Mathieu Valbuena: The World Cup’s 40 Year Old Virgin?

May 23rd, 2010 | by: Sarah | View Comments

Welcome to Domenech’s world Valbuena!  You are in for a long, bumpy ride…

To my knowledge (which I will admit, is not exhaustive), there are no 40 year olds playing in the World Cup this summer.  Even Italy isn’t that desperate or naive, at least this summer (though I’m sure they would call Maldini if they thought he would actually come!).  But, football years are kind of like dog years, meaning that the threshhold for what is considered “old” is actually relatively young.  This is especially true in France, which has a strong youth training academy.  If players aren’t integrated into the national team set-up at a fairly young age, the chances of them getting called-up later is almost non-existant.   It’s even more strange to call-up a player to the World Cup that has not only never been capped, but hasn’t even been called-up before at any level (youth teams included). 

But in South Africa this summer, Mathieu Valbuena has managed to overcome his lack of international caps, and has the opportunity to represent France for the first time in his career this summer. 

Mathieu Valbuena (France, Marseille)

Birthday:  September 28, 1984 (25 years)

International Caps:  0

Mathieu Valbuena (aka the Small Bike, Leprachaun or Elf) started his career with Ligue 1’s Bordeaux, but he was dropped because of his height (5′5″).  From there, he moved to the lower divisions in France where his exploits earned him the title of Ligue 2 Player of the Year in 2006 and a contract with Olympique de Marseille.  His return to Ligue 1 was delayed by injuries, but eventually he won over the Marseille fans with his tenacious style, speed and goal scoring ability.  This was no small feat considering he was charged with the task of filling the big shoes left by Ribery when he left Marseille for Bayern.  And though Valbuena is not the type of player to score 15+ a season, he has developed a knack for scoring goals when Marseille needs them the most.  The most famous, of course, is his game winning goal at Anfield against Liverpool in the Champions League (see video below).

Given Valbuena’s contributions to the club over the past few years, it was surprising when Deschamps declared at the beginning of the 09/10 season that Valbuena services were no longer needed at Marseille. At first it looked like Valbuena would not be playing at Marseille this season, but the transfer window passed without a deal being reached with any other clubs. Still, Deschamps used Valbuena sparingly and their relationship continued to deteriorate- culminating in Matthieu publicly criticizing Deschamps in interviews with the French press.  However, by chance, Valbuena was able to get more starting opportunities in Marseille’s side through injuries, suspensions and poor form of Marseille’s other attacking options (Niang, Brandao, Kone and Ben Arfa).  And he used these opportunities to his advantage, playing a huge role in Marseille’s Ligue 1 title win this season and finally earning himself a callup from Raymond Domenech to represent France this summer at the World Cup.  

As a France and Marseille fan, I’m thrilled that Valbuena is finally getting the opportunity to showcase his skills on a bigger stage.  I’m sure he won’t be a starter in Domenech’s Starting XI (unless something goes tragically wrong…not entirely unlikely given our luck)- but I think his biggest contributions to the team will be off the field.  Valbuena was chosen over France’s more established, younger and talented Samir Nasri and Hatem Ben Arfa because he brings something to the team neither of those players have managed to do:  a good attitude.  Valbuena is just happy to be included and is willing to do anything it takes to make sure he doesn’t mess up this oppotunity or ruffle any feathers.  In short, his desire to please both Domenech and his other teammates will be a welcome change from the moody teenage angst often associated with the French youngsters. 

I would be interested to know if any of our reader’s favorite teams will be taking any 40 year old virgins to the World Cup this summer- or are France the only team brave enough (or desperate enough) to try something new this summer?