In the final of the English League Cup, when Kepa packed up his bad mood and walked off the field, many fans cast a questioning look at him. Indeed, he joined Chelsea with the aura of the most expensive goalkeeper that year, and fans were looking forward to Kepa's growth into another "Courtois" of Chelsea. Now, however, Courtois is thriving at Real Madrid, while Kepa is struggling with the Blues.
Fortunately, Chelsea have never lacked discerning scouts, and after Kepa's downturn, the Blues cleverly changed their minds and brought in another goalkeeper , Mendy , from Rennes in Ligue 1 for just €24 million on 24 September 2020.
Frankly speaking, despite years in Ligue 1, Mendy is still not a resounding name in the hearts of the vast majority of fans – debuting in Cherbourg in Ligue 2, Mendy has spent most of his career in French football. The embarrassment of being unemployed at one point made him depressed, and even had the idea of retiring prematurely. Fortunately, the next rise has allowed his career to continue, Kepa's downturn in Chelsea has given him the opportunity to land in the Premier League, and what Mendy needs to do next is to fully show his strength and let the world witness the birth of the Premier League "one door" in a short period of time.
[He is not only the patron saint of Chelsea, but also the latest "one" of the Premier League]
In the recently concluded League Cup final, Mendy, chelsea's starting goalkeeper, once again showed the world unparalleled saving skills. During the match, Mendy made 6 saves, 5 of which were from inside the opposing box, and many saves were magical. In addition, he completed a shot and a high ball.
Unfortunately, before the end of extra time, in order to cope with the penalty shootout, Tuchel sent Kepa, who was more adept at saving points, and Mendy did not have the opportunity to show his strength in the penalty shootout.
Although Chelsea were ultimately defeated and second placed, I believe no one will question Mendy's performance in this game. Fans who follow chelsea should know that Mendy deserves so much praise from the fans, and we can even say without Mendy's steady play on the goal line, perhaps chelsea's miracle rise last season.
After joining Chelsea, Mendy quickly grew into one of the top goalkeepers in world football. Since last year, Mendy has won the Champions League, the European Super Cup, the Africa Cup and the Club World Cup. On the individual side, Mendy has won a series of honours such as FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year 2021, London Goalkeeper of the Year 2021, Africa Cup Goalkeeper, Champions League Goalkeeper, UEFA Champion of the Year, UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year and many others.
In short, from any point of view, today's Mendy seems to be a well-deserved "world one door".
But few people know that just 7 years ago, Mendy could not even get a foothold in the amateur league, and making a living became unknown. But in just 7 years, the goalkeeper from Senegal has grown from a marginal role that no one cares about to a world-class superstar, what happened to him?
【Rich family, bleak reality】
Unlike most African stars, Mendy was born into a wealthier environment – his father was a businessman from Guinea-Bissau and his mother was a doctor from Senegal. His father's business in the country is quite good, his mother is also a well-known local doctor, with the help of his parents, Mendy has received a good education from an early age, and when he shows a strong interest in football, the family also has enough funds to support his football dreams.
At the age of 13, with the support of his parents, Mendy entered the youth training of Le Havre, a famous french football player. The Le Havre youth training system is known for producing excellent goalkeepers, and many of the best goalkeepers who are currently active in French football and even in world football have been guided by the Le Havre youth system when they were young.
But from another point of view, Le Havre Youth Training has the most advanced goalkeeper training system, but it also means that there are many talents and fierce competition. In the genius of Le Havre, Mendy was not able to gain a foothold quickly, but instead fell behind in the process with Zachary Boucher, and ultimately failed to get a contract with Le Havre.
Returning home with a lonely mood, the parents had no choice but to comfort Mendy. Looking at his parents' sad expressions, Mendy secretly made up his mind that he must not be hit by a temporary failure, and he must make changes in a short period of time and kick out a look to make his parents happy. If not in Le Havre, go somewhere else until you succeed.
