IT’S SID VICIOUS
Forgetting my sock was bad enough, but then I got ribbed on my France World Cup winners’ Whatsapp too!
Steve Bates
BEING on a team Whatsapp is no big deal for footballers – but Djibril Sidibe can boast membership of a unique group that is the envy of Everton’s dressing room.
As a member of France’s World Cup-winning squad in Russia, Sidibe belongs to an elite Whatsapp brotherhood – ‘Les Champions du Monde 2018’.
The group’s 23 members include Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane, N’golo Kante and Hugo Lloris.
And they were queueing up to give Sidibe (right) stick after Carlo Ancelotti brought him on as a firsthalf substitute in Everton’s recent 3-1 defeat of Crystal Palace – because their Les Bleus pal had somehow managed to forget one of his socks.
Impressed
Sidibe laughed: “It’s a good group to be a member of, but after the sock incident I had a ton of messages from players taking the mickey.”
Television pictures showed Ancelotti looking less than impressed with his underdressed star – but there was no fine from the Italian boss, only more ribbing.
Sidibe added: “The manager is an experienced guy, he just had a laugh and took the mickey a bit as well!
“Even next morning when I turned up for training, he was asking, ‘Have you remembered your socks today?’.
“It’s never happened to me before, but the stress and tensions of the game meant I was just focused on getting on the pitch.
“I was going to ask Moise Kean for his socks, but I thought I’d have looked even more ridiculous!”
Sidibe, on a season-long loan from
Monaco, reckons he will need to pull his socks up at Goodison Park today if France team-mate Anthony Martial is passed fit for Manchester United.
Martial missed United’s Europa League game on Thursday, but Everton full-back Sidibe – who faced Martial several times when playing for Lille in the French top flight – would love the chance to give him some earache.
Sidibe said: “There might be a bit of chat and mickey-taking.” But deeds not words are how he would plan to contain Martial’s threat.
He added: “The biggest thing as a defender is to win your first one-toone, that first individual battle. If you go in reasonably hard then psychologically you’ve made your mark.
“Establishing yourself with that first challenge means they will know you mean business.
“But Anthony is more experienced now than he was at Monaco. He has an increased level of responsibility too with Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba missing.
“And I think he is an even bigger danger now because of his Premier
League experience. If he plays he will be up against me again.
“I have been alongside him with the national team as well, so I know what a handful he can be.”
Everton, with Chelsea and Liverpool next up, trail Champions League-chasing United by five points and critics believe if they don’t beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s stars today it will be tough to finish in fifth spot.
Challenge
Sidibe said: “I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s our last chance, the final opportunity, but it is a challenge for the rest of the season.
“United and Chelsea are slightly above us, but I believe we have it in our locker to get up there.
“We all know about our manager, his experience and his success, and I think we have a sprinkling of real talent throughout the team.
“In order to achieve fifth place, we’ve got to win every game at home and avoid defeat away. It’s a tall order – but we have the tools to do it.”