For Christophe Mandanne, the closing of the winter transfer window, on January 31, sounded like retirement time. "Released" by Châteauroux (L2) in June 2019, the Reunion striker distinctly saw the end looming. “I had a few proposals from L2 and National clubs. It did not succeed, explains the winner of the 2014 French Cup with Guingamp, also passed by Tours, Le Havre, Dijon, Reims and Nancy - 89 games of L1 (14 goals) and 284 in L2 (55 goals). There were also offers from lower division clubs, which did not suit me. "
Of the 35 or so “unemployed” gathered in the UNFP FC for the training camps and the matches this summer, seven or eight have not found a club, but only Mandanne has decided to hang up.
📽 Find the summary of the 9th and last preparation match of the UNFP team disputed against @RCSA, 3-2 win of the Alsatians (Zohi 12 ', Botella 44' and El Mansouri 90 '), against achievements signed @byketkeo 10' and Christophe Mandanne 70 'for #TeamUNFP. pic.twitter.com/Ru8aSyy0PX
- UNFP (@UNFP) August 4, 2019"At the end of the summer transfer window, clubs said they would send me a contract within a week or even the following weekend," he explains. And then, more news ... This way of doing things disgusted me a little. From a certain age in France, clubs are reluctant. They wonder if you are going to hold an entire season. They favor young people too, which is natural. And what about the stranger? “I had a few touches but nothing very interesting, from my point of view, says Mandanne, who played a season in the Emirates (2015-16). I had just had a baby boy. I didn't want to go anywhere either… ”
Guingamp, the Belle Epoque
Leaving for China in October to support the French team at the World Military Summer Games (out of the quota of three authorized civilian players), Mandanne, hit in one knee in the first match, was finally returned to Fatima and Isaac, 8 months.
"There, wounded, with no offer, I told myself that the moment might have come," he confides. At the winter transfer window, I had no great hope ... My wife saw it coming like me, she was just a little sad for me because she knows that it is my passion. But there was our little boy. I told myself that I was going to take full advantage of these moments and not take my head too much on football. And then, the days go by and you get used to the idea that it's over. "
Also, after 439 professional games and 88 goals in all competitions, it's time to take stock. “The best time was Guingamp, there is no photo, exclaims Mandanne, Costarmorican from January 2012 to June 2015. And the coach who impressed me the most, Jocelyn Gourvennec without hesitation. It was a lot of goals in tandem with Claudio Beauvue ( note: today at Deportivo La Coruña in Spanish D2 ). The Cup victory, a 16th in the Europa League… The course is beautiful: to have left Réunion very young and to have made a respectable career, if not very great… ”
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He does not retire, he even deplores "some heritage galleys" without saying more. He is already working to become a coach, even a coach for attackers. Here or in Reunion, depending on the opportunities that will arise when the time comes. "I started training with the pros when I was 16," he warns. Also, I don't have a diploma. But I will work accordingly. It must be, right? "