Steve Mandanda, who was twice (2008 and 2011) voted Goalkeeper of the Year of Ligue 1, is a professional footballer and currently plays for the French football club Marseille and also for the French national football team.
A member of the French national team since 2008, Mandanda has represented the country at five international tournaments, including two FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships. He made his world championship debut at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, while his debut at the 2008 UEFA European Championship took place in France.
Steve Mandanda Brief Bio
Steve Mandanda was born in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, on 28 March 1985 as Steve Mandanda Mpidi. He moved to France as a teenager to pursue a career in football. There is no information about his educational qualifications.
His Family, Siblings
Steve is the first of four children born to his parents – Franck and Brigitte Mandanda. His three younger brothers, Parfait Mandanda, Over Mandanda, and Riffi Mandanda, are all professional footballers who play as goalkeepers just like him.
Parfait is a member of the Belgian football club Charleroi and the Congolese national football team. Riffi is the goalkeeper for AC Ajaccio (a French football club) and for the French national football team of the under-16s. His youngest brother Over is in the junior ranks of the French football club US Lusitanos Saint-Maur.
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Steve Mandanda, who has been nicknamed “Frenchie” by relatives and friends because he decided to play for the French national football team through the Congo national team, lives with his family in Marseille and enjoys spending his free time with them.
League Career
After moving to France, Steve began his career with Le Havre, a French football club based in Le Havre, and made his first appearance for the club in August 2005. He played a total of 30 league games for the club in the 2005/2006 season and did not concede a goal until his fourth game of the season.
The following season (2006/2007) saw him play 37 league matches and his outstanding performances soon caught the attention of other clubs, including England’s Aston Villa, with whom he had an unsuccessful preseason before settling with French club Marseille in the summer of 2007.
Mandanda began his career in Marseilles as the understudy to Cédric Carrasso, the goalkeeper of choice, who was suspended for six months due to a knee injury. This enabled Steve to act as the club’s main goalkeeper in the French professional league, Ligue 1, Champions League, and UEFA Cup matches. After an impressive performance, he signed a four-year permanent contract with Marseille in March 2008.
When his four-year contract expired, he was named Marseille’s “Player of the Season” for the second time. He had already won this award in the previous season.
In 2016, Premier League club Crystal Palace signed Steve Mandanda for a free transfer from Marseille, but he only had nine appearances throughout the season due to injury. The following year (2017) Mandanda returned to Olympique de Marseille with a three-year contract.
International Career
Steve joined the French national football team in 2008, but before that, he had already played with the U21 team and won a number of international matches with them. Following his outstanding performances, he was appointed to the French squad to represent the country at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
In 2007, the goalkeeper took part in the French A squad preselection for the first time. In February 2008, he played with the French national team in a friendly match against his native DR Congo, with his younger brotherParfait as a goalkeeper. However, he was substituted at half-time.
Steve made his first international appearance on 27 May 2008 in a Euro 2008 friendly against Ecuador, which ended in a 2-0 win. He came in as a substitute for Sébastien Frey and showed an amazing performance. After the match, he was nominated as the French team’s third goalkeeper for Euro 2008.
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He subsequently qualified as France’s goalkeeper of choice for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers but was replaced in summer 2009 by coach Raymond Domenech with Hugo Lloris, who preferred the goalkeeper of Olympique Lyonnais. Mandanda was still in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup but never had the chance to play in any of the team’s three matches in the competition.
He made the squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup but was replaced by Stéphane Ruffie after suffering an injury before the official start of the tournament. Another opportunity came in 2018 when he was called up to the 23-man squad to represent France at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and this time he played in that tournament.
How Tall Is Steve Mandanda? – His Height And Weight
The goalkeeper of the French national team stands at a height of 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) and weighs 82 kg. His other body measurements are unknown.