Ketil B. Stensrud on Marveaux:
I was asked to put together a blog regarding Rennes’ Sylvain Marveaux, the Reds’ long awaited Bosman signing in view of next season. While some uncertainty remains regarding his arrival at Anfield , it seems fair to say that a move to anywhere else than Merseyside would be a surprise, if not a relative upset from the part of the attacking midfielder.
So I’ve first thought of writing a portrait of the player, but this has already been done and you could find much information on his career, his goals, his stats or his recent difficulties in Rennes across the web. Instead, I preferred to try and put together a report on the player, providing you with the sort of information I think Liverpool fans would like to know regarding his skills, his attitude on and off the pitch, his strengths and weaknesses, and his particularities.
PHYSICAL ABILITY
He has pace, deadly pace, he is very capable of eliminating a defence on a single acceleration. He will take the ball and go through knocks and shocks to reach his target, a goal or a good pass. He can stay on his legs, no doubt about it, and although he isn’t of the strongest build he shouldn’t be worried with the strength of English defenders. His game made of acceleration can lead him to natural fatigue in the closing stages, but when in good shape he is perfectly able to contribute 90 minutes week-in week-out and bring his fair share of goals and assists.
In fact, his weakness lies inside. While he rarely gives up on the pitch himself, his body has been regulating things for him. He is an athlete, a powerfully legged sprinter, and his thighs have often been a strain to his progression. In summer 2008, after a good first season and a disappointing second term, he picked up a benign thigh injury during a France U21 game. Recovery should have been straightforward, but instead he met calcification issues and was forced to undergo surgery… he would miss the following 8 months. Tough luck can strike anyone, true, but the same thing happened to him once again this season, and a minor thigh muscle strain against Brest in November was enough to rule him out for the rest of the current campaign.
TECHNICAL ABILITY
Are you looking for a left foot? His can do everything you could dream of. He can pass, control, dribble, deliver or shoot with surgical precision. Sylvain Marveaux has taken Ligue 1 by surprise in 2009-2010 with his ability to regulate Rennes’ game, and despite his positioning on the left, he certainly was Rennes’ real playmaker throughout the season. He can take free-kicks, deliver assists or make the difference by himself relying on a fantastic left-foot. And his ability and elegance when dribbling through an adverse defence is something one rarely sees and thoroughly enjoys…
He relies nearly exclusively on his left foot however, and his right foot and head are of no use in his game. In fact, Marveaux will always look at placing the ball back on his left foot even for a simple pass, and will often lose the opportunity to deliver or build on the momentum he could have gained on his opponent. Also, Marveaux will invariably lose a challenge in the air. He hasn’t got the jumping ability, the timing or the stature for those aerial contests, and he isn’t usually that bothered.
INTELLIGENCE
Marveaux was trained as a central midfielder, and this is something one can very easily realise when watching him twirl across a square expanding from the left touch-line to the centre of the field. He mainly plays in a left winger position, but he isn’t anything like a left winger. And although it could not quite be branded a lack of intelligence, he lacks many of the qualities required of a true winger and especially the tactical finesse required to exploit the flank with full efficiency.
While he could make the best out of his pace and skills alternating runs down the wing and cuts through to centre as a Nani or a Valencia, Marveaux is compulsively attracted to the centre, no matter what. Cutting out is certainly all right, but cutting out from the left when you only have a left foot can sometimes be a handicap. On top of this, his crossing ability is nearly inexistent, and he will always favour a central or individual solution to a transmission to his left back running up the field. The decision is sometimes justified by a scoring action (10 goals and 5 assists last season) but an ability to open eyes to options other than the obvious would be a definite added value to his game.
On the other hand, he sometimes showed an ability to pick up the perfect pass in sometimes spectacular style, and his runs without the ball are often well-inspired and making the assist an easy exercise for his team-mates. With the good guidance and advice, he could certainly correct some of the defaults above and show more of these flashes of superb vision.
ATTITUDE
Again, despite his talent and ability, Marveaux could improve loads on this field. In a 4-3-3 system such as Rennes’ and in most modern tactical set-ups (In which full backs are called to play a major attacking role) defensive work is a necessity for the attacking flankers. Not only failing to notice the wing-rushes of his left-back counterpart, Marveaux has often been blamed for failing to accomplish his defensive work, whether it is an initial pressing or returns to cover the flank. As a result, great moments of solitude for the men standing behind him, such a Carlos Bocanegra, often let alone to deal with two or three opponents last season, without a hope to see his team-mate rush to his rescue.
Rennes Manager Frederic Antonetti himself admitted that Marveaux’ lack of work was acceptable as long as his attacking input remained as impressive as it was last season. Many coaches could rightfully consider some of Marveaux’ attitudes on the pitch as disrespectful to the team effort.
As a graduate of Rennes Academy having gone through the youth teams at the club, Marveaux may well be receiving too much indulgence for his ineffective defensive work. His self-confidence is high, maybe a bit too high, and the wise words of a manager able to make him question himself and his work for the team could be a massive boost to his career. He is able to do the work however, and even started his Ligue 1 career covering for injuries at left back. Little doubt he will give more in that field if a starting eleven position was to be at stake.
OFF THE PITCH
As far as I know, the latest former Rennes player ever to have played for Liverpool was El Hadji Diouf. No worries there. Few players bear a natural talent comparable to the Senegalese’s, and I wouldn’t think Marveaux’ raw talent really is up to that standard, but even less players have an attitude and temper as negative as Diouf’s. Sylvain Marveaux is certainly a modern football player, liking his nights out, his cars, his caps (he loves caps) and all the good things life has to offer to a wealthy young man. He has never made any headlines for wrong reasons however, nor did his brother Joris (who plays in Ligue 1 for Montpellier), and his off the pitch attitude should certainly not be any worry towards his recruitment by the Reds…
