A very special second part of the season is ahead in Rennes. Brice Samba was recruited in Rennes and will find a certain Steve Mandanda, officially downgraded but who should stay in Brittany until the end of the season, says l’Equipe in today’s edition. It remains to be seen in what atmosphere. Because Provence, this Thursday, evokes the stormy relationship between the two men during their shared past at OM, which could leave its mark. “The origin of the conflict goes back to their common past in Marseille. Steve was the untouchable starter and Brice a promising understudy,” recalls a Commanderie connoisseur.
A period which does not leave good memories for the Mandanda clan. “The confusion started from there. Steve began to take him under his wing, following the advice of several relatives who pointed out to him that they shared the same story, from Africa to Marseille, via Évreux and Le Havre. But he quickly stopped because Brice was telling anyone who would listen that he was going to take his place,” says the person close to Mandanda, who therefore describes a real divide. Why fear real problems in Rennes? Possible according to another close to the former international. “With Samba, the relationship will be catastrophic. They’re going to get together, but I don’t know how they’re going to work. But if Samba goes, it’s because he’s not afraid of Steve, and he doesn’t care. »
What Samba told Onze Mondial about that time
In 2023, Brice Samba spoke exclusively to Onze Mondial, looking back on this complicated period, and his painful vision of the competition at the time with Steve Mandanda. “The Mandanda succession was predicted to me. For many, it was my destiny. But I wasn’t ready. And then there were circumstances. Steve (Mandanda) was injured against Guingamp just before going to the 2014 World Cup, when he was due to leave the club. So, he can’t leave, Bielsa comes on the bench, I do all the preparation as a starter. Steve was in rehabilitation, therefore absent from the sessions, and he returned two days before the start of the championship, against Bastia. I was convinced that I was going to start the season, I had done all the preparation. Besides, everything went well, Bielsa liked me, he told me he had confidence in me. In the end, I didn’t play. And it was very difficult for me, I wanted to play this match. Especially since I had been at the club for a year and a half, I understood things well. I felt ready. This event hurt me. Subsequently, I was loaned to Nancy, this adventure went very badly. I ended up understanding that Marseille was perhaps not the club where I should flourish. »
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To summarize
Steve Mandanda and Brice Samba now find themselves in the Rennes jersey. And obviously, given their past at OM, the relationship looks complicated. Indeed, some experts in the matter even predict a catastrophic relationship.
