They say opposites attract, and football is no different. The history of the game is littered with successful partnerships consisting of players not cut from the same cloth â be it physically or technically.
Tottenham Hotspur defenders Younes Kaboul and Sebastien Bassong certainly fit that mould. France international Kaboul is big, powerful and superb in the air, while Bassong â who went to last summerâÂÂs World Cup with Cameroon, the country of his parents â is nimble, quick and good on the ball.
On the basis of FourFourTwoâÂÂs meeting with the pair, Kaboul and Bassong are also two very different characters. The former is enthusiastic, outgoing and jovial, while the latter seems more pensive, calm and quiet.
This difference could well be down to their contrasting fortunes with Spurs this season.
While Kaboul has been widely praised for his composed and rock-solid performances at the back â playing in 12 of Spursâ 14 competitive matches to date â Bassong has been largely left kicking his heels on the sidelines.
A common sight in recent months: Bassong warms up
The stringing-out of Ledley KingâÂÂs injury-plagued career has seen Bassong play little over two-and-a-half hours of league football so far this term. And being a regular fixture in Harry RedknappâÂÂs Europa League âÂÂsecond stringâÂÂ, last week even captaining them, has done little to quell his dissatisfaction.
âÂÂItâÂÂs naturally frustrating when youâÂÂre not playing week in, week out,â Bassong tells FourFourTwo. âÂÂIeâÂÂm wanting to play week in, week out, so when I get a chance to play IâÂÂm trying to make sure I do a good job â thatâÂÂs what IâÂÂm getting paid for, after all. That is what the manager is expecting from me.
âÂÂThatâÂÂs how football is â not everybody in the squad can play every game. There is the starting XI and if youâÂÂre not in it you just have to accept it and keep trying your best.
âÂÂNo matter what happens you can only accept the managerâÂÂs decision. IâÂÂm not going to lie, for me itâÂÂs been very tough at times. I didnâÂÂt always understand the [managerâÂÂs] choices, as IâÂÂd been playing well but still got dropped. But thatâÂÂs football.âÂÂ
TottenhamâÂÂs recent form has been impressive. The North Londoners have taken 16 points from a possible 18 and steadily rose from the bottom of the Premier League at the end of August to fifth place by mid October.
âÂÂWe had two bad games against Manchester United and Manchester City, and then it was the [international] break,â Kaboul explains. âÂÂWe knew we had to come back and start the season again, playing at the level we had last year. WeâÂÂve been able to do that and from then on weâÂÂve been doing OK.
âÂÂWe just need to continue in this way and have the belief that it will take us back into the Champions League next year. ThatâÂÂs what we want.âÂÂ
Kaboul nets against Manchester City, but Spurs are still well beaten
Spurs recent impressive form combined with ArsenalâÂÂs early season struggles has lead to much talk of a âÂÂshift in the balance of powerâ in North London. Could it come to pass?
âÂÂI donâÂÂt know,â comes KaboulâÂÂs honest reply. /âÂÂWhen weâÂÂve played them in the last two years we have been better than them, and itâÂÂs about us improving rather than them just getting worse.âÂÂ
âÂÂItâÂÂs possible we could finish above them,â add Bassong. âÂÂBut who knows what could happen? The gap is definitely closing, a few years ago Arsenal were a lot better than Tottenham, but now...âÂÂ
âÂÂHenry is not there,â Kaboul quips.
âÂÂ...and we have been improving and improving and hopefully we will finish above them this season,â Bassong continues.
In last SundayâÂÂs win at Blackburn, Kaboul and Bassong started a league game together for the first time since April 2010, though on that occasion â a 2-1 victory over Chelsea - Kaboul was deployed at right back. Despite rarely being given the chance to prove themselves in tandem, Bassong believes he and Kaboul could be a successful central defensive partnership.
âÂÂWe enjoy playing together, but weâÂÂve not had the chance to do it too often. ThereâÂÂs a lot of competition at Tottenham, but I think if we get the chances we can make a good partnership. We understand each other and work well together.âÂÂ
With Michael Dawson still nursing an Achilles injury, Ledley King struggling with continuing knee problems and William Gallas yet to make an appearance this season after suffering two calf injuries, now is perhaps as good a chance as ever for Kaboul and Bassong to stake a claim for dual starting spots.
Bassong and Kaboul 'hug it out'in training
Their story doesnâÂÂt start at White Hart Lane, but instead in the youth system of French football in the early years of the last decade.
âÂÂWeâÂÂve known each other since we were sixteen,â Kaboul, now 25, reveals. âÂÂI was at Auxerre and he was at Clairefontaine and then Metz and we would often play against each other in youth tournaments.
As Kaboul reminisces on his formative years in Burgundy under the tutelage of the legendary Guy Roux, his modern day teammate interjects. âÂÂYounes was the biggest fella we ever played against, weâÂÂd never forget him â heâÂÂs always been a big guy.âÂÂ
âÂÂI was at Clairefontaine with players like [Abou] Diaby and [Hatem] Ben Arfa and it was a really good experience to be in that environment. They taught us the skills you need for football, but also they taught us to love football.âÂÂ
Through the 90s, FranceâÂÂs elite youth academy has churned out such players as William Gallas, Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry. While EnglandâÂÂs Lilleshall centre was shut down in 1999 in favour of club academies â many of which began to recruit from overseas â Clairefontaine continues to develop top level players.
âÂÂHaving an elite academy like that in this country it would really help English football,â says Kaboul. âÂÂMaybe even two â why not one in Manchester, one in London?âÂÂ
Of course, England will soon once again have a centralised elite academy in Burton, and Bassong speaks from experience when he says its opening cannot come soon enough.
âÂÂLet [the young players] focus on football, always,â the defender reasons. âÂÂWe would have school in the morning and then football in the afternoon. But we lived for football â we always thought about football and how to be better. The environment was built for this.âÂÂ
The lengthy queue for the London Eye didn't please the Spurs duo...
ThatâÂÂs the long term future of English football sorted, then. But what of the shorter term?
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has been widely touted as the man to succeed Fabio Capello as England coach when the Italian steps down following next summerâÂÂs European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. Is this something that the defensive duo have spent much time thinking about?
âÂÂNo, weâÂÂre not English!â The pair quickly chuckle in reply. But theyâÂÂre only half-joking.
âÂÂIf he gets the job, good for him,â Bassong reasons. âÂÂIf he can get the job and he wants it, then what can you say? Do we worry about it? Not really.âÂÂ
More immediately, Tottenham face a Queens Park Rangers side on a high having just beaten West London rivals Chelsea for the first time in 16 years.
Neil WarnockâÂÂs team have shown signs of improvement since Tony Fernandes arrived in ShepherdâÂÂs Bush in the dying days of the summer transfer window and allowed Neil Warnock the finances to invest heavily in his squad.
âÂÂThey seem to be a strong team,â says Kaboul. âÂÂWith the teams that have just come up you never know what will happen. They can beat Manchester United one week and then lose the next. But itâÂÂs the same as any game in the Premier League for us â we have to be prepared and concentrate 100 percent.âÂÂ
And that could be the key to Spursâ hopes of returning to the Champions League. Not since 2006/07 have Spurs taken nine points from their three home matches against the newly promoted clubs. After all, the 19 points dropped to last seasonâÂÂs bottom five were ultimately what cost the North LondonerâÂÂs an immediate return to EuropeâÂÂs elite cup competition.
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Kaboul and Bassong were playing Battlefield 3, out now on Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. For more information visit www.battlefield3.com/uk . For the latest news. Visit facebook.com/battlefield3 and follow @battlefield3 on Twitter.
