Standard supporters are never the last to show their fervor, in good times and bad. In Valance, Eliaquim Mangala noticed that the local public was undoubtedly a little crazier still.
For a time, his transfer to Manchester City madeEliaquim Mangala the most expensive defender in the history of football. At 33, he now plays for Estoril Praia, in the Portuguese first division.
Between the two, the former Standard player went through Valence, Saint-Etienne and two periods without a club. His time in Spain was not the easiest. He arrived in a tense context: “It was a little complicated, compared to the situation of the club, to the managers”.
Electricity in the air
Questioned by So Foot, he remembers a particularly agitated post-match: “It was in 2016/2017, we are going to play a match at the Royal Society and we lose. Except that afterwards, we had to return to the training center to collect our cars. We are warned that the supporters are waiting for us. You should know that in Valencia, they are quite agitated when they are angry. In fact, they were there with stones, they also burned some things.”
“We arrive with the bus, and they are waiting for us with our cars. Some players had the public on their backs. For me, it was going well, even if the results were not what we hoped for. There are five or six players who told me that they were coming with me, that they were getting into my car, ‘We’re getting behind, in the trunk, they won’t hurt you’, they were panicking” remembers Mangala.
The former French international got them out of trouble: “I had tinted windows. The supporters let me pass, I brought back part of the group by dropping everyone off one by one, all over Valencia “.
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