Wissam Although he was never a vocal leader, Ben Yedder wore the armband for several years before leaving at the summer’s end of his contract. Since he scored the majority of the team’s goals, his role as captain felt automatic, even though he was frequently referred to as a “technical leader” within the team.

A new leader

However, his leadership abilities were questioned, and a lack of leaders in the dressing room has been blamed for Monaco’s surrender towards the end of the 2022–2023 season, when the team was denied access to all European football competitions.

In the summer of 2023, that demand for leaders was met. According to now-former manager Philippe Clement, he attempted, but was unable, to sign Denis Zakaria himself. He did arrive a few weeks after Clement’s departure and a few months later. Even though he didn’t wear the armband, at least not in his debut season, he was the outspoken captain and dependable presence that this young Monaco team needed on the pitch.

His players boast about his Swiss leadership abilities. “Denis is an effective leader. Mohammed Salisu started, “He makes the team cohesive.” As captain, he knows when to give the younger players more responsibility and when to have a conversation with them. I have never been in a dressing room like this before; there is such a strong sense of unity.

Many people believe that the captain’s armband is a rather meaningless symbol; as long as there are leaders in the dressing room and they are given the authority to do so, that should be sufficient. In his debut season at Monaco, Zakaria led the team back into the Champions League by helping them finish in second place.

A career revived after Chelsea stint

Even though Thilo Kehrer, a player of a similar age and leadership style, had joined in the summer, there was still a clear contender to take over the armband when Ben Yedder left. Being named captain is a significant accomplishment. It’s a privilege and doesn’t happen very often. Just a year after joining the squad, Zakaria declared, “I’ll be talking more and supporting my teammates, but these are things that I did without the armband as well.”
Zakaria has been the missing component for Monaco. Although there has always been skill, there was a lack of balance. Indeed, there were seasoned players, but even if they all contributed significantly to the team’s success throughout the years, neither Ben Yedder nor players like Guillermo Maripán or Kevin Volland—both of whom have since departed the team—could be regarded as leaders or leading figures in the dressing room.

But for the player in issue, Zakaria’s arrival has also been quite advantageous. Before returning to Juventus, where he had no future, he had a turbulent loan stint with Chelsea where he failed to get a look in. As he approached his prime, he wanted to restart his career.

“My career revived? Certainly. It is never easy to have a season where you play so little. To have a season where I’ve played in almost all of the matches, it has done me a lot of good mentally and especially physically,” said Zakaria towards the end of last season.