Rejoice football fans - for there is something else to watch in the absence of live sport!



A new documentary – ‘Sadio Mane: Made in Senegal’ – about the Liverpool and Senegal forward, has been released today for free on Rakuten TV.

It’s a reminder of what life was like before football took an indefinite break, and we dare even the most ardent Manchester United fan not to be moved by the story of Mane’s incredible journey.

We liked it a lot anyway. And here are just a few things we learned.

1. Mane had to run away to play football

Perhaps you already know this story, but, as a boy, growing up in a small village called Bambali in Senegal, Sadio Mane’s family weren’t actually that keen on him kicking a ball about for a living.

His father died when he was just seven and he was raised largely by his uncles. He came from a family of imams – Muslim prayer leaders – for whom education was the priority.

“My uncle didn’t want me to play because he thought school was more important. Things got tricky because he didn’t like that,” Mane says.

Mane describes his obsession, playing with objects including grapefruit and stones as a child, when footballs weren’t readily available. In his village, as the best player, his nickname was ‘Ballonbuwa’, or ‘ball wizard’.

In 2008, when he was 16, Mane actually ran away to Dakar in secret, to try out for a team there. He was eventually found and brought home, but he made a deal with his family that the next year, there would be no more school and only “football, football, football,” in Mane’s words.

2. His hero growing up was El Hadji Diouf

Sadio Mane would have been 10 years old when Senegal reached the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals and Africa Cup of Nations final, with a team that included stars like Aliou Cisse, Khalilou Fadiga and El Hadji Diouf.

“That was the era of the most epic Senegalese football,” says Mane.

His best friend growing up, Luc, explains that Sadio had two idols: “At the time, Sadio liked Ronaldinho, but also El Hadji Diouf, who really spurred us on to play football.”

Luc adds that Mane told him: “One day, I’ll be at their level.”

One could argue that Mane has already surpassed Diouf – at least in terms of club success at Liverpool. He’s certainly created a better legacy with the Reds than his hero El Hadji, who has developed a bit of an ongoing feud with his former employers in recent years.

Read Full Post: Made in Senegal: five things we learned from the Sadio Mane documentary

Why won't you just love this guy!

Utmost respect to him & I pray that he'll reach the pinnacle of his football career.