High-flying Liverpool FC host Manchester United Monday night in an eagerly-anticipated Premier League clash of England’s football elite at Anfield.
And when the match kicks off at 10pm, Kenyan time, Africa’s most expensive footballer will endure the extra pressure of delivering on the grand stage for his new employers.
Liverpool forked out 34 million pounds (Sh4.1 billion) to lure Sadio Mane away from Southampton to Anfield, the Senegalese striker having cut his premiership teeth at St Mary’s where he stood out with 21 goals from 67 appearances following a 2014 move from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg.
But in an exclusive interview on Friday night withSunday Nation Sport from the Reds’ Training Facility at Melwood in West Derby, Liverpool, Mane, who also turned out for French club Metz from 2011 to 2012, laughed off the ‘Africa’s most expensive footballer’ tag, claiming he wasn’t aware of this enviable distinction.
"Well, I didn’t know that… thanks for letting me know that I’m Africa’s most expensive player,” Mane, 24, reacted to my question, while also diplomatically deflecting attempts to have him talk tactics ahead of Monday night’s clash against the incoherent Red Devils.
“First of all for me, and what is most important for me, is that I have to do my best on the pitch.”
But the Reds man acknowledged that United, whose flamboyant manager Jose Mourinho unsuccessfully sought his signature once the Senegal international indicated his intention to leave St Mary’s in the summer window, will be a hard nut to crack despite their inconsistent early season form.
“Manchester United is, of course, one of the big teams. But in football, we just have to wait for the match day and take each game at a time,” he said, cheekily sidestepping further prodding for more insights into the big clash.
And speaking at a separate pre-match media interview at Melwood, Mane’s coach, German Jurgen Klopp, whom the Senegalese described as “one of the best coaches”, maintained his respect for Mourinho, the Red Devils and their troubled England striker Wayne Rooney who has lately been warming the bench for both club and country.
“My first Premier League game against United was a good game from my side, we could have won this game but we didn’t because Wayne Rooney scored. Then we had a nice opportunity to play them for the first time in this unbelievably long history between the clubs in Europe (Europa League) and that was a nice challenge,” he said.
“The more you play for in these games and the more interest there is, the more difficult they are but the more excited people are.”
CHARITY LOGO
As Scousers always boast, Liverpool FC “Never Walk Alone” and Monday night, they will walk onto their dreaded Anfield turf wearing a changed home strip with a new shirt logo as they take on their age-old rivals.
Mane and Liverpool FC are supporting their shirt sponsors Standard Chartered’s Seeing is Believing charity which has helped over 285 million people around the world who suffer from preventable blindness.
The Seeing is Believing logo will be in place of the traditional Standard Chartered one for this fixture.
In Kenya, veteran paralympian Henry Wanyoike is the charity’s ambassador and will be in action on October 30 when Standard Chartered sponsor the Nairobi Marathon whose proceeds will go towards helping reduce avoidable blindness in East Africa.
“I’m looking forward to wearing this special jersey against United on Monday,” Mane said.
“Seeing is Believing is a good initiative and coming from Africa where I see children suffering with such conditions as avoidable blindness, I look forward to making my contribution,” the striker told Sunday Nation Sport.
Of course, the topic of Harambee Stars skipper Victor Wanyama had to pop up in the interview, somehow, given that Mane teamed up with the former Celtic defensive midfielder at Saints and the fact that Wanyama is Kenya’s lone player in premiership.
Mane paid glowing tribute to Wanyama, who left St Mary’s for White Hart Lane at the start of this season, joining Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year, 11 million-pound (Sh1.35 billion) deal, describing the Kenyan as “a very, very good player.”
Wanyama has since turned out to be a fans’ favourite at the London club and has been quite effective too, with statistics pointing out an 89 per cent passing efficiency by the “Lion of Muthurwa” in Champions League action, and 88 per cent in the premiership in his combined 685 minutes of action, excluding Saturday’s game at West Brom.
“Victor is a very, very good player and I like him as a player because he is always doing a good job,” said Mane who was born on April 10, 1992, in Senegal’s south-west Sedhiou region.
“He is always working very hard and when we played together at Southampton, after the training sessions, he would all the time go back into the gym for extra work. He always worked extra and had good discipline.”
What about Divock Origi?, I asked in reference to Belgium’s Liverpool striker with Kenyan roots.
Divock’s father, Mike Okoth Origi, was Harambee Stars’ lead striker in the 90s before relocating to Belgium where he played first class football for Oostende, Harelbeke, Genk, Heusden-Zolder, among others, after a brief stint with Oman’s Boshar following his move from Shabana and Kenya Breweries Football Club.
“Divock is a very good player too and I like the way he plays,” was his answer.
“He’s always working very hard every day in training and I think he will be a better player and will score more goals for us.
Mane must be pinching himself at Anfield in disbelief.
Mane must be pinching himself at Anfield in disbelief.
He has often been quoted as saying it was always his dream to play in the English Premier League.
Growing up as a 10-year-old boy in Sedhiou, and nicknamed “Ronaldinho”, he would watch football on television and admire Senegal’s legends El Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao who had both been signed up by Gerard Houllier at Anfield.
“Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and the quality of players here is amazing,” says Mane, voted the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for August and September with 49 percent of the vote, beating the likes of Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne (31 per cent), Etienne Capoue of Watford (eight per cent) and Chelsea’s Diego Costa (six per cent).
“I’m very happy to play alongside great players like Danny Ings, Danny Sturridge, Divock Origi, Roberto Firmino and others, and I’m looking forward to playing better and better...”
Mane’s form will be crucial for Senegal’s campaign for a ticket to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The last time the “Lions of Teranga” made it among the world’s elite was way back in 2002 in Japan/South Korea where their kicked up a storm, making the quarter-finals and only being eliminated by the “golden goal” rule when Besiktas’ super sub Ilhan Mansiz struck in the fourth minute of extra time to send Turkey into the semis.
A lot has transpired since.
Mane was just 10 then, and Mansiz has gone on to play for Vissel Kobe (Japan), Hertha Berlin (Germany) and Ankaragucu (Turkey) before morphing into a world class figure skater, just missing out of qualification for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Senegal lead their group in the African 2018 World Cup qualifiers with three points after winning their opening fixture 2-0 against Cape Verde last weekend.
They face South Africa in Polokwane next month with the “Bafana Bafana” having drawn one-all with Burkina Faso in their opening fixture.
“It was an important win for us (against Cape Verde) and it is always important to win. We look forward to approaching the qualifiers game by game and I’m sure we shall qualify for the World Cup.
“I used to watch El Hadji Diouf and the squad of 2002 and I always wanted to play like him and this is now an opportunity for me.”
Mane wouldn’t wish to be drawn into comparisons between his coach at Southampton, Ronald Koeman, and Klopp, his current manager at Anfield.
“They have different styles. Klopp is a very good manager and I’m happy to play under him but I also learnt a lot under Koeman.
“They have different styles. Klopp is a very good manager and I’m happy to play under him but I also learnt a lot under Koeman.
“I’m very happy to play under Klopp because it’s a big change for me and I look forward to being a better player because Klopp is one of the best coaches.”
Most certainly, all eyes will be on Mane Monday night as the Red Devils, three points behind their hosts on the log, come calling and seeking to revive their charge.
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