Of the 460 teams that compete in the first five categories of Spanish football, only one, the CD Quintanar del Reyhas managed to stand on the threshold of November without conceding a single goal. Theirs is the only wall that still stands. Signed in summer by Jose Carlos Mullorthe goalkeeper Leo Mendes He fits wonderfully into the philosophy that the sports director of the Cuenca club has imposed since his arrival: youth (23 years old), with hunger, desire to learn and continue growing and, above all, a team player. “If you don’t lose your humility, you will go far,” the person responsible for the signings of this Third Federation team assures ABC.
«It is my second year in Quintanar. Since I have been here, we have not signed any footballer who is over 25 years old. Our average age is 21.7, we have lowered that of last season, which was 22.8,” explains Mullor, former coach in Second Division B. “I noticed Leo last season, when he was at Villarrobledo, and in the summer We signed it, it fits our needs very well. He has adapted so well that he now appears as Spain’s only unbeaten goalkeeper. After eight days (six wins and two draws), Leo Mendes continues without conceding a single goal. An indestructible wall even from a penalty. On Sunday, during the visit to Marchamalo, the goalkeeper deflected a shot from eleven meters just before half-time and the subsequent rebound. His penultimate miracle.
Raimundo Salas, goalkeeping coach from Mullor when he coached in the bronze category of football, he now plays that role in CD Quintanar del Rey, second in Group XVIII of the Third Federation, equal on points (20) with the leader, CD Toledo. «Leo is a goalkeeper of great size (192 centimeters), with a lot of corpulence and with very good physical condition. He has improved a lot in the technical and tactical aspects, as well as in goal positioning,” he explains to this newspaper.
CD Quintanar’s starting eleven last Sunday in Marchamalo
Of Guinean origin and in Spain since 2019Leo Mendes, who has a twin brother playing in Portugal, has previously played for teams such as Marítima, Lanzarote, Tamaraceite, Las Palmas C, Atlético Paso or Herbania. «He goes very well one on one, he is very daring and brave in the aerial game. On a psychological level he has improved a lot in concentration and has a great personality on the field, but above all I highlight his desire to work, to learn and his humility,” praises Raimundo Salas, who in each training session strives to continue polishing a goalkeeper by that internal competition has also helped him in his progression. And he agrees with his sports director: “If he remains humble, he can reach very high.”
Internal competition
«Leo is in a great moment, but Iker Czecha (20 years old), the second goalkeeper, is making it very difficult for him. In the team there is an impressive sporting competition and that helps the growth of the players,” explains Mullor, who with his signings has turned Quintanar into an impossible rival to score a goal. “Superior clubs like Almería or Leganés are helping us with players on loan, the kids come hungry and know that they have a future here,” says the sports director.
Leo Mendes stops a ball against CD Marchamalo
For the bench, Mullor was betting in the summer on Pedro Bolaños (38 years old), former coach of teams such as Melilla, Jaén or Atlético Mancha Real and who ended last season at the head of Linares Deportivo in the First Federation. The coach puts himself in profile and puts the players in the focus of CD Quintanar del Rey’s incredible streak. “The protagonists are the footballers, their work and their daily demands, Leo has been decisive in several games, such as in Marchamalo, but the importance is of the collective,” he assures ABC.
Leo Mendes sum of 720 minutes without conceding a goalbut it is still far from the unbeaten record of Spanish football, in possession of Mikel Pagola. Formerly of Osasuna B, Ponferradina, Burgos, Guijuelo, Badalona, Móstoles, Alavés, Badajoz, Balompédica Linense and El Palo, the Navarrese established his mark (1,342 minutes) in the final stretch of the 2015-16 campaign, when he defended the goal of the CD Tudelano. A record that Leo Mendes, the insurmountable goalkeeper of CD Quintanar del Rey, looks at, still out of the corner of his eye.
