Aïssa Mandi, Levante’s centre-back and former Algeria captain, has been demoted to the substitutes’ bench. Coach Luís Castro now prefers Adrián de la Fuente and Ifeanyi Ndukwe in central defence.
Three months after officially announcing his international retirement with Algeria, Levante’s centre-back has been demoted to the substitutes’ bench, according to Afrik-Foot. Mandi, who ended a twelve-year career in the Algeria shirt, which he also captained, had nevertheless started the first six La Liga matchdays as an undisputed starter.
But the Portuguese coach now prefers the centre-back pairing of Adrián de la Fuente and young Ifeanyi Ndukwe. Mandi has just gone two consecutive games without playing a single minute in the league.
A reshuffled centre-back pairing
Luís Castro’s decision to do without Mandi is no accident. The coach has decided to put his trust in Adrián de la Fuente and Ifeanyi Ndukwe, two centre-backs who now make up Levante’s first-choice pairing. The move comes as the club are currently on a run of draws and are looking to shore up a defence that has looked fragile, according to SportAPI.
Mandi is therefore seeing his playing time shrink. He stayed on the bench during the spectacular draw against Sevilla (3-3), then was a spectator for the trip to Deportivo La Coruña, which ended 1-1.
The penalty against Barça
His name is also tied to a controversial episode. In the 4-2 defeat to FC Barcelona, Mandi had conceded a heavily disputed penalty against Lamine Yamal, according to Goal.com, which sparked a fierce backlash. Yet the player had made 4 tackles and 2 goal-line clearances in that encounter, according to YSscores.
It would, however, be hasty to draw a direct link between that penalty and the loss of his starting place.
A role to redefine
For Mandi, the challenge now is to win back his coach’s trust. Signed in the summer to mentor the youngsters and bring his La Liga experience, he must find his place in a team looking to rediscover its solidity.
Levante’s next fixture is set for Wednesday 21 October, against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, before they face Real Sociedad on 24 October.