Adieu, Amadou: Reflections On Mbengue’s Time At Reading
Harry bids farewell to Amadou Mbengue, who firmly cemented himself in the hearts of Reading fans during his time in Berkshire.
Football is a very easy thing to become far too emotionally invested in, and to take far too seriously. We’re all guilty of it, it’s inevitable.
That’s why, when players (or more importantly people) like Amadou Mbengue come along, it’s a much-needed reminder of why we all fell in love with the game in the first place: because we enjoy it.
Mbengue arrived at the club as an unknown 21-year-old, in the most turbulent years of our club’s history, without being able to speak a word of the language. Even having the guts to do that is admirable enough, but to do in the way he did - to immerse himself into the club and bloom - is what really cemented himself into Reading FC folklore.
It took him a long time to become a settled, regular member of the starting XI. He was constantly thrown in and out of the team, more often than not in a different position to the one he’d last played in. And he was clearly nowhere near the full package he is now either.
You could see there was definitely a player in there, but he was very raw, rash and reckless at times. The kind of player who frustrated just as much as he delighted. But when Nelson Abbey departed in January 2024, an opportunity fell into Mbengue’s lap, and he grasped it with every fibre of his body.
I personally - and I know I’m not alone in this - feared Mbengue wasn’t up to scratch, and thought playing constantly as a centre-back in a back four would be too much for him. At a time when we needed results more than ever, having to play Mbengue every game scared the life out of me to be honest. But oh how wrong I was.
Together with the tonic to his gin, Tyler Bindon, Mbengue became part of the best centre-half duo I’ve seen at this club in a very, very long time. He may not have got the external applaud that his Kiwi team mate did, or the eventual Premier League move, but he arguably leaves holding a bigger place in our hearts.
That’s not just because of his performances on the pitch, which progressed exponentially throughout his time in the proper blue and white hoops, but primarily because of his personality and love for the club, the fans and the game of football. His energy is infectious, and that radiated onto us fans when we needed it most.
Like I previously said it’s very hard to enjoy football, but Mbengue does everything with a smile on his face, and wants all those around him to have one on their face too.
He became the orchestrator of the choir at the end of every win, danced on the pitch with his team mates, led celebrations with the fans and, although I’m not partial to what goes on behind the scenes on a daily basis at the club, I’m sure his laugh, energy and vigour will be missed deeply around the corridors of Bearwood.
It’s sour to see him leave, especially to a club who we could at least be on par with in 12 months or so. But you can never really begrudge a player a move to a higher division and higher level.
Mbengue gets another crack in the Championship as a more refined, polished product than he was in his first attempt, and he truly deserves it. Queens Park Rangers have got themselves a very good centre-back, but even more than that, a truly joyous human being.
See you soon, Cheeseburger.