Doucoure is clearly fed up with the ‘pace and power’ stereotype
Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has hit out at lazy stereotypes of black footballers which perpetuate the myth that black footballers’ style of play is based on power alone, rather than technique.
During an interview with the Daily Mirror, the French midfielder took aim at the common misconception, often used by fans and pundits alike, that focuses purely on the physical attributes of black footballers, rather than their skill.
“Sometimes they say black people don’t have technique or elements like that. It’s not true,” he said.
“A lot of black players have technique. Yaya (Toure) is a very technical player. Me? Yes. I try to use my skill. I try to dribble to score goals. I’m not only physical. I’m not just running. I can do a lot of things.”
Doucoure also cited the example of compatriot Paul Pogba, one of the players most regularly described using adjectives like ‘pace’ and ‘power’, despite his primary quality being his technical ability.
“Paul has shown in the last few months that he has very good technique,” he added.
“He has scored a lot of goals. He makes space, he makes a lot of assists as well.”