Determined to prove himself, Mendy travelled across France for trials, and after three trials, Ligue 2 side Cherbourg was willing to give Mendy a chance, and the Senegalese goalkeeper began his career.
But from another point of view, although Mendy debuted in the famous Le Havre, after all, he did not fully prove his strength in the youth camp, and many trials since then have ended in failure. Therefore, despite his tireless efforts to win a contract from Cherbourg, Mendy was a key player in a short period of time, and he only made five appearances in the 2011-2012 season, and his overall performance can only be described as decent. In the following 2012-13 season, Mendy's playing time did not change at all, and he only got 3 appearances in the whole season, which was completely a marginal figure of the team.
There are countless players like Mendy in world football, and most of them may have spent their entire lives in the lower leagues, or even have no way to get into the mainstream media. According to this development trajectory, even if Mendy has a good football talent, he may quickly sink into the lower leagues and eventually end his career in retirement.
Maybe Mendy at that time never thought of a day in the future, or maybe he just wanted to complete his football dream in the lower leagues. But what everyone didn't expect was that Heaven seemed willing to give Mendy another chance, but only if he had to withstand a more severe blow.
【Unemployed for one year, on the verge of retirement】
In the 2012-13 season, Cherbourg only achieved a bad record of 39 points in the Ligue 1 with only 9 wins, 12 draws and 17 defeats, and finally ranked second from the bottom of the league and was dismally relegated. After entering the 4th division, Mendy had more appearances, he made 18 appearances in the Fadin League in 2013-14, but the team's performance was still very bad, with only 8 wins, 9 draws and 13 defeats in 30 games, accumulating 33 points, conceding a total of 43 goals, and the defensive performance was also in the league bottom.
In a short period of time, from the middle of Ligue 1 to the Fadin relegation team, Mendy was also questioned by many fans, and the top brass of Cherbourg, who was willing to give him a chance, began to waver. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Mendy terminated his contract with Cherbourg to become a free agent. According to Mendy's later recollections, he was very eager to join a lower-level team in England at the time, because Mendy had visited Brighton as a teenager and brought in Brighton's goalkeeper at the time, Ronaldo Lopez. Nazario saw himself as his idol.
Of course, at that time, Mendy, as a substitute goalkeeper for a Relegated team in Ligue 1, naturally had difficulty climbing into a Premier League team like Brighton, and he commissioned his agent to contact a number of lower-level teams in England, but these teams generally had little interest in Mendy. At the same time, due to Mendy's difficult years in French football, the overall performance is very average, and his agent is also very indifferent to Mendy's transfer, and the Senegalese goalkeeper has not made half a point in the summer window of the 2014-15 season.
For a full year in the 2014-15 season, Mendy did not find his next home, and could only maintain his status through self-training. At that time, he had already lost his place in French football, although he had contacted many teams based on his parents, but most of the good goalkeepers had already shown their prominence after the age of 20, and Mendy had not yet shown any potential as a good goalkeeper, so the club was reluctant to give him a contract.
This embarrassing situation lasted for a whole year, and although Mendy has always insisted on his football dreams, the bleak reality has also repeatedly hit his self-confidence. As a 22-year-old young player, Mendy felt extremely confused about his future, and the long period of unemployment made it impossible for him to continue to stick to his football dreams, and even the idea of retiring came up at one point. Mendy confessed in a later interview: "I don't know what to do next. ”
Fortunately, his parents continued to support Mendy when he was confused, and it was with the help of his parents that Mendy regained his conviction and insisted on self-training and maintaining his state during the long period of unemployment. Due to long-term unemployment, even if the family conditions are quite good, Mendy's life is still slightly shabby, and even once had to rely on unemployment benefits to survive.
