Chendo, the Mélenchon look-alike on the Madrid bench who ignited social networks
His resemblance to Jean-Luc Mélenchon ignited French social networks on Wednesday, during the Champions League semi-final return between Real Madrid and Manchester City. But beyond being a lookalike of the leader of the Insoumis, Chendo is above all a legend of the merengue club.
Observing from afar, there is indeed reason to doubt. With his graying hair, his teacher’s glasses and his fitted suit and tie over a white shirt, Chendo looks surprisingly like Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Younger. The Real Madrid delegate is ten years younger than the leader of the Insoumis, but with his similar look, the Spaniard did not fail to react on French social networks on Wednesday during the semi-final return of the League of champions against Manchester City (3-1, ap).
« Why Mélenchon is sitting on the Real bench? », « I didn’t know that Mélenchon had become Ancelotti’s assistant », « Apparently, Mélenchon has made an alliance with Real »… the jokes flared all evening on Twitter. What offer Chendo an improbable notoriety in France.
At 60, the leader of the club merengue is not unknown in the world of football. In Madrid, Miguel Porlan Noguera (his full name) is even a true legend.
Nearly 500 matches in the merengue jersey
Trained at Castilla, the former right-back has spent his entire career in the White House. After starting with the professional team at the age of 23, he played nearly 500 games in the jersey of Real, between 1982 and 1998. In sixteen seasons, he won, among other things, a Champions League, seven Liga and two Spanish Cup. Renowned for his volume of play, his grinta and his taste for effort, the ex-Spanish international (26 caps) left excellent memories at the Bernabeu.
The socios remember in particular the victory of Real Madrid against Naples, on September 16, 1987, in the group stage of C1 (2-0). An evening during which Chendo muzzled Diego Maradona, then at the top of his game. The native of the region of Murcia (in the south of Spain) had even allowed himself to stick a small bridge to the Argentine star. Something to win hearts for a long time. Waiting to get into politics one day?
