THE BALL IS MY FRIEND
Watford’s down-to-earth midfielder Doucoure is a real pass master who loves being in tune with the fans
ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE will step into October with the rest of us tomorrow – but for Watford’s cult hero, September will go on and on.
If you haven’t heard the chorus about the Hornets midfielder it’s coming to a ground near you soon.
The Hawthorns will be the latest venue to hear the catchy refrain borrowed from the sultans of funk Earth Wind and Fire’s 1978 hit September. On and on, Abdoulaye Doucoure, On and on, Abdoulaye Doucoure, On and on, Never gives the ball away.
As if to underline that compliment, the Under-21 international who played with Paul Pogba at every age group for France clutched a ball to his chest and said: “You have to look after it. The ball is my friend.” The stats back him up.
Doucoure’s pass completion rate of 85 per cent is among the highest in the Premier League this season. And the song? It surfaced at Bournemouth last month, but Doucoure was so immersed in covering every blade of grass that he didn’t realise the travelling fans were lauding him.
“I didn’t notice they were singing about me during the game because I was focused on working for the team,” he said. “But afterwards my teammate Sebastian Prodl asked me, ‘Did you hear your song? The fans were singing it the whole game’ – and then I went on Twitter and and it was everywhere. It’s a good compliment.
“Earth Wind and Fire are a very famous band, and I am very proud to have one of their songs about me. Of course I want to hear ‘September’ in October, November and the whole season. But for the fans to keep singing it, I have to be very good on the pitch.”
Just six games in, the Premier League’s top six is made up of the usual cast of suspects – and Watford. Doucoure, 24, has chipped in with goals against Liverpool and Southampton, and his value has soared way beyond the £6million that Quique Sanchez Flores invested to bring him in from French club Rennes in January 2016.
Doucoure broke into the Watford side this January and has been indispensable ever since, but he was precisely 33 seconds from being shipped out on loan 12 months ago.
Former head coach Walter Mazzarri warned he was not part of his immediate plans, and the player was about to jump on a plane for Lorient when he was called back. “It was crazy,” said Doucoure. “I was on a bus at Luton Airport, taking me to a private jet on the runway, to join Lorient when my agent called me to say the deal was off. “He told me the paperwork was late by 33 seconds after the deadline and I was staying here. “I was not disappointed. I didn’t want to leave Watford, I only wanted to play football. Maybe it was my destiny that it happened like this.”