He is valuable in a squad because he knows how to speak at the right time. "Even as a number two, he always had the mindset of a leader and was very vocal in the locker room. "And that day, he performed really, really well. "During the first game of the season, the coach had to put him in as the number one received a red card," former Reims midfielder Danilson da Cruz, a Cape Verde international, tells BBC Sport. He got the opportunity to prove himself sooner than he expected. But Mendy decided to challenge himself again by joining Reims, then in Ligue 2, as a back-up. Taking his chances Edouard Mendy (left) and Cape Verde's Danilson da Cruz helped Reims to promotion to the Ligue 1Īmong the offers were lower-tier clubs looking for a first-choice keeper. "I didn’t decide for him - but I felt it would be useless to see him stay as a second or third keeper at Marseille," he says. Opportunities were coming Mendy's way, thanks to an agent close to Bernatowicz. It was enough for him to be offered a two-year deal.īut would the keeper be satisfied with being a Marseille reserve? Other clubs were interested. Mendy played just a handful of times for Marseille's second team during that season. He used the opportunity to rebuild his career, while his pregnant girlfriend stayed back in Le Havre. "For him, it was a challenge for eight or nine months where he just had to work hard." "Mendy was like a spare wheel, a filler," Bernatowicz says. He convinced the club to offer Mendy a one-year amateur contract on minimum salary. He was raw but I quickly saw his qualities in his profile as he could stretch and dive easily," recalls Bernatowicz, who described that week as 'Mendy’s last chance'. Even if he was accepted, he would only train with the first team - and play with the second team - sporadically.
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Mendy accepted the chance of a trial with the French giants, despite the fact it was only to become the fourth-choice goalkeeper. One chat was enough to convince him of Mendy's motivation. I added that he was trying to find any opportunity.”īernatowicz called the jobless goalkeeper. “I told him I used to play with one very good, tall, intelligent guy with a lot of room for progress. "I was speaking with one of my friends, Dominique Bernatowicz, in charge of the goalkeepers at Marseille's academy, and he was looking to fill a last spot," Lavie says. The former France youth international, who has DR Congo heritage, even calls himself “the starter” - the man who got Mendy's career up and running again. But his life changed completely in 2015 thanks to his old friend Lavie. A change of fortune Dominique Bernatowitcz saw the potential in Edouard Mendy and gave him a chance as a reserve keeper at MarseilleĪfter a year without a club, Mendy was running out of hope. With no income at all, Mendy was forced to register with the Pole Emploi, France's unemployment French agency, as he seriously considered his future in the game. "He was trying to stay in shape: he jogged alone, went to the gym, trained with some local clubs. Instead, Mendy returned home to Le Havre without a job. Mendy even rejected offers from lower-league clubs in France as he waited for a phone call. He waited patiently for an agent to fulfil his promise to help Mendy move to an English League One club. Empty promises and unemploymentĪt 22, his contract with Cherbourg had come to an end.
Things did not go to plan as the club were once again relegated - prompting the toughest period of Mendy's life so far. The only benefit was that he was offered a starting spot as the club played in the French fourth tier. Unfortunately, Mendy’s third season with Cherbourg ended with the club being relegated. "He was the best among our keepers and he was always involved, even as a bench guy." Myself and some other players fought to see him become the first choice. "He even joined the second team if needed. "Every time he was called up to replace the number one, Edouard responded well on the pitch," Ted Lavie, his former team-mate during the 2012-2013 season, tells BBC Sport Africa. He joined the team as third-choice keeper but he took the chances offered to him as he slowly climbed up the pecking order. It would prove to be the first of many tests that would challenge Mendy's determination and self-belief.
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