Even though football has always been his love, Reinildo Madava wouldn’t leave his native Mozambique and leave his mother alone. Instead, he played for local clubs and tried to help his mother deal with the premature loss of his father. Heartbroken after he lost his mother too, Reinildo set off on an adventure to make his parents proud.Now an established 28-year-old defender with experience playing in Portugal, France and Spain, the Atletico man told AS that being humble and dedicated was a part of his personality from a young age.🎙| Reinildo Mandava to @diarioas: “One of the best things I’ve done is to put pressure to be able to come in January. I am very happy to be at Atlético.” 🇲🇿❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/Ls8hpmVMlX— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) July 25, 2022 “I started in the city of Beira. My father and grandfather were players and coaches in Mozambique. When I was eight or nine years old, I used to play in the street in my neighbourhood with my friends. One day I told him that he should come and see me play. That same day when I went to play, he came over to see me secretly. When I got back home, he called me just before dinner and told me that if I continued like that, I would become a great player. He told me that I had to focus on achieving that goal, to dedicate myself one hundred per cent”.Reinildo took the advice literally and began his journey. “When I was 15, I started playing for a local professional team, the Ferroviario da Beira. I started progressing through the ranks, and, when I was 18, I started playing professionally. After just six months, I was called up by Mozambique. It was fulfilling a dream. I was a boy who had just become a professional and was already in the national team.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6521034##But while he was still developing as a player, heartbreak came as the youngster’s dad passed away, leaving Reinildo and his brothers to care for their mother.”When I started playing professionally, at the age of 18, many teams from Africa came to sign me in South Africa, Tanzania… But I rejected them because I felt I had to stay there to help my mom. She was a person who was always there for me for my brothers, and she did everything to get things for us. When I started playing and earning money, I said I wasn’t leaving because for the first time, I could help my mother, and I stayed in Mozambique.”But on 12 November 2015, Reinildo also lost his mother, and then he decided to start thinking about himself and use the opportunities that came his way.”Liga Desportiva de Maputo, a club from the capital, called and gave me a three-year contract. But after just 15 days, they told me we had to travel to Portugal because Benfica wanted to sign me for five years. So I didn’t get to wear the Maputo team shirt.”We all love Reinildo 🫶 pic.twitter.com/uxvG8ez7TN— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) July 18, 2022 He developed a lot at Benfica but never got the chance to represent the biggest Portuguese club. He was loaned a few times before joining Belenenses. He only needed a season of first-team football in Portugal to earn the call from LOSC Lille in France. There, he became a household name. After three years with the Dogues, Reinildo was recruited by the impressed Diego Simeone.In six months at Metropolitano, he won over the Atletico fans, who accepted him as one of their own. But the humble African doesn’t like to be in the spotlight away from the pitch. To Mandava, it’s all about playing well and respecting the advice his father gave him a long time ago.
