No place for friendships in Mersey derby
Idrissa Gana Gueye admits his friendship with Sadio Mane is on hold until after today’s Merseyside derby.
But he is eager for it to resume straight after the final whistle, if Everton claim the bragging rights.
Gueye and Liverpool star Mane are two of the key players for Senegal, but this fixture is all about club loyalty.
So far, Mane has had the upper hand in the derby, especially after he scored the winner in injury time at Goodison Park two years ago.
That has been the case for the Reds for a long time now, with Everton not beating their neighbours since October 2010.
That is a run of 17 games, while their winless record at Anfield stretches back to a 1-0 win in September 1999.
So Gueye and his team-mates would love to put that right, by stopping Mane and the rest of the Reds’ line-up.
“Me and Sadio are good friends,” he says. “We meet sometimes and have a chat and we talk when we are away with the national team.
“But one week before the derby, we stop talking. We don’t call and we don’t send messages.
“We like to play this game like we are supporters. He tells me before the game: ‘Don’t call me’ and I say: ‘Ok, no problem’.
“We can start talking again after the game. If we win, I will call him straight away.
“He scored in one game and came to me immediately. Hopefully it will be my turn to do that this time!”
Mane is not only one of Liverpool’s leading lights, but one of the biggest names in African football.
But that did not stop him from being booed by Senegalese supporters during their recent Africa Cup of Nations game with Equatorial Guinea.
Mane was visibly upset, and Gueye admits that shows the pressure his friend is under to perform for his country.
“I tried to talk to Sadio after that game, but he didn’t want to talk to anyone,” says the Blues midfielder. “He just wanted to be by himself.
“But he’s a good player and a big player and he knows what he has to do.
“He is one of our best players, so people expect a lot from him. They see him doing very good things for Liverpool and they want him to do the same for Senegal.
“But it’s not the same team and it’s not the same position, so it’s difficult for him. He is doing well for the national team, but they expect more and more.
“I am sure people back home will be watching.
“Last time we played Liverpool, I tackled Sadio hard and I received a lot of messages saying: ‘Don’t injure our player’, so they definitely watch.”