The Strange Evening by Jonathan Clauss

Simply unknown just under two years ago when he landed at Racing Club de Lens from Arminia Bielefeld, Jonathan Clauss (29) quickly became a reference in Ligue 1. The one who played at amateur level with American Avranches in 2017 claimed that he a northern club executive whose performance in Ligue 1 (6th in 2021 and currently 8th) is very interesting. The Strasbourg native is back on his feet this season, with 4 goals and 9 offers in 28 Ligue 1 games. A major offensive contribution for the right-hand piston who has been knocking on the French team’s door for months. If the previous system didn’t give the pistons prominence, the move to 3-5-2 changed things for Jonathan Clauss.

Called for the first time at this meetinghe will benefit from the replacement of Benjamin Pavard in central defense and the very disappointing performance of Léo Dubois with Olympique Lyonnais to join the French group. “I have to tell myself that I am in the right place, this is the tenor of the conversation I had with the coach. (…) I will have to free myself on the ground, in training, to get my points. And then we’ll see what I can do. But if I didn’t feel up to it, I wouldn’t have come. There’s that adrenaline that makes you tremble” he explained before his debut† Double Kingsley Coman, he entered Marseille for five minutes against Ivory Coast.

He silenced the whistles

Wanting to test him more consistently, Didier Deschamps decided to launch him on Tuesday evening as a starter against South Africa (5-0). And yet on the sidelines of the game it was not the time to party. In the vicinity of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, hostile tags towards Jonathan Clauss were found. No need for a red carpet for the Strasbourg resident as he still felt at home in the rival’s enclosure. Stirring and hard in his lane, he also distinguished himself in defensive efforts with 5 interceptions, the game record. Involved in Wissam Ben Yedder’s fourth tricolor goal, he could also have scored a little earlier after returning from the dressing room, but only found the small net (50th).

Didier Deschamps “regrets those who demonstrated stupidly with whistles” to Jonathan Clauss 🎙️#FRADS pic.twitter.com/6mLa1d3mHn

— Late Football Club (@LateFootClub) March 29, 2022

Released in the last moments to make way for Christopher Nkunku (89th), Jonathan Clauss showed great things. Didier Deschamps underlined this in a press conference, criticizing certain whistles against him: “I’m sorry what happened, to say the least. It goes against the French team before it goes against Jonathan Clauss. What he did on the ground muffled the whistling of those demonstrating foolishly. It is his credit. He took part in the win in his specific role. He returned to Marseille, I also wanted to see him longer to have answers for the future. Precisely the future, Jonathan Clauss seems to have brightened with this rather positive rally in which he showed that he could place himself at the level of the Blues. It is up to him to continue in this way to participate in the Nations League at least in June and perhaps in the roster in November 2022 for the 2022 World Cup. Jonathan Clauss is living his blue dream more passionately than ever.