Sadio Mane’s habit of making a masterful first impression long precedes him toying with Nacho Monreal and Callum Chambers - chopping between both Arsenal defenders as he cut in from the right - before finding the top corner on his Liverpool debut.
It pre-dates him winning a penalty against the same opposition when he made his bow for Southampton two years prior, in a League Cup victory.
And it stretches well beyond the time his agents from the arena11
group “couldn’t find good enough words” to describe his introduction to
the 24-year-old’s artistry, when the player transferred from Metz to
Red Bull Salzburg in 2012.
Mane’s
fizz, and the frequency in which he left markers muddled in the
distance, was well known on the streets of Sedhiou, a remote city in
Senegal where he grew up on a diet of football in the dust.
At 15, he made the near 500-mile journey north to Dakar, and floored yet another observer as his destiny started to take shape.
“I
left my city to go to the capital with my uncle, and there were trials
on,” the attacker exclusively explains after earning his spot as one of the best players in
2016.
“We went to them and there
were lots of boys being tested and getting organised into teams. I will
never forget this, and it is funny now, but when I went to try out there
was an older man that looked at me like I was in the wrong place.
“He asked me ‘are you here for the test?’ I said I was. He asked me,
‘with those boots? Look at them. How can you play in them?’. They were
bad, really bad - torn and old. Then he said, ‘and with those shorts?
You don’t even have proper football shorts?’
“I
told him what I came with was the best I had, and I only wanted to play
- to show myself. When I got on the pitch, you could see the surprise
on his face.
“He came to me and said ‘I’m picking you straight away. You’ll play in my team.’ After those trials, I went to the academy.”
It
took plenty of pleading for the Senegal international to leave home,
let alone sign up to Generation Foot, the centre that also counts Diafra
Sakho and Papiss Cisse as alumni.
“I was in the city, just playing ‘on the way’ - in the street or wherever there was a game,” Mane details.
“Since
I was two or three years old, I remember always being with the ball. I
would see kids playing on the street, and would join them.
“That
is how I started - just on the roads. When I got older, I would go to
watch games, especially when the national team played. I wanted to see
my heroes and imagine myself as them.
“There
was big excitement in the country in 2002 during the World Cup [Senegal
got to the quarter-finals in their first appearance at the showpiece,
famously beating holders France in the opening match], but it was
already only football for me before that.
“We also used to have a tournament in our village, and I would always go to see that.
“Everyone
would tell me I was the best in the city, but my family wasn’t a
footballing one. They are big on religion and wanted different things
for me.
“When they could see that in my head and my heart there was only football, I started to convince them to let me go to Dakar.
“In
the beginning they didn’t accept it, but the more they saw how much I
wanted it and that there was nothing else for me, they helped me.”
His
talent so obvious and inspiring, even people who didn’t know Mane
pulled together to ensure he had the best possible shot at pursuing his
only passion.
“My uncle was a big help, but not the only one at the start,” says the winger.
“When I moved to Dakar, I went to live with a family that I didn’t even know!
“My family knew someone who knew them, and he took me to their house.
“They took me in, they took care of me and did everything to help me just worry about football until I left for Metz.”
Now,
they tune in with pride as Mane twists and turns Premier League
defences, marvelling at his craft up close when he returns home for
international duty as Senegal’s “little diamond.”
Each time he takes to the pitch, it is an opportunity to show his gratitude to them and one he does not waste.
Instrumental
during his country’s qualifying campaign for next year’s Africa Cup of
Nations, scoring thrice as they topped Group K without losing a game,
Mane will be Senegal's trump card at the finals in Gabon.
In
11 appearances for Liverpool since his £30 million summer switch from
St Mary’s, Mane has directly contributed 10 goals. He reached double
figures in both his seasons at Southampton; his cocktail of lightning
speed, clever feet, clarity of vision and tirelessness twice drawing
Manchester United’s interest.
But
fate would ensure Mane, admired and monitored by Jurgen Klopp since the
London Olympics in 2012, would line up for the German.
Before
departing Salzburg for the south coast of England in 2014, Mane had a
mega offer from Spartak Moscow. The money on the table was barely
believable, but the speedster left Senegal with football advancement as
his focal point and so much more appealing was a meeting with Klopp and
the prospect of fitting into his dazzling Borussia Dortmund team.
“I
was so excited. I couldn’t believe it - that he wanted to meet and
thought I could help his team, who were so good. I used to watch them
all the time,” Mane recalls.
Salzburg
proved difficult to negotiate with and a deal didn’t materialise, but a
base was built and Klopp continued to note his development.
During
the summer window, the 49-year-old knew exactly where to look when
searching for explosive pace and added goals in the transfer market.
“Things didn’t work out back then and it was frustrating, but that’s life - nothing just comes easy,” Mane reflects.
“I
told myself to just carry on working hard, push myself and something
big would come. I did that. I went to Southampton, I played well and
then, Klopp wanted me again.
“Now
I’m lucky enough to be working with one of the best managers in
football. It was meant to happen and I am very happy to be learning all
the time from him.”
When
he opened his Liverpool account at the Emirates, Mane - both arms
outstretched, his fingers pointing to Klopp - ran to his manager and
jumped on his back. The celebration was a long time coming; the moments
since serving as a reminder of why he sacrificed everything, weathering
trying times in the process.
“I
was so young and it wasn’t easy at all to leave what I knew,” Mane
admits of his path, which meant a separation from those closest to him.
“I missed my family so much,
missed being with my mum and my sisters. But to be a footballer is all I
wanted and I knew these tough days were to help me achieve that.
“Many, many, many people I grew up with, such skilful players, didn’t have the chance I did to become a professional.
“I knew the things that were hard were important for me to succeed. Now I am here, with no regrets, living my dream.”
Mane,
who has an apartment in Liverpool’s city centre and no longer needs a
GPS to direct him to Melwood from home, has navigated his new
surroundings, expectations and demands seamlessly.
His
start for the Anfield side has been effective and entrancing. Part of
an attacking trident that features Philippe Coutinho and Roberto
Firmino, Mane and his Brazilian accomplices have embarrassed the
opposition with regularity, and in riveting fashion.
“A
good thing for footballers is not to think too much, especially when
you’ve got to move to a big team like Liverpool, because that’s when you
start to confuse your mind,” he explains.
“In
my head, I knew I was coming to a team that wanted me, to a manager who
knew me well, and I was coming to work hard and to help.
“That
is all I focused on, not how things would go or what could happen -
good or bad. I left my mind open and was ready for anything. I’m very
happy to be part of a team with big, big talent with everyone working
for each other. It makes it easy for a player when you’ve got really
good teammates and when everyone wants the same thing.”
Mane
remembers himself as a 15-year-old, digesting just how much he’s
progressed from the street player with stardust in his feet, but a
limited understanding of the game.
“When you’re a little boy, sometimes you think you know everything about football,” he says.
“You
want to do it your way. But I have learnt so many different styles,
different tactical things, and how to be a more complete player from my
days at the academy until now, with the help of great coaches and
teammates.
“I’m someone who likes to listen, who likes to watch and who likes to learn.
“I’m
still young and building myself and I always want to improve. Every day
is another chance to work hard and to go closer to being successful.”
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