Somehow, Édouard Mendy did not win the Yashin Trophy 2021. The award was given to Gianluigi Donnarumma. This came as a surprise to almost all football faithfuls, especially those from Africa. So, we will analyze key reasons why Mendy truly deserved the award instead of Donarumma.
To start with, what is the Yashin Trophy? It is the Ballon d’Or award given to the best Goalkeeper of the year.
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The Édouard Mendy Injustice
To be honest, it is ridiculous that Mendy did not win the Yashin Trophy 2021. It looked like Mendy has been hard done!
Firstly, Frace Football didn’t even nominate Edouard Mendy for the Ballon d’Or award. People were crazy about it but took it lightly given he was nominated for the Goalkeeper award (Yashin Trophy).
Still, it didn’t make any sense. How could the best performing goalkeeper in the Champions League and (arguably) best Goalkeeper of the year not even be nominated as one of the best 30 players in the world?
Would he have been overlooked like this if he played for France?
But, at last, it’s Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy that won the Yashin 2021 trophy. Did Donnarumma deserve the award?
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Why Édouard Mendy Deserves the Yachine 2021 Trophy Instead of Donnarumma
In the 2020/2021 season, Donnarumma kept only 14 clean sheets in 45 appearances. Mendy made 25 clean sheets in 43 appearances, making a whooping 16 clean sheets in 31 Premier League appearances only!
Yes, Donnarumma was outstanding in the Euro 2020 and won it with Italy.
Mendy was more than outstanding in the Champions League, in his first time in the competition. He kept 9 clean sheets in 13 appearances in the competition and won the trophy. Donnarumma didn’t even play Champions League football in the 2020/21 season.
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One may point to Donnarumma’s penalty heroics in the Euros as an edge; well, if penalties are the measuring tape now, then, Kepa Arizabalega of Chelsea should be the frontrunner. Indeed, no goalkeeper has done it better than him since the beginning of the year 2021!
In the end, the Yashin 2021 Trophy shows how much racial prejudice could still rule the mind of Football decision-makers. It looked like we went 150 years aback with this one. It’s a total disgrace to equity, fairness, and justice!
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Notable Édouard Mendy Stats
- 130 goalkeepers have played at least two league games in a top-five European division this season; Édouard Mendy has the highest save percentage. ????
- Based on the quality of the shots on target he has faced, Édouard Mendy has prevented more goals than any other ‘keeper in the Premier League this season. Clean sheets (7), goals conceded (5). ????
- Édouard Mendy has the best save percentage of any goalkeeper to play 5+ games in the #UCL since the start of last season and has kept the most clean sheets in that time. Just four goals were conceded in 17 games. ????
- No goalkeeper has ever kept more clean sheets in a single Champions League campaign than Édouard Mendy in 2020/21. He also set the competition record for most clean sheets in a debut #UCL season. ⛔️
- Édouard Mendy for Chelsea & Senegal in 2021: 50 games played, 27 clean sheets, 29 goals conceded and somehow he was not even nominated for the main Ballon d’Or.
- Édouard Mendy’s Chelsea career so far: 62 games, 36 clean sheets, 36 goals conceded, Super Cup, Champions League, UCL Goalkeeper of the Season.
Further Reading:
- Messi vs Lewandowski: Why Messi Deserves the Ballon d’Or 2021 Award
- The New Champions League Format: Good or Bad Move for Football?
- FIFA Ranking: How FIFA Ranks Each Country Every Month
- 6 Lessons Learnt From Alisson Becker’s Goal For Liverpool
- Goalkeepers Who Scored In The English Premier League
- Why Goalkeepers Walk Onto The Football Pitch Second After The Captain
