Football Under-21 European Championship-Mancienne gets England call-up |26 May 2011

Centre-back Mancienne, who can also play as a defensive midfielder as well as both fullback positions, is an established England Under-21 player and received his first call-up for the senior squad in November 2008, ahead of a friendly against Germany.

England begin their European Championship campaign on June 12 against Spain before playing Ukraine three days later. They will finish their Group B fixtures on June 19 against Czech Republic.

The semifinals and final will take place the following week and the England team will be bidding to go one better than the previous championships where they were thrashed 4-0 in the final by Germany in Malmo, Sweden, in 2009.

Mancienne was part of the team at the tournament which was a disappointment for him as he received a red card in England’s opening group game against Finland.

He has previously also represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels. He was the captain of England’s under-18 side.

In Denmark, former international left-back Pearce will be without Liverpool forward Andy Carroll, whose last game for the Under-21s came in the 2-1 qualifying defeat to Greece in March 2010, and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere. They have both become part of Fabio Capello’s set-up with the England senior team.

Wilshere’s Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had complained last week that the 19-year-old had played too much football – 48 matches this season – and needed a summer of rest. Carroll, who joined Liverpool in January this year from Newcastle United for a club record £35m, has been left out because of injury.

Son of former Glacis and Seychelles international midfielder Mike Mancienne who also won the first Sportsman of the Year title in 1984, Mancienne spent the just-ended season with Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) on loan from Chelsea.

Earlier this month, the 23-year-old, who was spotted by Chelsea as a nine-year-old playing for Kingstonian and debuted for the Chelsea Reserves while still at school, told Sky Sports he did not know which club he will be at next season after three spells on loan at Wolves at Moulineux.

The versatile player helped Wolves stay in the Premier League at the end of the 2010-2011 campaign but looks set to return to Stamford Bridge.

“I’ve got to go back to Chelsea,” he told Sky Sports.
“But beyond that, I can’t say what’s going to happen because I don’t know myself.”
Mancienne was also part of Wolves’ Championship-winning side back in 2008/09
The player, whose contract at Stamford Bridge runs until June 2013, signed his first professional contract in January 2006.

He finally made his Chelsea debut on February 14, 2009, starting an English Football Association (FA) Cup tie at Watford after loan spells with Queens Park Rangers in the Championship for two seasons – 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.

He made his European debut appearance on February 25, 2009 when he came on as a late substitute in a UEFA Champions League knockout tie against Juventus, which ended 1–0 in Chelsea’s favour. On February 28, 2009 he achieved his Premier League debut in a 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic.

At the end of the 2008–09 season he was voted Chelsea’s Young Player of the Year.

G. G.