Atletico Madrid at Morecambe: Carlos Mendes Gomes’ journey from La Liga to Ligue 2 | Football News

You’d think a player coming from Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid would be ready for anything thrown at him.

That’s until you step into the North West Counties Football League – the 10th tier in English football, as famed Carlos Mendes Gomes can attest.

He said Sky Sports: “Every Saturday after the games I would come home and freeze my ankles because it was so bad!

“I remember my mom telling me to stop playing if that’s what’s going to happen all the time. I just told her it’s part of the game! When you love it, you don’t don’t worry about the pain. “

His move from Madrid to Manchester may seem intimidating but, considering that Mendes Gomes and his family moved from Senegal to Lanzarote as a child, before heading 900 miles on his own to the Spanish capital at just 15 years old, he seems to take things. in its wake.

“Even though everything was going well in Lanzarote, there is not that exposure, in terms of becoming great as a footballer. This is the reason why I went to Madrid,” he added.

“I went to play for Getafe the first year and the second year I was signed by Atletico. I was 15.”

The season he joined the Los Colchoneros youth squad, Simeone’s side won their first league title in 18 years, as well as second place in the Champions League, losing the final in overtime to his local rival, Real Madrid. .

“It was an incredible feeling (being part of the club). When we went to games and watched the first team, I thought that one day I want to have that feeling and I want to be a part of it,” said Mendes Gomes.

“At first we took pictures with the first team players, but after that it becomes normal, taking advice and trying to learn from them.”

Some of those first-team players included Thibaut Courtois, Toby Alderweireld, David Villa and Diego Costa, as well as Atletico icons Diego Godin, Juanfran and Koke.

Koke was someone Mendes Gomes not only admired, but also played with occasionally in the Atletico Madrid B squad, along with brothers Lucas and Theo Hernandez, who are now both at Bayern Munich and the AC Milan respectively.

“I played for [Atletico Madrid] under 16, then I played for under 18. But my father then decided to move to England because he thought we would have a better opportunity for an education for me and my little sisters, ”he explained.

“We had to move to England and at first I didn’t want to because I had my football at home, but I was like, ‘If it’s for me to be a footballer, so be it in Spain or in England, I will make it successful ‘.

“The first year I didn’t play football because I couldn’t find a team, but the second year I didn’t really care who I played.

“I always believed that if I trusted my abilities, no matter where I played, someone could spot it. I just played, making sure everything was okay and if any opportunities presented themselves, I would try to. grab it. “

“It was difficult because I didn’t speak English, but I just wanted to play, so I found a non-league club.

“I always believed that if I trusted my abilities, no matter where I played, someone could spot it. I just played, making sure everything was okay and if any opportunities presented themselves, I would try to. grab it. “

After two years at West Didsbury & Chorlton, non-League members, Morecambe’s chance to play in the Football League came from being spotted playing for his college, but on one condition – they had to avoid relegation.

On the last day of the 2017-18 season, they faced Coventry and knew that an away win at Ricoh Arena would mean they would stay on their feet, while a draw would leave 23rd Barnet to win by seven goal margin.

“It was one of the most trying games of my life, I couldn’t stop checking the score,” said Mendes Gomes.

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A 0-0 draw was enough to keep the Shrimps in the Football League, but, more importantly, it meant they had secured the signing of talented winger Mendes Gomes, who has since become one of the first names in the Lancashire team sheet. .

But it hasn’t always been easy for the 22-year-old. After making 15 league appearances in his debut season at the Globe Arena, Mendes Gomes has only been part of the squad for two of their opening 20 games last season.

“The first season I was playing a lot and then I wasn’t even on the bench. I thought I deserved to play more than because of how I was performing in training and the team didn’t care. wasn’t doing really well at that time, ”he said.

“I thought I should at least have had a chance, but that unfortunately didn’t happen. Then when Derek Adams took over, he gave me that opportunity and I made sure I took it.

Having made no appearances before Jim Bentley left in October 2019, Mendes Gomes started 15 of Adams’s first 20 games as a manager.

“[Adams] took my game to the next level – in terms of mentality and also my technical abilities. He gave me the confidence to go out on the pitch, speak out and be just me, ”says Mendes Gomes.

“He added more frankness to my game. My relationship with him is great, when the manager speaks very well in interviews and one-on-one it’s really nice to hear.”

A fantastic start to the season has the Shrimps firmly in the top seven, although many have tilted them to be part of another relegation fight this season, which Mendes Gomes insists is due to a preseason effort for increase club expectations.

“We are absolutely looking for a promotion,” he said.

“We had this mindset from the start of the season, we don’t want to be Morecambe who survive relegation every year and never fight for nothing. We want to push for the play-offs and we think the team has to go and do it. “

As for Mendes Gomes personally, he has seven league goals so far this campaign and, with the high standards set by his manager, he demands a lot of himself and insists that there is still a lot to come.

He said: “Personally, everything has gone well. There is always room for improvement and I believe that I can really improve and do better for the team, by scoring and helping more goals.”