Steve Mandanda Mpidi (; born 28 March 1985) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. A product of the

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

academy, Mandanda spent most of his professional career with

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, making 614 appearances across all competitions in two spells at the club, and was voted Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year five times. He also had a short stint with English club Crystal Palace between his spells at Marseille. In 2023, Mandanda joined Rennes. Born in

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

(present-day DR Congo), Mandanda played for the France national team. Making his debut in 2008, representing France at seven international tournaments: four

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

s (

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

) and three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s (

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), winning the tournament in 2018.

Club career

Early career

Mandanda was born on 28 March 1985 in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, Democratic Republic of the Congo (then

), but he moved with his family to

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

, France when he was two years old. He practiced

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

before joining the local team ALM Évreux at age nine. He acquired French nationality by naturalization in May 2003.

Le Havre

Mandanda made his league debut for Le Havre in August 2005, and did not concede a goal until his fourth match. He played 30 league matches in the 2005–06 season and 37 in 2006–07, with his performances attracting the attention of other clubs. Following an unsuccessful trial at Aston Villa prior to the 2007–08 season, he joined Marseille in summer 2007.

Marseille

At the start of his first season with Marseille, Mandanda was regarded as an understudy to first choice keeper Cédric Carrasso. However a knee injury ruled Carrasso out for six months, leaving the way clear for Mandanda to become a regular fixture in Ligue 1, Champions League and UEFA Cup matches. On 5 March 2008, Mandanda joined Marseille on a permanent four-year contract. At the end of Mandanda's final season at Marseille he was named as the club's Player of the Season. It was the second time that he won the award having previously done so in the 2007-08 campaign.

Crystal Palace

On 1 July 2016,

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Crystal Palace announced that they had completed the signing of Mandanda on a free transfer from Marseille. He struggled to make an impact, being injured for most of the season. He made just ten appearances.

Return to Marseille

On 11 July 2017, Mandanda returned to Olympique de Marseille on a three-year contract for €3 million. On 22 December 2018, Mandanda played his 500th match for Marseille, in a 1–1 draw at

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

. On 25 August 2020, aged 35, he prolonged his contract until 2024.

Rennes

On 6 July 2022,

announced the signing of Mandanda on a two-year deal. On 8 January 2024, Mandanda extended his contract with Rennes until June 2025.

International career

Mandanda won a number of caps for the France national under-21 team and was named in the French squad for the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. For the first time, in 2007, he took part in the French A-squad pre-selection. He played in a friendly match with France B against Congo DR on 5 February 2008, in which he was substituted at half time, and his younger brother Parfait came on for Congo. He made his full international debut on 27 May 2008 in a 2–0 victory against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

in a Euro 2008 warm-up friendly, coming on as a half-time substitute for Sébastien Frey, and was subsequently nominated as the third-choice goalkeeper in the French squad for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland. He started the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualifying campaign as France's first-choice goalkeeper, making his competitive international debut on 6 September 2008 in their opening qualifier against

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. However, was replaced in the summer of 2009, as Raymond Domenech chose

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

goalkeeper

Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Lloris began his career wi ...

over him for the international starting eleven. Mandanda was a member of France's World Cup team, but did not appear in any of its three matches in the competition. On 6 June 2011, Mandanda captained the French in a 4–1 friendly win away to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

at the Donbas Arena. He was called up for

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

in Poland and Ukraine. Mandanda was originally named in the squad also for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, but sustained an injury before the tournament and was replaced by Stéphane Ruffier of AS Saint-Étienne. He was part of the squad that came runners-up at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

on home soil. Mandanda was part of the 23-man France squad that won the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia. He played their goalless group game against

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, his debut tournament appearance, at the age of 33. In November 2022, he was named in the French squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Qatar, where he started against

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in the final group stage match. On 14 January 2023, Mandanda announced his retirement from international football.

Personal life

Mandanda has three younger brothers, Parfait, Riffi, and Over, all of whom are goalkeepers. He enjoys spending time with his family in the city of Marseille, where he lives. He has earned the nickname "Frenchie" amongst his relatives for having chosen to play for the

France national football team The France national football team () represents France in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the French Football Federation (FFF; ), the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Euro ...

rather than Congo, his country of birth.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Marseille *

: 2009–10 *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

runner-up: 2017–18 France *

; runner-up:

runner-up:

Individual *

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

Best Goalkeeper: 2005 * UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: February 2008, August 2008, September 2017 * UNFP Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2007–08, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18 * UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18 *

Olympian of the Season: 2007–08, 2015–16 Orders * Knight of the Legion of Honour: 2018

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandanda, Steve 1985 births Living people Footballers from Kinshasa Footballers from Évreux Naturalized citizens of France French men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers French sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Black French sportspeople Men's association football goalkeepers Le Havre AC players Olympique de Marseille players Crystal Palace F.C. players Stade Rennais FC players Ligue 2 players Ligue 1 players Premier League players France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2008 players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players French expatriate men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Knights of the Legion of Honour Association football people awarded knighthoods 21st-century French sportsmen 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo sportsmen