As international debuts go, the night that Marvin Martin played for France against Ukraine were special by any standards.
He made nine successful passes out of nine, took three shots and scored two goals, made one successful dribble and another assist, taking the corner from which fellow debutant Younes Kaboul scored in the 4-1 win.
The hype machine was in full flow, with L'Equipe calling him "MM" (just as Zidane was "ZZ").
The 23 year old Martin was barely known before this season: rejected by the national academy at Clairefontaine when he was 12 for being too small , he was spotted by Sochaux's Paris scout Christian Puxel as a teenager. Puxel was convinced by his strengths: his game intelligence and anticipation of teammates' movements.
Martin was a regular for the perennial relegation candidates for 18 months, but this season exploded as the team overachieved by finishing in eighth place. Sochaux's attacking style of football, in what has become renowned as a tactically cautious division, centered around Martin, who made a league-best 17 assists for his teammates just one short of Ligue 1's all-time record.
Martin laughed when L'Equipe called him "Little Xavi" earlier in the season but has admitted to taking notes from Barcelona matches.
His agent, Jean-Marie Cantona (Eric's brother) has said Martin wants to leave Sochaux, while the French press say this week's exploits have raised his fee from €7 million ($10M) to €11 million ($15.7M). Lille, Lyon and his boyhood team Paris Saint-Germain are all reported to be interested. It was also reported Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson sees Martin as a potential replacement for the retired Paul Scholes. If the Sneijder trasfer saga fail, do expect United to move in for this little playmaker rated by Sochaux at €15 million.
With established players like Gourcuff underperforming (it was Gourcuff's hamstring injury that allowed Martin his chance), now is a good time to be making an impression.
On Thursday, Martin made his first start against Poland, and played a more understated role, unsurprisingly, in France's 1-0 win. If he can keep Gourcuff out of the team, it would be a major step in Blanc's efforts to Spain-ify France's style of play. Just as it has been all season for Sochaux, Martin's timing has been just perfect.
"Sochaux are good, but it’s a shame they are a club who are not too ambitious. And me, well, I am ambitious. I want to win titles and play in the European Cups." - Marvin Martin
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