Issue 5 - October 1998

Mass Sarr - Our Liberian International

Age: 25
Teams: Mighty Barrolle, Monaco, Hajduk Split
Vital Stats: 5' 11"
76 kgs
100 Metres in 12 seconds!

Arriving at the Sonning Cricket Club at the tail end of a Royals training session to meet Mass Sarr, I wasn't too sure what to expect. Two days before, the team had lost comprehensively at Oakwell in the cup, their second big away defeat in four days and, of course, Sarr himself had been sent off after just half an hour of the Preston game. Although the Burns regime had pledged the gospel of openness, perhaps this would start to waiver in the face of bad results and the subsequent bad press.

I'd half expected the car park to be full of BMWs and Mercedes but maybe the players don't get paid as much as the media would have us believe. There was only bog-standard saloons plus one rather nice Toyota which turned out to belong to Sarr himself. My misgivings proved to be unfounded as I was invited upstairs for a cup of tea while I waited for Mass but instead I used the opportunity to grill the local TV and radio people who were there to interview Burns and the recently arrived Chris Casper - no exclusives, however!

Training, such as it was with fourteen players out injured, had just finished and the players convened upstairs for a meal before leaving. Despite the temptation to report some scandalous gossip, I have to admit that the bar was closed and the players refueled on either tea or mineral water. The food, on the other hand, smelt distinctly burnt - maybe the club doctor has recommended the carcinogenic qualities of carbonised grub.

Mass was relaxed although at first he seemed unsure what to expect as I doubt if they have fanzines in Croatia. His accent is an exotic mixture of West African and American, with perhaps a hint of Croatian thrown in for good measure. His background is well known by now, having played under Arsene Wenger at Monaco and then spent a couple of seasons at Hajduk Split in Croatia. I'd heard that he wanted to play in England but for what reason and, more to the point, why swap a big club, playing in Europe almost every season, for what is essentially a third division English team?

"English football is getting bigger and better all the time. There is now a lot of foreign players over here and the standard is higher than it was a few years ago."

There seems little doubt that the profile of English football is higher than ever before, with players attracted by the recognition and, of course, the astronomical wages. Mass agreed with my suggestion that maybe England was now the place to be rather than Italy but surely this applied to the Premiership, not the Second Division?

"Reading offered me the opportunity to play in England and I'd heard of Tommy Burns - he has a good reputation. I would love to play in the Premiership but my job here is to get Reading back to where they were."

There has already been a rumour that another club were interested (Celtic, in this case), a rumour Mass neither confirmed or denied. To his credit, he made no effort to disguise his ambition and gave me no bullshit about being attracted by the stadium or by the town itself. He's obviously a very ambitious young player who wants to play at the top level in one of the highest profile leagues in the world. Playing for Reading is an opportunity to showcase his talent and get himself noticed.

Mass realises that he needs to adapt to the English game very quickly if he is to be successful. The general perception within football is that, in England, the game is more physical and less skillful than elsewhere in Europe. Mass confirmed that this was the case and, of course, he has already received some brutal treatment at the hands (or rather, the feet) of English defenders. The stricter enforcement of the tackle-from-behind has helped but he still feels that he's not getting too much protection from referees. With the games often so tight, Mass made an interesting observation about the Madejski Stadium.

"It's easier for us to play at home as we have a bigger pitch. At other grounds there is no room to play and the defenders are usually very big and very physical."

As a player with great natural flair, and the willingness to use it, Mass could well find second division football stifling and potentially frustrating. Aside from the physical nature of the game itself, the other consistent comment from foreign players is that the training regimes here are very different and Sarr makes the same point.

"We do a lot of running and fitness here. In Croatia, we did not do much in the days before a game and we did a lot more work with the ball."

Ball skills are obviously a key weapon in the Sarr armoury and he's keen to stress their importance.

"If the team are not playing well, then you need the skillful players to do something special to win the game."

But do these ball skills create extra pressure, given that the supporters have quickly identified Sarr as a match-winner, perhaps the one Reading player with the ability to turn a game?

"Yes, I do feel under pressure but to lead as well as score. As a striker, you have to take the attack to the opposition. But there isn't too much pressure to score - as long as the team wins, it doesn't matter who scores."

With the team seemingly lacking leadership on the pitch, Sarr's attitude is refreshing. When results go badly, players often avoid responsibility, not wanting to be seen as the one making mistakes. Sarr seems to want the opposite, take the responsibility upon himself and lead from the front. This means that you may see him lose possession occasionally but rather this than a player who hides.

Mass sees himself as primarily a creator of chances for others. The goal against Colchester was perhaps the supreme example of his art - finding himself tracked closely by the defence, he flipped the ball over his marker, used his pace to reach the by-line and supply a perfect cross for Williams to tap over the line. Just one or two flashes of this skill can be enough to win a game, providing, of course, we can stop conceding so many at the other end. With so many injuries, it's difficult to see what cutting edge the team would have without Sarr, a point emphasised by the dour draw at home to Barnsley in the Worthington Cup.

Despite the poor start, team spirit appears to be good. Caskey and Williams stroll over during the interview to see what's going on, with Darren insisting that he has the right to sue me if I write anything defamatory (what was that about little boys?), whilst Martin is fed up with the "Martin Williams" song and wants a new one using his nickname, "the Kid".

Mass seems to be a popular character but he stresses that team spirit will improve greatly once the results start to improve. He firmly believes that the key to this is getting the first team squad off the injury list and match fit again.

"We have so many injuries at the moment that it's difficult for us. I really feel for the fans, especially away from home. When you lose, you don't want to look at anyone. In Croatia, if the team was not winning, the fans would not come at all."

Injuries have meant that the team has changed from week to week and Sarr stresses that he needs time to get used to playing with his strike partner. Of course, he has also played out wide but prefers the central role, as he likes to lead the attack. I asked him if he subscribed to the Ruud Gullit view that forwards should use their energy wisely so that they are ready and able to strike at the crucial moments.

"Yes, we must make our runs in the right area of the pitch. That's not to say that a striker can't defend but he should always be ready for that scoring chance."

Consequently, he needs to be used as part of the strike-force and would be probably be about as good at tracking back as David Ginola.

Mass obviously enjoys playing immensely and hates to lose. At the start of the interview, he raises the subject of the sending off at Preston and explains why it happened.

"We started the game very well and I thought "today's the day - we are going to beat them". When they scored, I just lost it and became very frustrated. It was a wrong thing to do and I won't do it again. It was my first ever red card."

We can only hope that Mass' desire to entertain in a division more suited to kick and rush and his will to win in a struggling team does not lead to an early departure from Reading. He seems like a player in the African mould of the Nigerians Okocha and Ikpeba - great skill and pace allied with the desire to show-off just a tad! Obviously, for an ambitious player, the World Cup is the ultimate goal but first Liberia have to qualify. Fortunately for us, the finals of the African Nations Cup are not this season but he will be missing for the odd qualifying game every now and again.

Mass Sarr has what it takes to be a star. I doubt if he'll be with us for too long - his ability, the spending power of some big club and his agent will probably see to that. We should, at least, enjoy it while it lasts.