Photo credit, Getty Images
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- Author, Rob Stevens
- Role, BBC Sport Africa
- Author, Charlotte Coates
- Role, BBC Sport
Sadio Mané was once again the hero of Senegal, but not for the reasons you might think.
The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich striker won his second African Cup of Nations (CAN) on Sunday, with the Teranga Lions beating hosts Morocco in a controversial final.
In added time, Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw tried to force his team off the field after Morocco won a penalty in the 98th minute, following a foul by defender El Hadji Malick Diouf on Brahim Diaz.
As the Senegalese players returned to the locker room, Mané was photographed entering the field and bringing them back, with the help of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Around 16 minutes after the penalty was awarded, Diaz’s Panenka shot was easily saved by Mendy, in a nightmarish moment for one of the tournament’s stars.
At 0-0, the match went into overtime. Pape Gueye scored the winning goal and sealed a spectacular title.
Mané, who said this would be his last African Cup of Nations, leaves the field as leader, having received the captain’s armband from his teammates before the trophy is lifted.
He said: “Football is something special, the whole world was watching, the whole world loves football and I think football is fun, so we have to give football a good image.
I think it would be crazy not to play this match because the referee called a penalty and we are eliminated? I think it would be the worst thing that could happen, especially in African football. I would rather lose than have this kind of thing happen to our football.
I think it’s really bad. Football should not stop, not even for ten minutes, but what can we do? We have to accept what we did, but the good thing is we came back and played the game, and what happened happened. »
Former Nigeria striker Daniel Amokachi told BBC World Service: “Mané went the extra mile to bring his team back into the game, and it paid off.
What an ambassador of football! We know what kind of person he is off the field, and he knows what football is. »
Former Moroccan international Hassan Kachloul said “African football and world football were losing” until Mané intervened.
“What I like more than anything is that the only player on the Senegalese team was Sadio Mané,” he told E4.
“That shows what a great man he is. He went back to the locker room and brought these players back. Mané was the man who brought them back on the pitch. »
Where it all began for the “legend of Senegal”
For Mane, it all started in Bambali.
It was in south-west Senegal that he began playing football on the red dirt streets and sandy pitches and where, at the age of 13, he witnessed Liverpool’s famous comeback against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.
Since then, he has won this prestigious trophy and the Premier League with the Reds, as well as two African Cup of Nations titles with the Teranga Lions.
Mané scored the decisive penalty against Egypt in the 2021 final and described the moment as “the most beautiful day of my life and the most beautiful trophy of my life.”
Following this triumph, a stadium was named in his honor in the town of Sedhiou, less than 20 km from his hometown, in recognition of his exploits.
Now a double champion and aged 33, Mané crowned his career in the African Cup of Nations with an ultimate summit.
But Gueye says the team aims to convince Mané, whom he calls a “Senegal legend”, to change his mind about this being his last Africa Cup of Nations and stay with the team at least until the 2027 edition in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
“We will try to keep him with us a little longer, because he still has good years to offer,” the 26-year-old Villarreal player told BBC Africa.
“I heard what he said and we’ll see what he decides to do.” But we really want it to stay with us for many more years. »
A humble and charitable man
Photo credit, Getty Images
Mane, who now plays in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, certainly has an impressive collection of trophies, but he has never forgotten his roots.
He won hearts in Bambali through his charitable actions: he donated money to build a hospital and a school, helped build mosques and provided funds to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
He also sent 300 Liverpool jerseys to his hometown ahead of the 2018 Champions League final, which Real Madrid won 3-1.
“When Sadio comes here, he behaves in a very humble way, at the same level as the people of Bambali,” Fode Boucar Dahaba, president of a regional league, told BBC Sport Africa during a visit to the village a few years ago.
“He doesn’t want to stand out. The village returns all this love to him. »
His family members describe him as someone who “works for everyone” and as a “good Muslim”.
This was evident during his time in England’s top flight, when he helped clean the toilets at a mosque in Toxteth after a Liverpool victory.
“He wanted to remain discreet and was not doing it for publicity,” said Abu Usamah Al-Tahabi, the imam of Al Rahma Mosque.
“He’s not someone who’s looking for fanfare. There is no arrogance about him. »
Senegalese central defender Moussa Niakhate hailed Mané as “an incredible man” ahead of the final.
“I would not have enough time to describe what Sadio represents for African football, and more particularly for the Senegalese people,” he added.
Senegal “waits” for Mané’s contributions
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Mane has over 120 caps and is his country’s top scorer with 53 goals.
He has often been the hero on the field in recent years and he intends to take part in the World Cup later this year, where he could create more fond memories.
He saw his penalty saved in the first half of the CAN 2021 final, but he recovered to decide the fate of the penalty shootout against Egypt in Yaoundé.
Just over a month later, he similarly settled the 2022 World Cup play-off match against the Pharaohs, after that match also went into extra time, but he ultimately missed the tournament in Qatar due to injury.
He has mainly been a creative force at this year’s AFCON finals, but his 78th-minute goal against Egypt, who once again suffered the magic of Mané, proved enough to send the Teranga Lions to the final.
“That’s what we expect from him,” midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye told the BBC World Service after his decisive intervention in Tangier on Wednesday.
« [C’est] a great player and he must show it in big matches. He proved it again. »
“We would like to keep it as long as possible. »
Photo credit, Getty Images
Mane may have a humble attitude and is not Senegal’s captain, but when he speaks, his teammates listen attentively.
“In his pre-match speech [avant de jouer contre l’Égypte]he motivated us all,” said Pape Gueye.
“He found the right words to allow us to approach the match with full concentration.
He has experience in big matches, so he also knows how to calm us down. We see it a lot in his gestures: he tells us to stay calm, even after scoring or conceding a goal. »
Mané has played the vast majority of his international matches under Aliou Cissé, who managed the West Africans from 2015 to 2024, but current coach Pape Thiaw understandably wants his talisman to remain with the national team.
“I think he made his decision in the heat of the moment and the country doesn’t agree, and as the coach of the national team, I don’t agree at all,” Thiaw said.
“We would like to keep it as long as possible. »