Later, Mendy realized that it was difficult to maintain the competitive state by his own training, coupled with the special nature of the position of goalkeeper, if there was no careful guidance from a professional goalkeeper coach, it would be difficult to further improve his skills. Against this backdrop, Mendy relied on a good relationship with his old club Le Havre and found an unpaid job – he worked as a sparring partner in Le Havre and trained with members of the club's first team, but without any salary.
Through this method, Mendy gained a stable training time during the difficult period of unemployment, and also laid the groundwork for his future blockbuster.
【Join Marseille, rekindle hope】
After a long year of suffering, Mendy began to look for a home again in the transfer window of the new season. On the recommendation of former teammate Ted Lavi, Marseille B was willing to give Mendy a chance to train, and the Senegalese goalkeeper seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to successfully win a contract for Marseille B.
At this time, although Mendy did not participate in official competitions for a year, he never relaxed his football training. Whether in sparring or alone in Cherbourg, Mendy's concentration was an important reason for his rapid rise in the future. At the same time, a year of solitude has made his mind far more mature than his peers, and he can calmly cope with difficulties in the Face of The B team in Marseille.
In the 2015-16 season, Mendy had plenty of opportunities in the Marseille reserve team, and with his good performances, he even got a chance to be promoted to the first team. Don't look at the fact that Mendy did not play for Marseille at that time, but his experience in the reserve team gave him contact with the training methods of French first-tier clubs, and the valuable opportunity to enter the first team gave him access to many excellent stars, which played a crucial role in accumulating experience.
However, at that time, Mendy had difficulty getting a stable appearance in Marseille, which had a relatively high star quality, and even in the reserve team, he could only serve as a substitute for Florian Escals for a long time.
In search of more opportunities to play, Mendy decided to leave Marseille. Of course, Mendy at this time is very different from the 23-year-old, although he still did not get many opportunities to play, but in Marseille's one-year playing period, he won a lot of scouting recognition, and his conscientious attitude to play is a key trait valued by many French middle and lower-class teams.
On 1 July 2016, Ligue 2 side Reims waived Mendy from Marseille B, kicking off a new chapter in the Senegalese goalkeeper's career.
In the 2016-17 Ligue 2 season, Mendy's positioning is still a substitute, but Heaven may want to give the diligent goalkeeper a chance - Reims first played against Amiens, the club's starting goalkeeper John Carrasso was sent off after the opening five minutes, Andi unexpectedly got a chance to appear. Mendy seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start after three clean sheets, and the Senegalese goalkeeper has since gained more opportunities, making 11 appearances in his debut season with Reims.
Entering the 2017-18 season, with the good play of last season, Mendy finally ushered in the first season of his career as a main player. He made 34 appearances for the team in Ligue 2 that season, completing a staggering 18 clean sheets, helping the team win the Ligue 2 title and successfully entering the Ligue 1 stage.
The 2017-18 season is undoubtedly a turning point for Mendy's career, although he has shown a certain competitive talent, but more often than not, he wasted years on the bench. Perhaps it was the twisting sand of that year that made Mendy temper his tenacity of heart, even if he encountered repeated setbacks, he never gave up his football, and the diligent training game state allowed him to grasp the opportunities that ordinary people could not grasp, and finally made a splash at the critical moment and opened his counterattack time.
After a successful promotion as an absolute main force, Mendy also received a new contract from the club - Lance raised his monthly salary to 5,000 euros. For Mendy, who once had to rely on a bailout to waste his years, the monthly salary of 5,000 euros is already a lot, and he even said to the team chairman: "This money is too much!" ”
【Famous Ligue 1, Sonic England】
After being recognised by the club, Mendy further showed high competitive status. In his first season in Ligue 1, the Senegalese will continue to shine as a key player for the team, making 41 appearances for Reims in all competitions (all 38 league appearances) and completing 15 games without conceding a goal.
Mendy's outstanding performance guaranteed Reims' defence, even if the team was only a humble promotion horse in the league, but Reims had already overcome many strong opponents that season and won the eighth place in the league. At the same time, Mendy's good performance in the French league attracted the attention of the national team, and it was during this period that he was selected for the Senegalese national team and made his debut for the national team.
