photo: MARCELO DEL POZO / REUTERS
Koundé is 22, and a prime example of what made the six-time Europa League champion Sevilla so great: the legendary scouting of sports director Monchi.
In the French market in particular, Monchi has been shopping so successfully that he has copied a lot, but has not yet been achieved.
After returning from a one and a half year interlude at AS Roma, he did a great job again - and turned a crisis situation into a Europa League winner and Champions League participant again when he arrived in spring.
A special duo with Diego Carlos
"Of all transfers, I have the fewest doubts about Koundé," said Monchi in the summer of 2019, despite the club's record transfer of 25 million euros to Girondins Bordeaux.
Koundé only had one and a half seasons behind him in Ligue 1 at the time, but Monchi, in addition to his complete systems and his instinctive understanding of the position, convinced the maturity in personal exchange.
"He's quick in his head and very willing to learn."
In Seville's central defense, he forms one of the strongest pairings in Europe with the Brazilian muscle pack Diego Carlos - also came from France in 2019, from FC Nantes.
In combination with some miracles by goalkeeper Bono, she has not conceded a goal in the last seven games in all competitions.
There have only been eight in the last 20 games.
And in the 4-0 defeat of Chelsea in the group stage, the only defensive dropout of the entire season, Koundé was not in the starting line-up because he had already qualified for the round of 16.
In view of Koundé's expeditions into all areas of play, the question arises as to where his limits are at all.
The Frenchman is agile, technically reliable, sure-footed, strong at the top despite his 1.78 meters, strong in duels with hardly any yellow cards - and suddenly an offensive weapon.
Most recently, in the absence of the injured (for today questionable) captain Jesús Navas, he particularly liked to intervene via the right wing.
He helped so decisively to cover up Seville's only real weakness, the somewhat stereotyped attack game.
"One of the keys to his progress is that Jules loves his job," lectures coach Julen Lopetegui.
"Talent is very important in football, but so is the mentality of always wanting to get better."
In Seville, the most expensive purchase in the club's history will soon be seen as the most expensive sale.
At some point the players go to bigger clubs, nobody makes a drama out of them - like Lenglet, which Seville took from Nancy in January 2017 for five million euros and a year and a half later gave it to Barcelona for 35 million.
Koundé's release clause is 90 million euros, and the sports director rejected a request from Manchester City for around 55 million last summer.
One of Monchi's secret of success is to catch the right moment to sell, and at that time he did not see the maximum market value of Koundé as being reached.
That will probably come at the latest when the native Parisian makes his debut in Didier Deschamps' national team.
Despite all the competition: it can't take long anymore.
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