Steve Mandanda, who announced his international retirement on Saturday, "
was, in everyone's eyes, more than a second goalkeeper
", reacted the coach of the France team Didier Deschamps, praising an "
endearing personality
" and a player "
highly respected
”.
"
It (this decision) cannot leave me insensitive given the endearing personality of Steve, our common experience in the France team but also at Olympique de Marseille where he was, between 2010 and 2012, the captain of the team. team that I led
,” Deschamps said in a statement.
Historical goalkeeper of OM, now in Rennes, Mandanda has accumulated 35 selections, the last in the defeat (1-0) against Tunisia during the World Cup-2022, but has very often been confined as a back-up to Hugo Lloris, his competitor since their joint debut in 2008.
“
If he appeared on 160 match sheets for the France team, we must not underestimate his 35 selections.
Only five goalkeepers have done better in the history of the Blues
, ”retains Deschamps.
"
Reaching the highest level is extremely complicated, staying there as long as Steve even more
," he said of the 37-year-old goalkeeper.
The player born in Kinshasa, trained in Evreux and revealed in Le Havre, was selected for four final stages of Euros and three World Cups.
Since his first cape in May 2008, he has only missed the 2014 World Cup through injury.
He has always shown great professionalism, total involvement and has always had the concern to put the collective forward.
Didier Deschamps
“
Steve will therefore have served the France team for sixteen seasons, not always in the role he would have liked.
But he has always shown great professionalism, total involvement and has always had the concern to put the collective forward.
Very appreciated by the players and the staff, very respected too, he was, in everyone's eyes, more than a second goalkeeper
, ”says Deschamps.
These sixteen seasons with the Blues "
show how remarkable his level of performance and his consistency at the highest level were
", reacted goalkeeper coach Franck Raviot, highlighting "
this strength, this influence, this ability to be decisive, this charisma, this voice that reassures, protects and energizes a collective
”.
“
His sense of duty, his altruism, his respect for the hierarchy, his empathy and his benevolence towards the other guardians of the selection, testify to his greatness of spirit and his greatness of soul
”, declares Raviot.