A brilliant performance at Lance has brought Mendy into the sights of more Ligue 1 teams. After all, although Reims, who has just been promoted to the top league, also has a fairly good performance, the overall strength of the team is limited after all, and Mendy, who plays so brightly, naturally has a strong desire to seek a bigger stage.
On 6 August 2019, Ligue 1's centennial rennes officially brought Indy in for a transfer fee of €7.6 million. In the season he joined Rennes, Mendy quickly recovered from a finger fracture injury and used his brilliant performance as the main position of the team - he made a total of 31 appearances for the team in all competitions, setting a record for the least goal conceded per game for goalkeepers in rennes club history, helping Rennes win the third place in the league and successfully reach the Champions League.
With a height of 1.97 meters and a save success rate of nearly 70%, Mendy, although late to fame, already has the qualities of a top goalkeeper. At this time, his performance aroused the interest of many giants on the other side of the ocean, and Chelsea, whose record declined due to Kepa's poor performance, became very interested in him, and finally won it on September 24, 2020 for a transfer fee of 24 million euros.
Frankly speaking, although it has already had a fairly bright performance in Ligue 1, but due to the limited overall influence of Ligue 1, when Mendy officially joined Chelsea, there were still many fans who questioned the senegalese goalkeeper's strength.
But Mendy quickly proved his worth with performance. He did not live up to Cech's recommendation, the team's 3 league clean sheets and 3 Champions League clean sheets made Kepa have to sit on the bench, and the rapid integration with the team and the active command of the back line have made the newcomer Mendy already have the attribute of "defensive core". The 500 minutes + eye-catching performance without conceding a goal gave Chelsea a solid foundation for the start of the Tuchel era, and since then there has been a solid guarantee for the fourth place in the league and the Champions League.
In the end, Mendy helped Chelsea shoot down Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout rounds, and met Manchester City, also from the Premier League, in the final. In the face of the overall strength of the Blue Moon, Mendy is still a key link in the team's backline, relying on Mendy's stable play on the goal line, Tuchel dares to give up possession at key moments, relying on a stable defense to find opportunities. In the end, thanks to Havertz's fatal blow, Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the Champions League final to win their second Champions League title.
From unemployment to Champions League title, Mendy has spent less than 7 years staging his own civilian counterattack. But he definitely did not expect that his surprise was far from over.
Since then, in the competitions in which Van mendi has participated, he has almost always won the title of the best goalkeeper in the end - winning the Champions League title, winning the Champions League best goalkeeper title; winning the European Cup title, winning the European Super League Best Goalkeeper title; winning the African Cup of Nations, winning the African Cup of Nations Best Goalkeeper title... At the end of 2021, Mendy won the title of UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year and FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year. You know, Mendy's competitors are Donnarumma, who just led Italy to the European Cup, and Neuer, a Veteran German who has been famous in football for many years, and his gold content can be imagined.
【Conclusion】
At the age of 30, he has won almost all the honors in the field of goalkeeper. You know, Mendy has been active in the center of world football for less than two seasons, but he has completed many achievements that are difficult for goalkeepers to achieve throughout his career in just two seasons, on the one hand, thanks to the advantages of his height and arm length, on the other hand, it is inseparable from years of hard work.
Seven years ago, Mendy was just a confused young man receiving unemployment benefits, and after this year he has stood on the highest podium in world football. Mendy was also amazed at his transformation, and in the time that followed, he was perfectly capable of waging a higher level of honor.
The young people who read this article, maybe you are in a state of confusion today, maybe you are like Mendy today, but as Mendy himself said, if you can go back to 7 years ago, he will say to himself who was in a slump but still insisted on moving forward: "You are really great, thank you, you have not given up." ”
Every struggle today has laid the groundwork for future blooms.