Steve Mandanda

Steve Mandanda Mpidi (French pronunciation: ​[stɛv mɑ̃dɑ̃da];[4] born 28 March 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Marseille, where he is captain, and the France national team.

Steve Mandanda

Mandanda with France in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Steve Mandanda Mpidi[1]
Date of birth	28 March 1985[2]
Place of birth	Kinshasa, Zaire
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Marseille
Number	30
Youth career
1994–2000	ALM Évreux
2000–2005	Le Havre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2008	Le Havre	67	(0)
2007–2008	→ Marseille (loan)	34	(0)
2008–2016	Marseille	300	(0)
2016–2017	Crystal Palace	9	(0)
2017–	Marseille	106	(0)
National team^‡
2003–2006	France U21	17	(0)
2008	France B	2	(0)
2008–	France	34	(0)
Honours Men's football Representing  France FIFA World Cup Winner 2018 Russia UEFA European Championship Runner-up 2016 France
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 January 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:18, 11 November 2020 (UTC)

He's spent most of his professional career with Marseille, making over 500 appearances across all competitions, and was voted Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year five times.

Since his debut in 2008, Mandanda has represented France at five international tournaments: three UEFA European Championships (2008, 2012, and 2016) and two FIFA World Cups (2010 and 2018), winning the last of those.

Club career

Early career

Steve Mandanda was born on 28 March 1985 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaire), but he moved with his family to Évreux, France when he was two years old. He practiced boxing before joining the local team ALM Évreux at age nine.[5]

Le Havre

Mandanda made his league debut for Le Havre in August 2005, and did not concede a goal until his fourth match. He played 30 league matches in the 2005–06 season and 37 in 2006–07, with his performances attracting the attention of other clubs. Following an unsuccessful trial at Aston Villa prior to the 2007–08 season,[6] he joined Marseille in summer 2007.

Olympique de Marseille

Mandanda with Marseille in 2010

At the start of his first season with Marseille, Mandanda was regarded as an understudy to first choice keeper Cédric Carrasso. However a knee injury ruled Carrasso out for six months, leaving the way clear for Mandanda to become a regular fixture in Ligue 1, Champions League and UEFA Cup matches. On 5 March 2008, Mandanda joined Marseille on a permanent four-year contract.

At the end of Mandanda's final season at Marseille he was named as the club's Player of the Season. It was the second time that he won the award having previously done so in the 2007-08 campaign.[7]

Crystal Palace

On 1 July 2016, Premier League club Crystal Palace announced that they had completed the signing of Mandanda on a free transfer from Marseille.[8] He struggled to make an impact, being injured for most of the season. He made just ten appearances.[9]

Return to Marseille

On 11 July 2017, Mandanda returned to Olympique de Marseille on a three-year contract for €3 million.[10]

On 22 December 2018, Mandanda played his 500th match for Marseille, in a 1–1 draw at Angers.[11] On 25 August 2020, aged 35, he prolonged his contract until 2024.[12]

International career

Mandanda has won a number of caps for the France national under-21 football team and was named in the French squad for the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

For the first time, in 2007, he took part in the French A-squad pre-selection.[13]

He played in a friendly match with France B against Congo DR on 5 February 2008, in which he was substituted at half time, and his younger brother Parfait came on for Congo. He made his full international debut on 27 May 2008 in a 2–0 victory against Ecuador in a Euro 2008 warm-up friendly, coming on as a half-time substitute for Sébastien Frey, and was subsequently nominated as the third-choice goalkeeper in the French squad for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.[14]

He started the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign as France's first-choice goalkeeper, making his competitive international debut on 6 September 2008 in their opening qualifier against Austria. However, was replaced in the summer of 2009, as Raymond Domenech chose Olympique Lyonnais goalkeeper Hugo Lloris over him for the international starting eleven. Mandanda was a member of France's World Cup team, but did not appear in any of its three matches in the competition.

On 6 June 2011, Mandanda captained the French in a 4–1 friendly win away to Ukraine at the Donbass Arena.[15] He was called up for UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.[16]

Mandanda was originally named in the squad also for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but sustained an injury before the tournament and was replaced by Stéphane Ruffier of AS Saint-Étienne.[17] He was part of the squad that came runners-up at UEFA Euro 2016 on home soil.[18]

Mandanda was part of the 23-man French squad that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He played their goalless group game against Denmark, his first tournament appearance at the age of 33.[19]

Personal life

Mandanda has three younger brothers, all of whom are goalkeepers: Parfait, goalkeeper of Charleroi and Congolese international; Riffi, goalkeeper of Kongsvinger; and Over, who plays for Bordeaux.[20] He enjoys spending time with his family in the city of Marseille, where he lives. He has earned the nickname "Frenchie" amongst his relatives for having chosen to play for the French national football team rather than Congo, his country of birth.[21]

