Marseille Keeper Steve Mandanda Throws Ball to Opponent, Gets Scored on (Video)

Steve Mandanda is capable of the sensational and the showy. As he showed over the weekend, though, he's also capable of the spectacularly bad.

Mandanda, a 27-year-old French international keeper, had a bad day for Ligue 1 leaders Marseille on Sunday. With his team trailing their hosts Valenciennes 2-0 in the first half, Mandanda pulled off what has to be the worst goalkeeping error of the weekend in world football.

After collecting the ball in his box, Mandanda tried to throw it to one of his teammates. It was a good idea, and it probably would have worked. Problem was, Mandanda released the ball way too late, and instead threw it directly into the path of Valenciennes' Foued Kadir.

Not wanting to be an ingrate, Kadir obliged Mandanda's kindness by tucking the ball into the net.

The video appears above. It's the Set Piece Video of the Day. Enjoy, or if you're a keeper yourself, cringe and make a mental note not to do anything of the sort next time you're on the field.

Marseille had won all six league matches before Sunday. That streak is now over after a 4-1 defeat to Valenciennes.

It wasn't all Mandanda's fault, of course. Marseille trailed 2-0 at the time of his error, and besides, the team's only goal came two minutes into second-half stoppage time.

Marseille manager Elie Baup touched on all that in his post-match remarks. In the process, he declined to blame Mandanda for the defeat. Via the Boston Herald:

“He’s a great professional, I don’t want to single anyone out,” Baup said. “The whole team didn’t function.”

That's true. But for a second or two there, it looked like Mandanda's brain ceased to function as well.

[h/t 101 Great Goals]

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Valenciennes