Christos Mandas is not (yet) a starter at Lazio. The Greek goalkeeper has however had an excellent evolution over the months, so much so that he ended up in the news as the possible number one for the Biancoceleste, taking the place of Provedel who had received a significant salary increase, but who had been a bit hesitant in recent weeks. Undoubtedly, Mandas enjoys good press precisely because of the performances he has shown during his time as a starter.
Marco Baroni however wanted to underline. “I don’t know who brought up this topic, but it’s a non-issue. We have two strong goalkeepers, Provedel is the starter and he enjoys the trust of me and the whole team. He is a top-level professional and there are no problems. The good fortune is to have another young and very good guy like Mandas who has the future ahead of him, but I always love, especially in that role, not to question the hierarchies”.
At the end of August 2023, as Mandas himself admitted, he didn’t believe in Lazio’s call. He had just lost against Asteras Tripoli 3-0 and the feeling was that of a transition year. Then the Biancocelesti took him directly to the Capital, instead of leaving him in OFI Crete, until, in fact, the opportunity that came to him with Provedel’s injury, exploited because, in fact, as a starter he only lost one match during the course of last season. It remains to be seen whether or not he will be the next starter. Today Christos Mandas turns 23.