Bernard Mendy

Bernard Mendy is a former French football player who was born on 20 August 1981 in Évreux, France.

Mendy served several football clubs across the globe as well as national team of France. Despite primarily being a defender, he played as a right back, left back, centre back, right wingback and right midfielder.

He was popular among fans for his ferocious pace and continual overlapping runs.

Background

Mendy adored football since his childhood and his favorite club was Paris Saint Germain.

He grew up playing football and began his professional career after joining youth team of SM Caen in 1997. Playing with the club, he instantly impressed the management with his performance and was promoted to the senior team in the very next season.

Debut

Mendy made his debut as a senior player for Caen on 16 December 1998. It was a game of 1998-99 Ligue 2 against ASOA Valence which was ended up on 1-1 draw.

Later, he played two more games in a row, against AC Ajaccio and SC Amiens. However, he was dropped from the squad after his third game and had to wait until 29 May 1999 when he had played in the starting eleven against FC Gueugnon.

His international debut had came on 20 May 2004 in a friendly against Brazil.

Rise to glory

Mendy joined Paris Saint Germain in 2000, achieving his childhood aspiration. He played 26 games for the club in the 2000-01 season including 7 games of Champions League. Though he didn't score any goal but he impressed the authorities with his skills and qualities.

In 2002, he was loaned to English club, Bolton Wanderers for a year. There, his offensive and speedy style had been praised. Getting back to PSG in the next year, he got the opportunity to play as a first choice under the new manager of the club, Vahid Halilhodzic.

He grabbed this with both hands and played his best season so far. Same year, he was also acquired in the national team of Brazil.

In 2008, playing the final of Coupe de la Ligue against RC Lens, he scored a decisive goal from the penalty spot and helped the PSG to lift the title, winning by 2-1.

On 21 August 2014, Mendy was picked up by Chennaiyin FC for the inaugural season of Indian Super League and began his India career on 15 October, winning by 2-1 against FC Goa. He adopted the Indian conditions so easily and became an instant hit.

His best moment in the ISL came when he netted a goal with an exquisite overhead kick against Kerala Blasters FC. Mendy was the key player for the club during the 2015 title winning campaign. He played 39 games for the Chennaiyin FC before taking retirement after 2016 season. He also has 5 goals and 2 assists in his name for the club.

Club career

Playing several leagues across the globe, Mendy represented various clubs in his career. Apart from Caen, PSG and Chennaiyin FC, he also represented English club Hull city from 2008 to 2010 and played 49 games for the club. In 2011-12, he moved to Danish club, Odense Boldklub and featured in 40 matches.

Before moving to Chennaiyin FC in 2014, he has also played for Brest between the years of 2012 and 2014.

In his late career, Mendy played for AEL Limassol and also 12 games for East Bengal FC in I-League, scoring 2 goals.

He played 498 games for the various clubs in his career and got 23 goals and 19 assists in his name.

Retirement

After playing with the East Bengal FC and Chennaiyin FC in 2016, he announced his retirement from football to become a professional Poker player. In an interview he said,”Poker is like football with the competition, focus and adrenalin.”