Mandas has finally got his hands dirty

There was a time when, over there on the other side of the Adriatic, Chrīstos Mandas was regarded as the best young goalkeeper, and people spoke of him as though he would soon be on a par with Antōnīs Nikopolidīs. And in Greece, Antōnīs Nikopolidīs is not just a goalkeeper – he is something of a demigod, one of the men who, in 2004, pulled off the miracle of winning the European Championship. 

From the Greek talk and hopes, Chrīstos Mandas gradually faded away, match after match. First at Atromītos Athīnōn, then at OFI Crete, and finally at Lazio. The Greek goalkeeper found himself on the bench because there was always someone more experienced or stronger than him, or more favoured by the manager: Kenan Piric, Sonny Stevens, Ivan Provedel. Yet they kept Chrístos Mandas anyway, because ‘there are few as reliable as him around’, they said in Greece and Italy; ‘we have the best second-choice goalkeeper around’, everyone said. 

However, if you settle for being the best second, you run the risk of never becoming number one.

It took Lazio’s somewhat haphazard transfer market – where a lack of funds can cloud even the clearest of minds – to ensure that Chrístos Mandas returned to the pitch after years of waiting. And so, whilst the Biancazzurri are assessing this or that reliable goalkeeper, Chrístos Mandas took to the pitch and really got his gloves dirty, saving everything he could – and even something that was perhaps not impossible, but certainly unlikely – such as that ball that Jens Odgaard, a Danish striker with plenty of height but not quite as many goals, headed confidently, already certain he’d be celebrating.

Chrīstos Mandas would like to stop sitting on the bench; he would like to stop being regarded as the best second-choice goalkeeper around and be content with being just one of many. It will be up to him to prove his worth; it will be up to Gennaro Gattuso to continue believing that what seems unchangeable can indeed be changed.

1. Chrīstos Mandas in the 47th minute of Bologna v Lazio 0–1 – 5 points

2. Maduka Okoye in the 60th minute of Udinese v Como 1–1 – 3 points

3. Chrīstos Mandas in the 76th minute of Bologna v Lazio 0–1 – 1 point

1. Chrīstos Mandas, 6 points
2. Maduka Okoye, 3 points

 

What you have just read is "Guanti sporchi", a light-hearted football-themed piece about Serie A’s number ones and the save that somehow made the football weekend all the better – at least from the perspective of that minority who dress differently from the others on the pitch. You can find all previous instalments here.