Douchez : a huge waste of talent?

When he decided to join the Paris Saint-Germain rather than sign a contract extension with the Stade Rennais, could Nicolas Douchez have taken one of the worst decisions in his career? Recruited as a number one, the former Rennes goalkeeper is now under pressure after the spectacular arrival of the Qatar Investment Autorithy, an investment fund from the wealthy emirate, to Paris SG.

A disputed number 1, before even having played

On May 1st, Douchez decided to refuse the contract extension offer made by the Stade Rennais and join the Paris Saint-Germain. Ironically, the reasons why he caught the attention of the club from the capital were not only built on his sportive performances, but also on the fact his contract was running out, allowing Paris to sign him without paying a transfer fee (to the contrary of Paris’ other targets, David Ospina and Stéphane Ruffier). A low cost strategy then used by Robin Leproux’ team, confronted to financial restrictions. But a paradoxical situation a few months later, considering the astronomical sums invested by the Qatari-owned PSG in terms of recruitment.
Officialy transferred on June 10th, the former Rennais arrived with a clear number 1 status, with the PSG still looking for a player able to shadow him. With the departures of Edel and Grégory Coupet, it is indeed two goalkeepers that the Parisian club needed to recruit, with the third slot reserved to youngster Alphonse Aréola.

The profile of this second goalkeeper remained to be clearly defined. After looking at Benoît Costil notably, Paris turned its attention to the international scene… and towards goalkeepers with the ability to be Ligue 1 starters themselves. After considering signing Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa (who eventually landed in Ajaccio), PSG ended up hiring Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo) and his two caps with Italy.
Although politeness remains the rule in public, the war has already started backstage. And in the battle to come for this first goalkeeper position, Douchez – injured and set to miss the beginning of the league season – starts one step behind his team-mate, and with the clear disadvantage not to have been recruited by the current Paris management.

Stade Rennes have got good reasons to be « gutted »

Despite the appearances, Douchez didn’t make a financial choice when he decided on his destination for the 2011-2012 season. By remaining in Rennes, the former Toulouse man would have been offered one of the biggest salaries in the squad and would have, as a result, earned more than what he is paid in Paris at the moment. By choosing to join the club of his childhood, Douchez gave himself a better chance to garnish his silverware cabinet, while gaining media exposition in his bid to join the French national team.
Although these prospects are not disappeared just yet, Douchez will have to work harder to manage it. A situation he is naturally not comfortable with. In their edition of last Friday, L’Équipe revealed the existence of a meeting between the keeper and his coach, Antoine Kombouaré. A discussion in which Douchez failed to receive any guarantees regarding his future status, and out of which he came rather “upset” according to the newspaper.

In Rennes, this situation is welcomed with circumspection. Via his Twitter account, Romain Danzé even declared himself “gutted” for his former team-mate, now in a delicate situation. Above all, a feeling of huge waste is profiling at the club. Loved at the Stade Rennais as much for his role in the dressing room as for his ability on the pitch, Nicolas Douchez would have brought huge guarantees in defence at the time a new season starts. Without talking down or prejudge the ability of Benoît Costil, it has to be said that his arrival straight at number 1 is a bit more of a gamble for the “Rouge et Noir”, also requesting the building of a new understanding between the former Sedan man and his defenders.

If Nicolas Douchez was to remain in the shadow of Sirigu this season, could he then follow in the footsteps of Olivier Sorlin, returned to Rennes after six mediocre months in Monaco? [1] At the moment, this outcome seems rather unlikely: if Douchez expressed a wish to depart in a few months, the specificities of the goalkeeper’s position could be blocking a few exit roads, notably in Rennes where the ascension of Abdoulaye Diallo in the hierarchy seems to be very important to the club. Although the divorce was amicable, it is not guaranteed either that François Pinault would appreciate the return of a player whose departure left him absolutely furious last May.

Until then, Nicolas Douchez will probably have an opportunity to show his ability, and prove he has what it takes to be a number 1 in Ligue 1. Should it be otherwise, he could well be regretting the choice he made on May 1st 2011 for a long time.