Antonio Rüdiger was asked to develop the perfect Madrid player. While he cited Özil (left foot), Cristiano (right), Vinicius (speed), Kroos (intelligence) and Modric (skills), he did not have to give any explanation. They seemed like expected responses. But they asked him forcibly, he mentioned Ferland Mendy and, then yes, he had to justify himself. “This boy is strong as an ox,” he warned his interlocutor, who, looking for the ideal portrait, was expecting a more distinguished surname.
Faced with the usual lack of interest in his figure beyond Valdebebas, the prosaic Mendy (Meulan-en-Yvelines, France; 28 years old) has never lacked the appreciation of his technicians. Zinedine Zidane demanded his signing, gave him the opportunity to put an end to a quarter of a century of Brazilian monoculture (Roberto Carlos and Marcelo), and Carlo Ancelotti recently gave him soap by defining him as “the best defensive left-back in the world.”
This Saturday, before facing Sevilla (9:00 p.m., DAZN), he offered details of the importance of this defender, less punished this season by injuries: “With Vinicius [más arriba]which offers a very offensive quality, Mendy has everything for that left back. He handles two against one very well and the inferiorities that we sometimes face in that position,” he argued about this corrective factor of a Vini with few runs back.
Not much is known about this shy, long-legged defender who, on his first Christmas at the Bernabéu, was given a brick by his teammates for the trouble he put in during training; His adventures in attack generate concern on his own side because he usually gets into a jungle of rivals that are difficult to escape on his own; and for long periods of time he has fallen sine the to the infirmary. But since he signed in 2019 from Lyon for 48 million (he has a contract until 2025), his coaches have not hesitated to consider him a priority. This season, with more health, he has once again had continuity well ahead of the re-fished Fran García. This Sunday he returns to a list that does not include Carvajal, Camavinga (suspended), Bellingham, Joselu (two-three weeks out due to bone edema in his right ankle) and the three crusaders (Courtois, Militão and Alaba). Rüdiger, on the other hand, returns to ownership.
With Vinicius [más arriba]Mendy handles two against one very well and the inferiorities that we sometimes face in that position.
Carlo Ancelotti
Beyond the small offensive footprint (six goals and 10 assists in 156 games), the accumulation of injuries has been its big hole. In his five years in Madrid, in a quarter of the games he has not been included in the squad due to physical problems. Last season, at the height of his difficulties, he barely came out of the medical report since the end of January.
A carousel of misfortunes in these five years in which, on occasions, he has felt pushed to play without being fully recovered or with discomfort due to the indispensable status that his coaches have granted him. Perhaps the clearest case was the six months out in 2021 due to tibial periostitis after forcing in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Chelsea. This campaign, except for a problem at the beginning, has once again linked weeks without major problems. “He worked hard with the doctors and physios in the preseason, and seems to have found mechanical balance,” they point out from the sports city about a defender who, in childhood, was warned of the possible amputation of a leg due to an infection.
With the left-handed back in the eleven, Madrid wins 70% of the games; without it, 62%
Mendy was an express request from Zidane to, as the club defined it, “Europeanize” the left back after 25 almost uninterrupted years of Brazilian air. A radical change: from offensive expansion (103 assists from Marcelo in 546 games) to containment at the back. In these five years, practically the only youth players who have truly opposed the first team have been three left backs, and all of them have ended up in their shadow. Zidane resigned from the then emerging Sergio Reguilón, in 2019, to bring in Mendy; Ancelotti soon ruled out Miguel Gutiérrez, even behind a retiring Marcelo; and now the Italian sees Fran García as having much less defensive strength than the Frenchman.
“Offensively he can improve, yes,” Carletto admitted as soon as he described him in Riyadh as the best defensive player in his area. There he scored a goal with a subtle touch and the Reggiolo coach turned to ask if Mendy had really done that. His best card was always what remained to the opponent, and the percentage of victories with him in the eleven (70.8%) and without him (62.2%).
France stopped calling him since September 2002 (in the World Cup, the substitute was Camavinga) and Madrid is closely following Alphonso Davies, from Bayern, but now the regular for the big battles is Mendy, the lock that frees Vinicius.
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