I read Eliezer Mayenda’s departure post on social media, and I’m not ashamed to admit that it had me feeling a little bit emotional. I knew he was probably going to leave this summer, but I didn’t expect it to hit me like that, reading as he poured out his heart and soul to the Sunderland supporters as he heads back to France to take up a new challenge with Rennes.
Maybe it’s because I didn’t expect that sort of post from him – he doesn’t strike me as a particularly emotional fella, and if anything,
he’s made a name for himself at Sunderland for being Mr Cool. Underneath that tough exterior, however, is a big softie who absolutely loved his time on Wearside and has fallen in love with the club and the fans just as hard as we have with him.
When you consider the step he made as such a young man, moving from Sochaux to try and make it in the Championship with us, we’ve seen him grow up right before our eyes. He’s no longer a slight, apprehensive young pup – he is genuinely a big man now.
And unlike a lot of the players we signed back then, who couldn’t manage the transition and didn’t really make their mark, Eliezer Mayenda stepped up to the plate when his chance came – and that was after a failed loan move to Hibernian that could have broken him, when you think about it.
His talent and amazing raw potential gave him the platform to impress, and impress he did. Some of his performances in the Championship in our promotion season were remarkable, and he scored some incredible goals. His solo effort away at Bristol City is probably the greatest piece of individual brilliance that I’ve ever seen from a Sunderland player, and his role in getting us promoted through the playoffs showed us that this is a big character, capable of stepping up to the plate in high-pressure situations.
When he was gifted that opportunity away at Coventry in the playoff semi-finals there was no doubt in my mind that he’d score. Aye, he’s young and he makes mistakes, but he’s also ice cold and exactly the type of player you want in that position with so much pressure on him to deliver.
And then there was the playoff final, where his goal gave us the confidence to say “we can win this”. One amazing first touch, a lash with his wrong foot, and boom – it’s in the roof of the net.
The goal: sublime. The celebration: iconic.
The day after the playoff final we were heading to O’Neills near King’s Cross for a few pints while we waited for our train to come in, and as we came around the corner we saw the team bus as the players left their hotel to get back on board. It’s safe to say that they looked like they had enjoyed themselves as much as we did, and hadn’t had very much sleep – Mayenda in particular looked like he didn’t know what day it was. To be fair, he’d completely earned those beers, but it was funny seeing him dozily stumble around as people pestered him for selfies.
Back then I was thinking that this lad had what it takes to make the transition into becoming a Premier League footballer, and he was my favourite to lead the line going into the new campaign. He did just that when he started the season opener against West Ham, scoring our first goal back in the top flight with a deft header from Omar Alderete’s long ball. The man for the big moments delivered once again, and like those iconic goals in the Championship, the name of Eliezer Mayenda will always be remembered for being the man who not only helped to catapult us into the Premier League, but did his bit once we got back there.
It’s a shame that he didn’t play more, but it’d be hard to argue that Brian Brobbey shouldn’t have led the line for us last season, and that’s the only reason that Eliezer is even leaving the club – his direct competition for a starting berth is one of the most feared men in the division.
He’s nowhere near reaching his full potential, and I reckon this move to Rennes was simply too good to turn down. The fee for us is fantastic, and he’s off to play for a club where he’ll get the platform to really kick on, playing in Europe too, all for a club that is known for helping to develop some of the best young talent on the continent. If he has one good season at Rennes he’ll get himself another huge move, perhaps even back to the Premier League, and that has to be his ultimate goal, really – to prove that the big man is capable of scoring goals at the very highest level.
I’m chuffed that we get to say goodbye properly when we face Rennes at the Stadium of Light in our final pre-season game, because he deserves to hear Sunderland supporters singing his iconic chant one last time before he heads off into the sunset.
So here’s to Eliezer Mayenda – the big man, who will forever go down in the club’s history as one of the most iconic players in a side that brought us so much joy.
I hope he absolutely smashes it in France.
