Steve Mandanda

Steve Mandanda

Personal information
Date of birth	28 March 1985 (1985-03-28)
Place of birth	Kinshasa, Zaire
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Marseille
Number	30
Youth career
2001–2005	Le Havre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2007	Le Havre	67	(0)
2007–	Marseille	150	(0)
National team‡
2003–2006	France U-21	17	(0)
2008	France B	2	(0)
2008–	France	14	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 June 2011

Steve Mandanda (born 28 March 1985 in Kinshasa) is a French international footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for French club Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1. He currently serves as first-choice captain of Marseille. Mandanda is also a French international and has represented his nation at two international tournaments; UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Football career

Le Havre

Mandanda made his league début for Le Havre in August 2005, only conceding his first goal in 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, he joined Marseille in summer 2007.

Olympique de Marseille

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. However, his strong performances have led to rumours about moves to England and Italy with clubs such as city rivals Manchester United and Manchester City and also AC Milan.

International career

Mandanda has won a number of caps for the France national under-21 football team and was named 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.

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 Euro 2008.

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, he 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.

Personal life

Steve Mandanda has three younger brothers, all of whom are goalkeepers : Parfait, AS Beauvais and Congolese international goalkeeper ; Riffi, Caen, and goalkeeper of the France U-16 and Ever, Lusitanos Saint-Maur. 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.

Honours

Club

• Marseille
  • Ligue 1: 2009–10
  • Coupe de la Ligue: 2010, 2011

Individual

• Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2007–08, 2010–11
• Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2007–08

External links

• Official website (French)
• Steve Mandanda – FIFA competition record
• Steve Mandanda at National-Football-Teams.com
• Steve Mandanda French league stats at LFP.fr (French)