“Made in Senegal.” The orphan boy who soared in the sky of Liverpool FC

Like millions of poor children in the world, "Sadio Mane" dreamed that he would become a famous player in the world of football, but the difference between dreams and reality is very large, and few people can make it a reality.

This is what the orphaned Senegalese child did, who struggled and insisted from an early age on achieving his dream, and had what he wanted. Today, he is among the most famous football players in the world, playing professionally and playing in the largest European clubs.

To document his sports career, three directors, "Peta Jenkin", "Germain Ravington" and "Mehdi Ben Haj Jalili", meet to present an integrated portrait of him that includes many aspects of his life, starting from his childhood in the Senegalese village of Bombali, until his arrival in the city British Liverpool to play in its most famous club, passing through his homeland, which played for his national team, and hopes are still pinned on him to fulfill the dream of his citizens of winning their country the African Nations Championship for football.

The birth of a big dream in a small village

The German documentary "Sadio Mane.. Made in Senegal" leaves enough room for him to talk about himself and his life, and to add more visual and aesthetic dimension to what he tells, they use animations to cover aspects that lack documentation (archives), such as his childhood in the village that His dream of becoming a soccer player started from his small dirt yard.

Because her family was poor, it was difficult for her children to get good balls, so they used everything round and spherical in shape, and they used to turn fruits into balls that they threw between them, and "Mani" would throw with his feet everything round in shape that he encountered on the way, such as pebbles and stones.

"Children's Dreams" .. the madness of the ball that made the heart fall in love

There was a good youth team in the village, and from watching the players in the arena and the villagers encouraging them, he was inspired by the idea of ​​"Many" becoming a professional player. One of his relatives had a team that was not at the required level, but he gained a lot from watching his players' exercises from a distance.

One of the characteristics of "Mane" the child is the strength of his personality, as he did not hesitate to announce his desire to leave work in the field and become a professional footballer, and his mother considered his passion for the ball to be madness, and that his excessive enthusiasm was nothing more than the dreams of children.

A good relationship between "Mane" and his German coach, "Jürgen Klopp".

The documentary travels between times, from the village and childhood back to the recent (current) time to show what the Senegalese boy has reached, and conveys a scene in which "Mane" appears during Liverpool FC training in Marbella camp in Spain, all ready to meet a team competing with it to reach the final round of the 2019 UEFA Champions League.

Football skills and human morals.. "Mane" in the balance of witnesses

Mane tells the documentary that he has always dreamed of playing with a big club like Liverpool, and that today he feels proud that he has become one of its main players, and to confirm this, the film's producers choose passages and testimonies, including the testimony of the Egyptian player Mohamed Salah, in which he praised his skills as a player and his morals as a human being.

Throughout its time, the directors of the film persevere in confirming testimonies from players and coaches who accompanied his football career, such as his special agent, "Bjorn Bezimer", to whom "Mane" credits the great credit for the success of his transfer deals between clubs, and as he put it, "I found in him a sincere person and a kind-hearted person." You rarely find an agent like him in the world of football today.” In addition to him, the documentary focuses on the good relationship he has with his German coach, Jurgen Klopp.

"Brave Lion"... Liverpool's historic miracle

The documentary follows the moment of the great confrontation between FC Barcelona and Liverpool in 2019, which the club's fans consider a football miracle. Their club lost 3-0 in the first leg, and in the second leg they had to win more.

Mane wears the Liverpool No. 19 shirt after he moved to him in 2016

The documentary conveys the fans' impressions of "Mane" prior to entering the stadium and the hopes based on him. Respect and admiration for the English.

After his team's 4-0 victory over its Spanish rivals, and then winning the Championship Cup, "Mane" reinforces his feeling that he has achieved a large part of his dream of becoming one of the most important soccer players in the world.

Dakar's secret trip.. A year for family will and the rest of life for a dream

The documentary dates back to 2008, and the boy "Many" became a player in the village team, and he wanted to go further, and that goal was not easy, because his family did not encourage him to play football because many of its men are sheikhs and imams of the mosques in the region, and they wanted He can set an example to follow just like them, and focus on his studies and education, not being a soccer player.

The beginnings of "Many" were from the playgrounds of the poor neighborhoods

"Many" was not neglectful in his studies, but he did not want to continue with it, and for this he decided to try his luck outside the village, and he went with his childhood friend "Luke" to the capital, Dakar, without notifying his family , to get a rare opportunity to train in the most important football school in it, which is the "Generation Foot Academy". After the question, his mother learned of his travel, but she dealt with the matter calmly and wisely.

Many felt remorse for leaving without his family's knowledge, but he told them the truth of what he wanted, and concluded an agreement that he spend one year studying, after which he has the right to choose the path he wants to follow.

Sports academy training.. the first steps towards globalization

Because of Mane's training at the Dakar Sports Academy, he was met by the French talent scout, Oliver Byrne, who found him an exceptional player, so Byrne approached the management of FC Metz to accept Mani's joining the ranks of the club and writing an employment contract. With him includes his immediate transfer to France at the age of nineteen.

