Two years have passed since Perlan Mandy arrived at Real Madrid as another glittering acquisition • Today, after scoring two goals with his weak right foot, the left-back stepped into Marcelo's big shoes and became widely known as the Blancos' most successful transfer since 2015 • Tonight (22:00) Real Sociedad awaits him
Mandy is happy after the goal against Atlanta
Photo:
GettyImages
Smiling and calm after the 0-1 win over Atlanta in the last eight of the Champions League last week, Zinedine Zidane allowed himself to say that the winning goal was one big mistake in general.
"We had a planned exercise, but Perlan Mandy was not supposed to be the one kicking the goal at the end," the Real Madrid French coach admitted.
As you may recall, Tony Cross issued a short corner to Luca Modric.
The Croatian handed over to Mandy, and the French defender kicked off the field with his weak right foot and set up the game.
"The truth is that sometimes he kicks harder on the right foot," Zizu added, "she is strong, but his left foot is more accurate. In any case, it was not the planning."
Planned or not, this incident certainly was not.
Two weeks earlier, against Hattafa in the league, Mandy had scored his first goal of the season - and did so on the right foot.
Five days later he scored again on his weak leg, this time against Valencia at the end of a beautiful slalom in the open, but that goal was disqualified after the intervention of the screen judging system.
That is, the man who has scored just two goals in the last two years in all frames and all limbs, did so twice and a half in February, and on foot that many believed was used solely to climb stairs.
Beyond that, against Atalanta it was his break in the left wing that led to the removal of Remo Proiler who changed the game.
Mandy was chosen at the end as the man of the match, and rightly so, because the Frenchman was really excellent in that game in Bergamo.
As a left defender of course.
But also as an extremist, contact, striker, left, right, whatever it takes.
Exactly what Real needs
And these days, Real needs.
Her list of injured and missing is longer than the list of healthy and fit, and Zidane needs players who know how to get out of the box.
"We have to play now as a team," the Blancos coach said last week, adding: "It's important that we know how to defend together, because at the end the ball will come in."
This game plan sounds simple, but when Karim Benzema is injured and Xemiro is next on the list of conquerors, it was difficult to bet where they will come from at the end of Real's expatriates.
Vinicius is not hurting, Isco is not fit, and Mariano seems to be the one who is not yet closed on the laws of dissent.
Perlan Mandy was at the bottom of the list of potential conquerors, but it was he who made the move to the front of the stage this month.
Two goals and a critical red squeeze made him the big star of Real Madrid in February 2021.
Zidane fantasized about such a month when he brought Mandy in the summer of 2019. The coach was looking for someone to start getting into the shoes of the teenage Marcelo, and more than Sariel wanted the Lyon defender - he wanted her.
"Zidane didn't even have to call," Mendy's agent recalled, "Real comes once in a lifetime - and you don't tell her no."
The Frenchman's start at the Santiago Bernabeu has not been easy.
There were injuries, there was an early relegation from the Champions League, but over time Mandy took his place and built his image.
Compared to the offensive and wild Marcello, the French defender is considered a defensive wall.
Hardly contributes to the offense, but the fact that when he plays Real just does not lose.
Much to his credit the Blancos won one of the most impressive championships defensively last year, finishing it with 6.2 tackles per game - the fifth-highest figure in the league.
Gates?
He had one like that, in all settings.
This season, and especially in the last month, something has cracked in Mandy's image.
A player who does not leave the position even if it is bombed, the Frenchman allows himself to go up and walk a bit on the field and even threaten the goal.
"It's something Zidane asks of him," Nacho said, "because it helps the team find territory."
In recent weeks Mandy has done just that, while at the same time helping Real keep a clean sheet in four consecutive games.
When he arrived two years ago he was one of several brilliant acquisitions, and today he is the most successful of all, and many believe also Real's best acquisition since 2015. Still - both excellent on defense and managed to get into Marcello's shoes on offense - left and right. .