Football-Mancienne picked for England friendly in Berlin |18 November 2008
Son of former Glacis and Seychelles international midfielder Mike Mancienne, the centre-
On loan to Championship leaders Wolves, Mancienne, 20, had this to say to the English press after his England call-up: “It is the dream of every boy to play for their country and it is fantastic to be in the squad. I was focused on being in the Under-21 squad so this was great news. It will be a fantastic game to be involved in and just being around the squad will be superb.”
He added: “I’m thrilled. I didn’t know anything after the game. But I’m really excited at the prospect, I feel it’s a great achievement. The move to Wolves, and the fact they like to play good football, and are top of the Championship, has definitely helped.”
England and Chelsea captain John Terry has backed the call-up of Mancienne for the Germany friendly.
He said: “He will gain from the experience and his form has been fantastic for Wolves. I don’t want to put too much pressure on the lad but we all realise he has got a bright future in front of him.”
Born in Isleworth, London, Mancienne was discovered by Chelsea playing for Kingstonian as an eight-year-old. His progress was rapid and he represented England at all youth levels before breaking into Chelsea’s reserves. He went out on loan to Queens Park Rangers for both the 2006-07 and the 2007-08 seasons in which he made 58 appearances.
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has compared Mancienne, who also captained England at under-18 level, to German World Cup-winning centre-back Franz Beckenbauer.
While on holiday here in June last year, braided Mancienne told Sports Nation he would play for Seychelles if he did not get the chance to play for England by the time he reaches 25.
G. G.