When you really sit down and think about it, there’s a lot of football players that don’t get the recognition that they deserve for whatever reason.
Be it because they’re overshadowed by more famous teammates or because their accomplishments become notable after the fact, a lot of players don’t get what they deserve in terms of recognition.
For Sadio Mane, this ultimately isn’t the case anymore. Once upon a time, this premium player was a little bit of an unknown, but over time, he has become something of an MVP that the fans just can’t get enough of. The answer as to why isn’t just as simple as he wins matches – it’s a little more complex than that.
Incredible skills
Perhaps the primary reason why people can’t get enough of Sadio Mane, it might have something to do with the fact that the 2019-2020 season was a good one for him. The man scored 14 goals with 7 assists – never a bad record for a player. It helped to make him part of the game as a whole, and also cemented his position as being part of an attacking trident which is famous in Europe.
No trademark
Most players, as you’ll find from watching them over and over, have something which is akin to a trademark. It’s the way that they score goals, and it gives them a unique victory pose. What sets Mane apart from all of this is that ultimately, he doesn’t have a signature.
This lack of an identity isn’t actually a bad thing. Far from it, in fact – it is one of his biggest assets. If you go back and look at his goals, the lack of an identifiable approach gives him an edge. He has moments that a defender won’t be looking for. They’ll be looking for him to score in a trademark way. They’ll have trained for it, but it won’t ever appear.
Take, for example, his chip against Bayern Munich, or the winding run and drive at the Emirates. These moments had no real buildup or skill attributed to them – they were moments that he created for himself there and then, and they show us how capable of a player he actually is.
Putting him on the map
A powerful moment like either of the ones we talked about then and there don’t describe his technique as such, but they also help to put him on the map. Knowing these skills and tricks is one thing, but the really noteworthy players know how and when to use them for maximum effect.
That’s definitely why people like Sadio as much as they do. He has a high level of dexterity and a factor of unpredictability which makes him a highly interesting and engaging player. There’s not a lot of ways to predict what he’ll do and when, which gives him massive power over less experienced defenders, and even some of the pros. He has a lot of unique attributes that make him so popular because no one seems to quite know what he’ll do next.
Perhaps it is this incredible ability and flexibility which makes him such a valued asset to Liverpool as a team. Mane can do whatever he needs to in order to win, whether that is utilising his technical skill or raw power. He isn’t a fixed agent and that makes him valuable.
A proven record
The best way to illustrate exactly what he is is to look at the goals that he has scored. This is a man who has an incredible range of ability. There aren’t a lot of players that can do what he does, as consistently as he does it, and with such flexibility. You don’t find as many players who are as quick on the pitch, but as technical as this. You don’t find as many players who can slot into quite as many niche areas as easily as Sadio can.
These characteristics make him so valuable to the Liverpool team. However, it took him a while to get noticed for his incredible skills. For a long time, he was just another part of the Liverpool team. This ability is exactly what has put him on the map, and brought him to the attention of fans and professionals alike. The man does have incredible potential in his game, and a very long and fruitful career ahead of him if he chooses to stick by his trademark unpredictability.
Final thoughts
So, to wrap this up, it’s clear to everybody that Sadio is one of the more capable players on the Liverpool team, simply because he has such a broad and diverse set of abilities. It’s very difficult to know what he will do on the pitch from one minute to the next, and this makes it hard for any defender or midfielder to ultimately try and outmanoeuvre him.
You can tell it is this skill set which has endeared him to higher ups in the Liverpool club, and it is part of why we have such a great track record to look at. His 2019 to 2020 season was a very capable one, and proved exactly what he could do. Hopefully, it goes onto to further highlight just how valuable of a commodity he is in the world of football, and why Liverpool have a capable weapon to unleash.