In September 2020 he tested positive for COVID-19.[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 January 2021.[23][24]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[lower-alpha 1]		League Cup[lower-alpha 2]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Le Havre	2005–06	Ligue 2	30	0	0	0	2	0	—		—		32	0
	2006–07	Ligue 2	37	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		39	0
	Total		67	0	1	0	3	0	—		—		71	0
Marseille	2007–08 (loan)	Ligue 1	34	0	2	0	2	0	10[lower-alpha 3]	0	—		48	0
	2008–09	Ligue 1	38	0	2	0	1	0	14[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		55	0
	2009–10	Ligue 1	36	0	2	0	2	0	10[lower-alpha 3]	0	—		50	0
	2010–11	Ligue 1	38	0	0	0	3	0	8[lower-alpha 5]	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	0	50	0
	2011–12	Ligue 1	38	0	2	0	2	0	9[lower-alpha 5]	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	0	52	0
	2012–13	Ligue 1	38	0	3	0	1	0	9[lower-alpha 7]	0	—		51	0
	2013–14	Ligue 1	38	0	1	0	2	0	6[lower-alpha 5]	0	—		47	0
	2014–15	Ligue 1	38	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		38	0
	2015–16	Ligue 1	36	0	6	0	0	0	8[lower-alpha 7]	0	—		50	0
	Total		334	0	18	0	13	0	74	0	2	0	441	0
Crystal Palace	2016–17	Premier League	9	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		10	0
Marseille	2017–18	Ligue 1	31	0	3	0	0	0	11[lower-alpha 7]	0	—		45	0
	2018–19	Ligue 1	31	0	1	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 7]	0	—		34	0
	2019–20	Ligue 1	27	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		29	0
	2020–21	Ligue 1	17	0	0	0	—		6[lower-alpha 5]	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	0	24	0
	Total		106	0	5	0	2	0	18	0	1	0	132	0
Career total			516	0	24	0	19	0	92	0	3	0	654	0

1. Include Coupe de France
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue and EFL Cup
3. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League and four appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League and six appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
6. Appearance in Trophée des Champions
7. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 11 November 2020[25][26]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
France	2008	3	0
	2009	2	0
	2010	8	0
	2011	1	0
	2012	1	0
	2013	1	0
	2014	3	0
	2015	2	0
	2016	3	0
	2017	2	0
	2018	2	0
	2019	4	0
	2020	2	0
Total		34	0

Honours

Marseille

• Ligue 1: 2009–10
• Coupe de la Ligue: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
• Trophée des Champions: 2010, 2011
• UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2017–18[27]

France

• FIFA World Cup: 2018[28]

Individual

• Toulon Tournament Best Goalkeeper: 2005[29]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: February 2008, August 2008, September 2017
• UNFP Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2007–08, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18[30]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18[30]
• Marseille Olympian of the Season: 2007–08, 2015–16[7]

Orders

• Knight of the Legion of Honour: 2018[31]

References

1. "UCL Booking list 2007/2008" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
2. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 11. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
3. "Profil of Steve Mandanda" (web). Olympic of Marseille. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
4. OM (25 March 2018). "Steve Mandanda bests saves 2018". YouTube (in French). Retrieved 6 October 2018.
5. "Biographie de Steve Mandanda". stevemandanda.net (in French). Archived from the original on 7 November 2012.
6. "France goalkeeper in Aston Villa trial". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011.
7. Daurès, Camille (1 June 2016). "Mandanda, Olympian of the 2015-16 season". Olympique de Marseille. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
8. "Mandanda Pens Crystal Palace Deal". Crystal Palace Football Club. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
9. Steve Mandanda, Soccerway.
10. "Mandanda Departs Palace". Crystal Palace F.C. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
11. Albano, Mario (22 December 2018). "Angers-OM - Steve Mandanda : cap 500". La Provence (in French). Retrieved 10 October 2019.
12. "Veteran Marseille captain Mandanda extends contract to 2024". Yahoo!. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
13. "List of the pre-selected players in the french A-squad in the season 2007–2008" (in French). Archived from the original on 28 November 2007.
14. Duchesne, Vincent (28 May 2008). "Mandanda a poussé la porte" [Mandanda has pushed the door open]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 10 October 2019.
15. "TEAM NEWS: Jeremy Menez starts for France against Ukraine". Goal. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
16. "Euro 2012: Younes Kaboul misses out on France squad". BBC Sport. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
17. "World Cup 2014: Stephane Ruffier confirmed in France squad". BBC Sport. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
18. "Euro 2016: Leicester's N'Golo Kante in France squad". BBC Sport. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
19. "Finally: French reserve keeper Mandanda gets a game". Reuters. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
20. "Les Mandanda, une dynastie de gardiens" (in French). Le Parisien. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
21. Benson, Rory (14 January 2016). "Aston Villa scouting report: Who is Steve Mandanda?". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
22. "Coronavirus : Mandanda, retour sur un imbroglio". LaProvence.com (in French). 5 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
23. "Steve Mandanda". L'Equipe (in French). Retrieved 8 July 2016.
24. "S. Mandanda". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
25. Steve Mandanda at National-Football-Teams.com
26. "S. Mandanda". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
27. Begley, Emlyn (16 May 2018). "Atletico Madrid win Europa League with 3–0 victory over Marseille". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
28. McNulty, Phil (15 July 2018). "France 4–2 Croatia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
29. "Youthful talents convene in Toulon". Eurosport. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
30. "Trophées UNFP : Steve Mandanda désigné meilleur gardien de Ligue 1" [Trophées UNFP: Steve Mandanda named best goalkeeper in Ligue 1]. L'Équipe (in French). 13 May 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
31. "Décret du 31 décembre 2018 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 31 December 2018 on promotion and appointment]. Official Journal of the French Republic (in French). 2019 (1). 1 January 2019. PRER1835394D. Retrieved 28 November 2020.

External links

• Steve Mandanda at Soccerway
• Steve Mandanda – FIFA competition record
• Steve Mandanda at National-Football-Teams.com
• Steve Mandanda – French league stats at LFP (also available in French)