Euro 2008 Player Profile: Samir Nasri

Nasri is probably at his best as a Zidane-style #10, playing behind one or two strikers, but he’s capable of playing anywhere in the midfield. Former Marseille coach Albert Emon liked to play him as a defensive midfielder, and in last Tuesday’s friendly against Ecuador he played right mid in 4-4-2. But he and Hatem Ben Arfa swapped sides frequently, and he was just as likely to show up on the left.

He has been playing for Marseille since he was nine, and has been involved in France’s youth teams for several years. He was a part of the French U-17 team that won the European championship; he was the player who scored the winning goal, and he was later named player of the tournament. (He’s pictured here holding the trophy with teammates Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa.)

At the beginning of this season, many people expected this to be his breakout year — the year where his skills on the field caught up with his potential. Unfortunately, his progress was hampered this season by several injuries and a bout with either meningitis or a “meningitis-like virus” that kept him hospitalized for a number of days and off the field for much longer. This may be the reason that he hasn’t had quite the fantastic season of his U17 and France NT teammate Karim Benzema, also twenty years old, who was the top Ligue 1 goalscorer and was named France’s player of the year.

But team managers across Europe see his potential, and his flashes of brilliance, and he’s been linked to a number of large clubs outside of France. At the time of this writing, it looks as if a move to Arsenal is likely.

Before that happens, though, France fans are expecting him to help get them through a very difficult group stage in Euros. And with luck, much farther.

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