Mandi (footballer)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Sosa and the second or maternal family name is Peña.

Armando Sosa Peña (born 1 March 1989), known as Mandi, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Gibraltar Football League club Lincoln Red Imps.

Mandi

Mandi in action for Sporting Gijón in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Armando Sosa Peña[1]
Date of birth	(1989-03-01) 1 March 1989 (age 35)[2]
Place of birth	Santa Lucía, Spain[2]
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Lincoln Red Imps
Number	88
Youth career
2000–2003	San Fernando
2003–2006	Maspalomas
2006–2007	Vecindario
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	Vecindario	2	(0)
2008–2010	Villarreal C	48	(4)
2008	Villarreal B	1	(0)
2010	→ Ponferradina (loan)	11	(1)
2010–2012	Real Madrid B	47	(2)
2012–2015	Sporting Gijón	66	(2)
2015–2017	Elche	37	(0)
2017–2018	Almería	23	(0)
2018–2019	Wellington Phoenix	25	(2)
2019–2020	ATK	11	(0)
2021–2022	Unionistas	34	(2)
2023–	Lincoln Red Imps	17	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:14, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Canary Islands, Mandi made his debut as a senior with UD Vecindario in 2007. In the summer of 2008 he moved to Villarreal CF, representing both its C and B teams.

On 2 February 2010, Mandi joined SD Ponferradina on loan until June.^[3] With the Castile and León club he was promoted to Segunda División, being regularly used during his six-month spell.^[4]

On 15 July 2010, after rejecting a new contract at Ponfe,^[5] Mandi signed for Real Madrid Castilla also in the third division.^[6] After again winning promotion to the second tier, he moved to Sporting de Gijón on 22 June 2012 after agreeing to a four-year deal.^[7]

Mandi made his professional debut on 2 September 2012, starting in a 0–0 away draw against Racing de Santander.^[8] He scored his first goal on 5 January of the following year, in a 1–1 draw at Recreativo de Huelva.^[9]

On 31 August 2015, Mandi terminated his contract with Sporting^[10] and signed for Elche CF just hours later.^[11] On 8 July 2017, after suffering relegation with the latter, he agreed to a one-year deal at UD Almería.^[12]

On 12 October 2018, Mandi signed with New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix FC.^[13] He scored his first goal in the A-League on 24 November, with a long-range half-volley to open a 3–1 home loss against Adelaide United FC.^[14]

Mandi joined Indian Super League franchise ATK on 16 December 2019, as a replacement for the injured Carl McHugh.^[15] After contributing eight starts as they were crowned champions,^[16] he returned to his country's division three with Unionistas de Salamanca CF.^[17]

Honours

Real Madrid Castilla

• Segunda División B: 2011–12^[18]

ATK

• Indian Super League: 2019–20^[16]

References

1. "Mandi". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
2. "Mandi". Eurosport. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
3. Estébanez, Álex (2 February 2010). "Mandi cierra la plantilla" [Mandi completes the squad]. Diario de León (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 June 2015.
4. "El equipo blanquiazul se reecuentra con Mandi Sosa" [White-and-blue team meet Mandi Sosa again]. Diario de León (in Spanish). 19 April 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
5. Estébanez, Álex (18 June 2010). "Mandi dice adiós a la Deportiva" [Mandi says goodbye to Deportiva]. Diario de León (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 June 2015.
6. Piñero, Alberto (16 July 2010). "Estos son los refuerzos del Castilla" [These are the additions of Castilla] (in Spanish). Defensa Central. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
7. "El Sporting confirma el fichaje de Mandi" [Sporting confirm the signing of Mandi]. Marca (in Spanish). 22 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
8. Estepa, Javier (2 September 2012). "Sin noticias del gol" [No goal news]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 June 2015.
9. "El Recre salva un punto ante un Sporting fallón" [Recre rescue a point against miss-it-all Sporting]. Marca (in Spanish). 5 January 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
10. "Mandi ha quedado desligado de la disciplina del Real Sporting" [Mandi has cut ties with Real Sporting's organisation] (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
11. "El Elche refuerza su medio campo con Mandi" [Elche bolster midfield with Mandi]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 31 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
12. "El Almería cierra el fichaje de Mandi para fortalecer el centro del campo" [Almería complete the signing of Mandi to bolster midfield] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
13. Hyslop, Liam (12 October 2018). "Wellington Phoenix sign former Real Madrid B midfielder". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
14. Hyslop, Liam (24 November 2018). "Wellington Phoenix lose third straight as Adelaide United power to victory". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
15. "ATK sign Spanish defensive midfielder Armando Sosa Peña [Mandi]". The Away End. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
16. Easwar, Nisanth V (16 March 2020). "ISL: Champions ATK spent their money well and reaped the rewards". Goal. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
17. Cotobal, José Luis (8 February 2021). "Unionistas ficha al mediocentro Armando Sosa "Mandi"" [Unionistas sign central midfielder Armando Sosa "Mandi"] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
18. "El Real Madrid Castilla, campeón de Segunda B" [Real Madrid Castilla, Segunda B champions]. ABC (in Spanish). 9 June 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2018.

External links

• Mandi at BDFutbol
• Mandi at Futbolme (in Spanish)
• Mandi at Soccerway