Before the OM-Nice match, Yéhvann Diouf reflects on a journey from the exhilarating high of a CAN victory with Senegal—a title later awarded to Morocco pending a TAS verdict—to temporarily losing his starting goalkeeper position at Nice.

As a young astronomy enthusiast who once gazed at the stars above Val-de-Marne through his telescope, Yéhvann Diouf was perhaps always destined for dizzying heights. Since his arrival at Nice last summer, he has experienced a season of incredible intensity. It has been a whirlwind of collective struggles, a triumphant Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal—where he became an unlikely hero in the now-famous towel incident—and the subsequent temporary loss of his number one spot upon returning to his club.

An avid fan of sports ranging from F1 and basketball to MMA, Diouf is determined to prevent his club, OGC Nice, from repeating the fate he endured with Reims last season. That campaign saw him experience the dual heartbreak of a Coupe de France final defeat (0-3 against PSG) followed by relegation to Ligue 2 after a playoff loss to Metz (1-1, 1-3 a.e.t.).

An Atypical and Demanding Season

When asked if his season could be described as “crazy,” Diouf acknowledges it has certainly been unique. “Crazy, I don’t know if that’s the right word, but it’s definitely atypical,” he says with a laugh. Coming off a grueling and late-finishing season with Reims, his summer break was short. The pre-season with Nice started even earlier due to the third preliminary round of the Champions League against Benfica. “We had to get back into the swing of things quickly, adapt to the new club, new instructions, and a new team,” he recalls.

There wasn’t a single moment when he felt the season would be a constant struggle, but rather a persistent feeling that the team couldn’t quite turn a corner. “We had that period in October where we beat Rennes (2-1) and Lille (2-0). At that point, I thought we were on our way,” he explains. “But no, it continued to be difficult.” He pinpoints the 1-3 loss to Fribourg in early November as a significant blow. “We had this bad run in the European Cup, and that’s a match we should win every time. After that, we lost quite a few avoidable matches.”

The CAN Interlude and Towel Folklore

Fortunately for Diouf, the Africa Cup of Nations provided a welcome and joyous escape. When asked to pick two standout moments, he doesn’t hesitate. “First, the departure. When we had the flag ceremony with His Excellency the President of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and the training session in Dakar where the stadium was full,” he reminisces. “When we took the bus back to the hotel, people were running alongside it, it was truly insane. I was just discovering everything, amazed by it all.” He also fondly remembers the warm reception in Morocco and, of course, the final itself. “Because we won it.”

The final match was an incredible story in itself. “The match was crazy. I would have preferred, like many, for it to happen differently. With the victory at the end, of course. But differently overall,” he admits, alluding to the controversial aftermath. The Teranga Lions secured a 1-0 victory in extra time, but the title was later awarded to Morocco by the CAF appeal jury, a decision now before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS). “There are many things that tarnished the image of the federations, of the CAN, of the continent. But at the very end, what matters is that the match was completed and Senegal won.”

Diouf is now aware that he might be remembered more for the bizarre incident involving Édouard Mendy’s towel than some of the starting players. During the final, he had to intervene to protect the towel from ball boys intent on snatching it. “I realized it when we got back and people were talking to me about it all the time, thanking me,” he shares. “The only thing I have to say is that if it helped Édouard be in the best condition, then great. But it would have been better if it hadn’t happened. Yes, it can be funny, add a bit of folklore. But above all, it should never happen; my safety was compromised.”

From Celebrations to the Sidelines

After the immense celebrations back home, the emotional shift was stark when he returned to Nice to find he had lost his starting position. “I didn’t expect it because I hadn’t even considered it,” Diouf says. “I was at the CAN, focused on my competition, although I was following Nice’s matches.” He adds, “I came back and, naturally, my head was a bit elsewhere. But I was brought back down to earth very quickly.” He respects the coach’s decision. “These are things that are part of life. The coach (Puel) came in, Max (Dupé) played his matches, and the coach didn’t want to break that dynamic and Max’s confidence. It’s a decision I respect.”

Did it take long to refocus? “No, because winning the CAN gave me a lot of perspective on things,” he explains. “If we hadn’t won, it might have taken me longer. But coming back with the trophy, I don’t want to say I was disconnected, but I just told myself that’s how it is. I had lost my place, and I had to work to get it back.”

His path back to the starting lineup came through the Coupe de France, where a victorious penalty shootout in the quarter-finals against Lorient (0-0, 6-5 on penalties) was a key moment. “I had a pretty good game… we know we’re in a complicated situation and sometimes you have to win matches with desire and aggression. Sometimes, we’ll be terrible but things will go our way. It’s something we had to go through.” The team was also motivated to get a result at Lorient, where a defeat earlier in the season had led to a confrontation with hundreds of angry supporters.

Drawing on Past Experience to Secure the Future

Having experienced a cup final and a relegation fight with Reims, Diouf sees parallels with Nice’s current situation. “Playing three such crucial matches in one week (the playoff first leg, the cup final, then the playoff second leg) was not ideal,” he reflects on his time at Reims. What makes him believe history won’t repeat itself? “I simply want to tell you that I believe in it,” he states firmly. “We are fortunate to have our destiny in our own hands.” With crucial matches against Auxerre and Metz remaining, he sees them as “playoffs before the playoffs.”

This belief has translated into a leadership role. After a 1-3 loss to Strasbourg, he raised his voice in the dressing room. “Yes, because we all have different careers, we all come from different backgrounds, but we work for the same things,” he explains. “Some, luckily for them, have never experienced relegation or a season fighting to stay up. It’s important, at certain times, to talk, to tell each other things as we think them… I also wanted some to have a realization: ‘Guys, it’s all up to us. No matter what happens before, during, or after, we have to believe. No one will do it for us.'”