Mane scores a distinguished goal in one of his matches

"Mane" talks about the experience of traveling abroad and living alone away from his family with some sadness, and what increased them is that he did not perform well in the first matches he played with the club, and the undisclosed reasons behind that are He suffered a severe injury that he did not tell his coach about, fearing that he would be expelled from the club and sent back to Senegal.

The coach's rebuke... Silent pain in the lonely estrangement of France

Mane remembers his injury in the French club and his concealment of it for fear of expulsion, then he laughs, because the contract did not include expulsion in the event of injury, and he waited 8 months until he recovered from it, to return to play after that with all his might.

"Mane" amazed everyone with his enthusiasm and scoring goals, as if he wanted to make up for what he missed during the period of illness, and the club's psychiatrist attributes the fear of announcing the injury to lack of experience and the difficulty of the life of a young stranger in his prime who gets sick alone and finds no one from his family by his side.

The uncle who took care of the orphan nephew

Many, in turn, remembers how he cried heartily the day the coach shouted at him for his poor performance without his knowledge of the injury, which highlights an aspect of the psychological pain that the athlete, coming from a far country, is exposed to, and he has to face illness and alienation alone. .

The fastest hat-trick in the history of the English Premier League.. the ticket to Liverpool

In the year 2012, after his remarkable appearance in the stadiums, "Mane" moved to a new contract with the Austrian club Salzburg, and thanks to what he presented with him, the club was able to win the local league cup, after which he went to Britain to play with "Southampton" club, and scored the fastest "hat-trick" with him. (Three goals in one game) in the history of the English Premier League.

"I am a Muslim.. Faith for me is existence. In prayer, I feel my existence as a human being."

As for the major move, it was to Liverpool FC. In 2016, "Mane" signed a contract with the club's management and wore the number 19 shirt in it, and "Mane" regains the most important The stages he went through during that period in which his name was written among the names of the great footballers, not only in Britain but also in the whole world.

"I am a Muslim, and faith for me is existence"

The Senegalese player, despite all the successes, remained simple and humble. He was built on these qualities and his religious soil was credited for that. In one of the scenes of the film, he appears calling his mother from his apartment in Liverpool and asking about her health, telling her that he is on his way to the mosque to perform the prayer. Because through faith and prayer - as he says - he finds himself, so "I am a Muslim, and faith for me is existence, and in prayer I feel my existence as a human being 5 times in one day."

Childhood in the clutches of orphanhood.. digging up memories of bygone times

The documentary will re-draw, through the scene of communication, a beautiful picture of his relationship with his family and his country, to which he returned to play in the ranks of his team participating in the finals of the African Nations Championship, and upon his arrival at his uncle’s house, some of his past and many of his qualities and characteristics will be revealed. On the personal level, he had a strong relationship with his uncle who took care of him. After his father's death.

The fans cheer for "Mane" after he scored a goal in the African Nations Championship

The beginning of the documentary did not reveal this aspect, but it will become clearer when the football star begins to remember his childhood and the moment he heard the news of his father's death, as he did not believe the news and thought he was joking at first, but it was confirmed He was correct after knowing the procedures for his burial in another distant village, as there was no hospital or medical clinic in their village at the time, and people were treated using traditional methods.

They took his father to a traditional healer in another village, but he died there, and there were no means of transportation to ensure the rapid arrival of his body, so the villagers had to bury him in their cemetery.

The failures of the national team... the suffering of the professional players

In his uncle's house, which he contributed to building and has all means of comfort, "Many" joins the family in the lunch that was held on the occasion of his arrival. He participates in cooking and eats with the men. Simplicity and humility appear in his behavior, and people's love for him appears wherever he goes.

The dream of reaching stardom comes true

The only problem that "Mane" faces in his home country is the people's division over his contribution to the national team, and the criticism directed at him is about his poor bid compared to what he offers to professional clubs. "This is a problem faced by all the top players who play for foreign clubs," says one of the coaches.

People rely a lot on their professional player and expect him to take their national team to the top, forgetting the rest of the players and the difficulty of adapting to colleagues that the professional player only meets in a short training period.

Africa Cup of Nations.. Senegal's dream that hits Algeria's rock

The documentary transmits scenes from one of the matches of the Senegalese national team, within the finals of the last African Cup of Nations, and the audience relied a lot on "Mane" to win the match, but Algeria disappointed them and won the cup, while "Mane" announced his grief and anguish over the loss of an opportunity that seemed Very close at hand.

Losing is something that the professional understands because winning is not always the ally of his team, and in his country his humanitarian obsession was focused on helping the people and the people of the village from which he came, as he was known for his generosity in supporting educational and health projects.

Within the recent African Cup of Nations finals, and to win it, the audience relied a lot on Mani

The documentary conveys the scene of his opening a new school. For Mani, educating people is a top priority, just like health, which he cares about in developing projects. Mani announced while he was with the team. Work close to opening a project to build a new hospital with his own money.

People's joy at announcing the new projects and their thanks to him can be summed up in a phrase uttered by one of them: "If his father were to see what his son is presenting today to the village and the people of the region, he would feel very proud."