Clean sheet, or the failure to concede a goal during a match.
It is the dream that every goalkeeper in the world has, it is the one that Edouard Mendy realizes.
At 29, the Chelsea goalkeeper has become the specialist in the field.
Before the round of 16 second leg against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League this Wednesday (1-0 victory for the English in the first leg in Spain), the Senegalese international has recorded 20 in all competitions (14 in the league, 5 in the League). champions and 1 in the FA Cup) in… 31 games played.
He becomes pro late
“It doesn't surprise me,” confirms Michel Courel, the Le Havre goalkeeper coach.
When I got to know him, he already had enormous qualities.
Especially in the explosiveness.
At the time, he was just a 13 year old kid who was not yet the size he is but he was already hard to beat… ”
55% - Édouard Mendy has kept 12 clean sheets in 22 Premier League starts (55%);
of the 210 goalkeepers to have started at least 10 games in the competition, he is the only one to keep a clean sheet in over half.
Strength.
pic.twitter.com/zeOJCa5y2r
- OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 4, 2021
If he touches the stars in the Champions League and the Premier League, Edouard Mendy has not had an easy journey.
Between unemployment for a year and the signing of a first professional contract at 23, the goalkeeper of nearly two meters (1.97 m precisely) has above all displayed an unfailing determination.
“I had spotted him when he was playing at Caucriauville, a neighborhood club in the upper town of Le Havre,” explains Courel.
He came to us at HAC.
He then preferred to go to the Municipalities for school reasons.
He wanted to focus on his studies first and did not think he could take on daily training.
It is a choice that honors him and shows his strength of conviction.
He knows what he wants and he never gives up.
"
At the Municipalities of Le Havre, a formation which evolves in Division d'Honneur (the 6th national level), Edouard Mendy will play until the age of 19.
"He is a boy who has remained faithful to his roots," confirms Jean Naze, the president of the Municipalities.
He does not forget where he came from.
The kid from Le Havre already has this determination that we know him.
"He is someone that we listen to when he speaks with his deep, deep voice," says the president of Le Havre.
He is a calm and collected boy.
And, above all, he is a model in the field.
Obviously, he is credible in the eyes of others.
"
One year of unemployment before seeing his career take off
After the Municipal, Edouard Mendy signs in Cherbourg where there are three seasons (one in National and two in National 2).
At the end of his contract, without a club, he returned home and registered with Pôle emploi.
He stayed there for a year.
An experience which further strengthened the character of the future champion.
“He was training with me at HAC during that time,” says Courel.
It's not an easy time for him but he continued to hang on.
"
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"We are really privileged", says goalkeeper Edouard Mendy
The rest of the story is located at the other end of France, at the Olympique de Marseille.
The club offers him an amateur contract which will revive him.
Just after, the Stade de Reims detected enormous potential in this boy.
“I was looking for an understudy from Johann Carrasso,” says Sébastien Hamel, the coach of the Reims goalkeepers.
I recruited him on videos and advice from Stéphane Cassard
(Editor's note: OM goalkeeper coach at the time)
.
We already noticed its scale and explosiveness.
By meeting him, I discovered his intelligence and his righteousness.
He knew the rules at the start and was able to seize his chance, especially in the second season.
This will end with a title of champion of France in Ligue 2.
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With his 18 clean sheets in 34 games, the goalkeeper conceded only 22 goals and contributed greatly to the rise in the elite of the Rémois.
In Ligue 1, Edouard Mendy continues his meteoric progress still in Reims (14 clean sheets) then in Rennes last season (9 in 24 games).
Edouard Mendy came to visit his former club of Municipalities of Le Havre and its president, Jean Naze, in July 2020./DR
"He came to see us in July," says the president of the Municipalities of Le Havre.
He was telling us about the preliminary round of the Champions League that he thought he would play with Rennes.
He had not yet signed at Chelsea.
The English take out the checkbook and pay 24 million euros to bring it from Rennes at the end of September 2020.
Scheduled to be the lining of Kepa Arrizabalaga, the man with 10 selections with Senegal has still foiled all forecasts and becomes the holder a month and a half after his arrival.
“His career is intelligent,” concludes Sébastien Hamel.
He won at Chelsea as he did at home.
He achieved this through his mental strength and the work he did.
He has not finished progressing.
He ticks all the boxes to go even higher.
I tell myself that after Chelsea, why not go knock on the door of Real or Bayern.
He is capable of it ... "