OM: “When he goes on the field, he gives his life”, the crazy story of Chancel Mbemba

Led by their trio of stars, Paris Saint-Germain largely won at home against Maccabi Haifa (7-2) on Tuesday evening. Olympique de Marseille hopes to have the same result on Wednesday night against Eintracht Frankfurt. A match to follow live on Europe 1 Sport. If the Marseillais win, they will undoubtedly take a big step towards qualifying for the knockout stages in the Champions League. To win, the players can count on their Congolese defender, Chancel Mbemba, who has been impressive since his arrival this summer.

A player with an extraordinary career

He is a player with an extraordinary career and personality. With Chancel Mbemba, the exchanges often start like this: “Thank you for the words”. Thank you for the words, followed by a big smile, it’s his way of punctuating each question from the journalists, a rare delicacy in the world of football.

But as soon as we go on the ground, the former shy kid from Kinshasa is transformed. “Chancel”, as everyone already calls him in Marseille, shines and impresses even his captain, Valentin Rongier: “When he goes on the field, he gives his life. I think the fans feel it. It’s a very good football player too, a very good defender, what is happening to him is deserved.”

Coming from a family of nine children and from a club with a predestined name for a defender, MK Etanchéité, in the 2nd Congolese division, Mbemba was initially very badly advised by crooked agents, eager to rejuvenate him in order to sell him. more expensive. He would now be between 28 and 34 years old, assures him that he is 31. FIFA has never managed to elucidate this mystery but it doesn’t matter… Still starting, still performing, Chancel can offer OM their first qualification in the knockout stages of the Champions League for 11 years.