The more observant Wolves supporters will have instantly spotted the difference against Manchester United at Molineux last week, when for the first time Mario Lemina wore a shirt bearing the name “Mario Jr” as opposed to his surname. It may seem a subtle change but for Lemina it was a significant one after the passing of his father, Mario, before the new year. “I feel like my dad is with me more than ever before,” he says. “I need to carry his name until I cannot walk any more. It is special and important for me and my family to always see his name on my back when I am on the pitch. We have the feeling he is always with us.”
Wolves required the Premier League to approve the name change on his shirt and the arrival of Lemina’s youngest brother, Noha, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain last month smoothed the process. Lemina, who was born in Gabon, tried to make the change upon signing from Nice in January last year. “I wanted to give my dad praise, because he did everything for me and his name needed to be known as well. It is a really weird situation when you lose your dad who was always on the phone with you, always talking with you and then suddenly you can’t any more … and you realise that you’re not going to be able to any more.”
