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Edouard Mendy, the Senegalese now joins former Zimbabwean Warriors ’keeper, Bruce Grobbelaar, as the only African goal-minders, who have won the European club football’s top prize in 1984. Grobbelaar’s triumph came that night in the Italian eternal city of Rome when his spaghetti legs distracted the Roma forwards — Bruno Conti and Fracesco Grazian as Liverpool were crowned champions of Europe.
37 years on but, at long last, Africa can boast of a second goalkeeper who has won the UEFA Champions League crown.
And, this one even feels special, more like a fairytale, because just six years ago, he was jobless and looking for a professional club to play for.
Now, Edouard Mendy, the 29-year-old Senegalese international ’keeper, has just completed one of football’s most unlikely adventures by becoming a Champions League winner.
He did that by keeping the world’s most expensive ’keeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, who cost a staggering £72 million, when Chelsea acquired him from Spanish club Athletic Bilbao on the bench.
Mendy is not even part of the club of the five most expensive goalkeepers, in the world, which also features Alisson Becker (£65 million), Thibaut Courtois (£35 million), Ederson (£34.7 million) and Gianluigi Buffon (£32.6 million).
The Senegalese cost £22 million when Chelsea brought him to London on a five-year deal.
Rewind 37 years ago, a tight match had ended 1-1, after extra-time, spilling into a penalty shoot-out where Grobbelaar turned into the hero of the night as his antics affected the focus of the Roma players.
It was the first match in the history of the tournament to decide the champions of European club football using a penalty shoot-out. Since then, no African ’keeper had found a way, to win European club football’s biggest prize, in a game where goal-minders from the continent have generally failed to make the same impact as their in-field colleagues.
However, Mendy changed all that in the Portuguese city of Porto as he helped Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in an all-English final.
He became only the second ’keeper, after Porto’s Augustin Marchesin, who helped his side to a goalless draw against Manchester City in a group game on December 1, last year, to stop this free-scoring Manchester City team, from getting at least a goal, in this Champions League.
How things change, seven years ago, Mendy was forced to register for unemployment benefits as he looked for alternative jobs away from his pursuit of a professional football career as he struggled to make ends meet with a pregnant girlfriend to support.
He had started at the academy of the French club, Le Havre, the same team which Tino Kadewere used as a springboard, to earn his deal at giants Olympique Lyon.
However, things didn’t work out for Mendy and disillusioned by the way his search for the comforts of professional football was veering off course, he was ready to dump the game, at the age of 22.
However, a chance invitation for him to fill a goalkeeping vacancy at giants Marseille, in 2015, changed everything and, after stops at Marshall Munetsi’s Reims and Rennes, Chelsea came knocking for his services.
“I had unemployment support at that time so I could dedicate myself totally to football,’’ he told The Sun newspaper, in October, last year.
“But, it was incredibly difficult and my partner was expecting our first baby. Unemployment support wasn’t going to be enough for us. We needed something else so I started looking for other work.
“Then I had the opportunity to go to Marseille and I was given a trial there.
“It was just a case of giving everything to get the opportunity to join that club. Fortunately, for me, it worked and when it did it was a relief for me.
“One year without football is an incredibly long time and I had many doubts during that time but, it was thanks to my family, who helped so much to keep me strong.
“I had my doubts over whether to carry on but I look now and say it is thanks to those that I am where I am today and my family are able to benefit from where I have got to with football.”
Mendy became the first goalkeeper, in the history of the tournament, which was introduced in 1955, to keep nine clean sheets, in his debut season. He also became only the second ‘keeper, after Marc-Andre ter Stegen in 2015, to end up with the winner’s medal, on his neck, in his maiden season, in the tournament.
Mendy featured in 12, of Chelsea’s 13 Champions League matches, and was only beaten on three occasions.
It was his 25th clean sheet this season in all matches. Others will say fate was also smiling on his club after UEFA, at the last minute, switched the final from the Turkish city of Istanbul to Porto’s Estadio do Dragao, the only stadium where City had failed to score, in their entire Champions League campaign, last season.
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