Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MORECAMBE AND HIGHS!
Once with Atletico Madrid, Gomes has been up close and personal with the likes of Messi and Mane, and he reckons Shrimps can help him get back to big time
GIDEON BROOKS
IT has already been quite a journey for Carlos Mendes Gomes, arriving via Atletico Madrid and West Didsbury & Chorlton.
And along the way there have been a number of sliding doors moments as well where a professional career in football looked to have been snatched away.
But when he steps out for League Two Morecambe at Stamford Bridge tomorrow, the Senegal-born striker insists it will not be the end point of his trip, merely a reminder of where he still has to travel. And if they can knock out Chelsea it would be the equivalent of hitting the turbo.
At 22, Mendes Gomes has time to realise all dreams and if his career has taught him anything, it is to persevere.
He said: “I have seen worldclass players like Lionel Messi (right), Ronaldo and Sadio Mane up close and I want to be able look back one day on what I have achieved at the highest level possible.
“I will certainly be on that pitch this weekend thinking, ‘This is what I want.’ But I’m patient.”
Mendes Gomes’s story has been a stop-start affair. He moved from Sen egal to Lanzarote aged two and was p i c k e d u p b y At l e t i c o Madrid’s academy in 2012 after staying with a cousin in the capital.
But when his father had the chance to move with work to Manchester the teenager had a dif ficult decision to make and despite Atletico asking him to stay, he upped sticks.
Manchester was a struggle for a youngster away from friends but football came to the rescue again with West Didsbury & Chorlton.
He said: “Non-league was tough and every Saturday I went home with sore ankles after getting kicked , but it was a sacrifice worth taking to get where
I am now.”
While studying in
Manchester his coach got him a trial at
Morecambe.
“They were ready to offer me a contract but it was dependent on them staying i n the league,” he said. “In the last game of the 201718 season away at Coventry, they drew 0-0 and I signed.”
This season he has scored six i n his l ast 10 l eague appearances. Mendes Gomes admits he predicted the Shrimps would be paired with Chelsea when talking with fri end s th e d ay before the draw.
“They are going through a bad patch but they still have the same quality players,” said t h e Mo re c a mb e striker.
“They will have our respect off the pitch but on it we will do our best to go through.”