Armando Sosa Peña (born 1 March 1989), known as Mandi, is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Club career

Born in Santa Lucía de Tirajana,

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, Mandi made his debut as a senior with UD Vecindario in 2007. In the summer of 2008 he moved to

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

, representing both its C and B teams. On 2 February 2010, Mandi joined SD Ponferradina on loan until June. With the

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

club he was promoted to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, being regularly used during his six-month spell. On 15 July 2010, after rejecting a new contract at ''Ponfe'', Mandi signed for Real Madrid Castilla also in the third division. After again winning promotion to the second tier, he moved to

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

on 22 June 2012 after agreeing to a four-year deal. Mandi made his professional debut on 2 September 2012, starting in a 0–0 away draw against Racing de Santander. He scored his first goal on 5 January of the following year, in a 1–1 draw at

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

. On 31 August 2015, Mandi terminated his contract with Sporting and signed for

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

just hours later. On 8 July 2017, after suffering relegation with the latter, he agreed to a one-year deal at

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

. On 12 October 2018, Mandi signed with New Zealand club

Wellington Phoenix FC Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under Professional sports league organization#Systems around the world, licenc ...

. He scored his first goal in the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

on 24 November, with a long-range half-volley to open a 3–1 home loss against Adelaide United FC. Mandi joined

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

franchise ATK on 16 December 2019, as a replacement for the injured Carl McHugh. After contributing eight starts as they were crowned champions, he returned to his country's division three with Unionistas de Salamanca CF.

Honours

Real Madrid Castilla *

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

: 2011–12 ATK *

: 2019–20

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandi 1989 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Las Palmas Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Primera Federación players UD Vecindario players Villarreal CF C players Villarreal CF B players SD Ponferradina players Real Madrid Castilla footballers Sporting de Gijón players Elche CF players UD Almería players Unionistas de Salamanca CF players A-League Men players Wellington Phoenix FC players Indian Super League players ATK (football club) players Gibraltar National League players Lincoln Red Imps F.C. players Kings League players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand Expatriate men's footballers in India Expatriate men's footballers in Gibraltar Spanish expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Gibraltar