Every Country Needs its Hero: Enter Sadio Mané – Lequotidien

The France Football Ballon d’Or ceremony, which took place earlier this week, was an opportunity to reward the greatest talents of the soccer world. Karim Benzema was awarded the Ballon d’Or for his performances throughout last season.Sadio Mané came second in this ranking. A remarkable feat, especially since it is the highest ranking of an African player in the Ballon d’Or, except for the coronation of « King » George Weah in 1995. Senegal and Africa have reason to be proud of Sadio Mané for all that he does on the sporting level. Sadio Mané, by the strength of his talent, never ceases to make his country shine. He contributes to the sporting success of his clubs, instiling a culture of hard work, ethics and self-sacrifice. He preaches by example and ends up being an inspirational model for his teammates. It’s not for nothing that Reds captain Virgil Van Dijk sees Sadio Mané‘s departure as the missing link in the Liverpool machine. It is no coincidence that the managerial heads of Bayern Munich, including Oliver Kahn and Hassan Salihamidzic, see in the child of Bambali, the type of player needed at the soccer clubs that have risen to the rank of institutions.

The sporting and professional contribution of Sadio Mané is best appreciated within the Senegalese National Team. His discreet leadership, his love for the jersey, his respect for human beings have been transmitted to all his teammates in the national team. The spiral of success experienced by our Lions in recent years is linked to the professional and sporting spirit of Sadio Mané. The construction of triumph in patience is a value that he will never stop teaching us. A youth like ours, in need of reference points, can find in Sadio, a pillar of what can be done better by believing in our potential and especially by accepting to work with a precise objective in the long run.

The child of Bambali will have written his name in all of sport’s record books, but his best achievements are social and human. The organisers of the Ballon d’Or award didn’t miss the mark by awarding the first « Socrates Prize » to Sadio Manéfor his social and humanitarian projects. Through the many possibilities afforded by his talent as a footballer, Sadio Manéis able to mobilise people around him to carry out initiatives of a great community significance and valuable utility. His investments in education, health and the improvement of living conditions of populations are to be commended and are a beautiful lesson to anyone in a position of authority or influence, that only investments in people and the improvement of their dignity are worthwhile. We can even see that the initiatives of sportsmen for the welfare of the populations are those with the best impacts. The efforts of Gorgui Sy Dieng or Idrissa Gana Guèye, through their associative work, are colossal and change many destinies.

When he was handed the reins of the United States National Team after a series of failures at the Olympic Games and the World Basketball Championships, Mike Krzyzewski, « Coach K », a legend of American college sports, said , that in the constellation of stars he had, he lacked a « true » leader. He would find that leader in the figure of the late Kobe Bryant, who would help an ensemble of NBA stars with oversized egos and talents to win a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while instiling an unprecedented team dynamic. A documentary available on Netflix, The Redeem Team, looks back at this episode of Team USA and the many acts of discrete and human leadership by which a whole team was forged in the image of Kobe Bryant.

Senegal has in the person of Sadio Mané, a young leader who, in his favourite theatre as in daily life, does not cease to teach us lessons of great value. Aliou Cissé knows the human and sporting value of Sadio Mané for having made him the faithful companion of his march in our national selections from the campaign of the London 2012 Olympic Games, until the victory at the AFCON 2021. It is a breath of fresh air, at a time when false prophets, claiming to be the champions of youth, abound and anti-heroes are worshipped, to see a leader, in all its substance, standing by the weight of his deeds. We keep our fingers crossed and keep praying for more success for this proud son of Africa. Thank you for being such a beautiful Senegalese hero, Sadio.