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When Jeremy Menez first arrived in Rome two years ago, much was made of his nickname at the time. The 23-year-old was billed as the ‘fourth musketeer’, a richly talented playmaker held in the same high regard as other luminaries of his generation, such as Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Hatem Ben Arfa. If winning the Under-17 European Championship hadn’t turned the spotlight firmly upon him, scoring a seven-minute hat-trick against Bordeaux did in 2005.
Knee-jerk comparisons were made with Zinedine Zidane and while they were way off the mark, the excitement was palpable. Roma fans were led to believe that Menez was a French version of club legend Bruno Conti, a tricky difference-maker of a winger fondly remembered as Marazico. However, even if you mark Menez’s first year down as one of adjustment marred by injury, it was still viewed as a disappointment.
“The first year was tough also because I had an operation on my groin and I hadn’t done any training in pre-season,” Menez sighed. “Thank goodness Mexez was there. He helped me and I thank him for this.”
Mexes would help his compatriot in more ways than one. In fact, aside from showing a brief glimmer of his talent against Chievo, Menez’s first year in Rome was only remarkable for a nightclub brawl with some Lazio fans, one of which turned out to be a boxer. Mexes apparently tried to defend his teammate and ended up in hospital for his trouble.
This wasn’t the player Roma thought they were getting when Rosella Sensi agreed to pay Monaco £10m for him, something the club could ill afford. The Parisian, who often spoke about his time growing up in a tough Banlieue, was now portrayed as a bad boy. His rapping skills can even be seen on YouTube. By this point, Menez was beginning to look dispensable.
In January, Claudio Ranieri brought him on against Cagliari with Roma defending a 2-0 lead. Menez responded by giving a performance reminiscent of Mario Balotelli's against Barcelona. Cagliari scored twice in injury time and forced a draw. Menez had been anonymous and Ranieri was furious. “I touched the lowest point of my career in that game away to Cagliari,” Menez said. “My teammates were right to criticise me.”
He was linked with moves back to France. Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain were said to be interested, but a heart-to-heart with his Coach changed everything. “Ranieri was like a second father to me. I needed this to understand certain things,” Menez explained. “I have grown up a lot as a player and if I have become more mature I owe it to Roma. Ranieri made me understand that I had to work a lot and that I was an important player for the team. I would like to prove him right and become a fundamental player for Roma.”
Menez was transformed. Consistency and discipline was now married to his artistry and Roma benefited down the stretch, coming so close to winning the Scudetto that Francesco Totti nearly had the cigar. Far from being a flash in the pan, Menez has followed up his strong finish to last year’s campaign with a stellar pre-season. He changed the game against Alto Adige, then scored one and made one in this week’s encounter with Qatari side Al-Saad.
Ranieri now considers him to be a starter either on the left-hand side of the attack or in the hole. Interviewed on the Roma Channel this week, Menez said: “I want to do well at Roma also to win a place in the national team. Blanc is an important and capable Coach, who has always had an eye for the youngsters. I can do it, but first I must do well with Roma. Hopefully, I can become a talisman here.”
Given Blanc has suspended the 23 players who represented France at the World Cup, he could do a lot worse than taking a chance on Menez as Franck Ribery’s short-term replacement when he names his squad for a friendly against Norway on August 11.
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