OM god: Steve Mandanda's Marseille might

Born: 28/03/1985

Honours
• French title: 1 (2010)
• Coupe de la Ligue: 3 (2012)

• Born in Kinshasa – then Zaïre, now the Democratic Republic of Congo – Mandanda's parents moved to Normandy when the goalkeeper was two. He initially fancied himself as a boxer but decided to focus on football. "I saw Mike Tyson knocking everybody out, but he is also the reason I stopped boxing. I didn't want to end up like his opponents."

• Fate intervened to stop Mandanda signing for Caen as a teenager. "I was set to sign for Caen's Under-15s on the Monday but on the night before I had stomach pains and ended up having going to hospital with appendicitis," he remembered. "The signing was postponed while I had surgery, but Monsieur Forsac – the chief scout at Le Havre – came to my hospital room in Evreux to meet my parents, and I ended up signing for Le Havre."

• After an unsuccessful trial at Aston Villa, Mandanda joined Marseille on loan in August 2007 as back-up for Cédric Carrasso. "When OM knock on your door, you are crazy if you say no," he said. After Carrasso sustained a serious Achilles injury in training, Mandanda moved up to the first XI, and has not left since, Marseille signing him permanently in 2008.

• A cool head and fine reflexes are Mandanda's key strengths; last season, while being interviewed pitch-side after a 6-1 win at Toulouse, the goalkeeper made a superb catch after a bottle was tossed in his direction, immediately offering his interviewer a drink with a supremely composed question: "Water?"

• First capped by Raymond Domenech in a 2-0 friendly win against Ecuador in 2007, Mandanda was an unused squad member at UEFA EURO 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2012, and is likely to be back-up to Hugo Lloris at UEFA EURO 2016. "I'm not happy with being No2," he said. "Hugo is No1. I know what my role is, but I also have ambition."

A neck injury ended Mandanda's World Cup hopes©AFP/Getty Images

• Mandanda's hunger for final-tournament football has intensified since missing out on the 2014 World Cup with a neck injury sustained in the weeks before the finals. "I could have ended up in a wheelchair – it's awful, but that is what the neurosurgeon told me," Mandanda explained. "That helped me to put things in perspective."

• At 30, Mandanda is the oldest of four goalkeeping brothers; Parfait, 26, plays for Charleroi in Belgium and Congo – the brothers were on opposite sides for a friendly game when Steve Mandanda represented France B in 2008; Riffi,23, is in Ligue 2 with Ajaccio, and Over, 17, is in the youth ranks at Bordeaux. "I don't think it is a genetic thing," Steve said. "Maybe I influenced their choice unconsciously."

• Marseille captain since Mamadou Niang left the club in the wake of their 2009/10 title success, Mandanda passed 400 games for the club last September – a record for an OM goalkeeper. 'El Fenomeno' is a favourite at Marseille, with awesome performances like the one in a 1-1 draw against Lyon on Sunday, underlining his class. "He was what he always is – a great goalkeeper," said OM coach Michel after the game.

Steve Mandanda's superb reflexes continue to serve him well at Marseille©AFP/Getty Images