'It’s a family atmosphere here': Habib Diarra delights in good times at Sunderland.

Formal or informal? It reveals much about the young Senegalese star that his delight at being promoted from Strasbourg’s Under-17s to the senior squad was mixed with worry over the two French words for “you.”

Would addressing new, older teammates by using “tu” be regarded as disrespectful? In the end, the promising talent played safe and selected the more polite “vous”. This prompted wholesale laughter from the older players who told him not to be so silly; he was one of them now.

Almost five years later, Diarra is sitting in an office at the club's training ground detailing why he turned down offers from, among others, several top European clubs. His natural politeness remains but it is apparent that the 22-year-old Senegal international and uncertainty are practically unacquainted. Diarra carries himself with the self-assurance suited to a player who captained Strasbourg at the age of 20 and, only last month, returned from Morocco clutching an AFCON winners’ medal.

A Clear Project

Now that the groin issue that kept him out for much of the first half of the domestic season resolved, Diarra is on a quest to show exactly why he agreed to become Sunderland’s most expensive acquisition last summer. Analysts in France and Senegal questioned Diarra’s unfashionable choice but he knew all about Régis Le Bris’s reputation as a gifted youth coach.

“It came as no shock by the coach’s ability because I already knew what he’s capable of,” says Diarra. “Facing his teams I realised he was very good, very strong tactically. He’s someone I know is aiding my development. And although our first objective is reaching 40 points, European qualification is certainly a achievable goal this season.”

A Unified Environment

Externally, the cold winter gusts and driving rain makes Wearside look as bleak as it is often stereotyped. Internally, things are much more welcoming. The atmosphere is devoid of the type of tension notable at certain clubs where office workers are deliberately segregated from first-team players. Diarra describes the environment as “very organic” and praises Le Bris’s role in its formation.

“The coach always says to us that we’re like a family here and we all support each other,” he says. “Each of us takes pride of each other.”

Liberty and Structure

If the structure, rigor and immense effort underpinning Sunderland’s defensive organization are a testament to the head coach’s attention to minutiae, Le Bris also likes his players to think for themselves. He offers his midfielders complete licence to improvise and interchange positions.

“The coach sets his tactics out within a structure but we have freedom to play within it,” says Diarra, who favors playing as a all-action No 8. “During matches that is empowering. That freedom is so important. Granit, our skipper, helps us a lot. He’s a really big player and a fantastic example.”

Path and Settlement

Diarra is using a French interpreter but his English has advanced to the point where he can understand most questions. He is now concentrating on acquiring the vocabulary to also answer them, which would be his third tongue. He is fluent in Wolof, the language he spoke growing up in Guédiawaye near the Senegalese capital.

His precocious maturity helped him deal with the frustration of needing groin surgery followed by four months out of action last autumn. “Getting hurt so soon after arriving here was frustrating, for sure,” he says. “But it was up to me to handle the situation.”

Diarra is now anticipating playing in this summer’s World Cup. Given Senegal have been drawn in the same group as France, a emotional matchup awaits the former Les Bleus under-21 midfielder. “I loved playing for France but my inner feeling prevailed,” says Diarra. “I have no remorse. I was born in Senegal; it makes me proud to play for them.”

Similar emotions apply to Sunderland. “I’ve adapted very well,” he says. “I feel really comfortable here.”