FORMER Charlton star Clive Mendonca has had quite a dramatic career change since scoring a hat-trick at Wembley.
Flashing back to 1998, Mendonca netted a hat-trick against the team he supports – Sunderland – to deny them a spot in the Premier League.
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Despite his love for the club, his now-iconic gun celebration at the original Wembley lead to him receiving death threats during his lap of honour in front of the Wearside faithful.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the 2019 League One Playoff final, the ex-Addicks ace admitted he regretted his actions that day.
He said: “Being a Sunderland fan, it is the one thing I regret. I should not have done that.
“It was all emotion on the day and for that I apologise. It has taken 20 years, but I apologise for that now. I am one of you, please remember that.”
Sunderland would go on to lose the 4-4 thriller on penalties, with Mendonca’s close friend and former schoolmate Michael Gray missing the decisive penalty in the shootout.
In the years since his retirement, Mendonca, a married father of two and grandad, eventually found himself working at Nissan’s car manufacturing plant in Sunderland.
Following the final he feared the worst back home, but joked about how he is now both hated and adored by his Sunderland and Newcastle colleagues.
He said: “I lived on a rough estate [in Sunderland] and there were all these rumours that I was going to get this and I was going to get that when I came back home.
“But I came back and walked into the pubs with my mates and everyone was sound. They all shook my hand and said ‘well played’. They realised I had a job to do and it was a relief.
“Lads still ask me about it all the time. In Nissan it is half Newcastle and half Sunderland, and it is funny – the Newcastle fans love me and the Sunderland fans hate me!
“I still get some mucky looks but it is all good banter. It was the best and worst day of my career – amazing to score a hat-trick at Wembley, but just a shame it was against the team I love.
“Most of my mates were at the match. If you watch the game back on TV you see me look at the camera and say ‘sorry Irksy, sorry mate’. That was to my pal on the final whistle.
“It should have been the greatest day of my life, but all I was thinking is ‘I’m going to get slaughtered off all my mates here’.”
However, his career change has not been easy, with him describing his work his “f***ing hard” at times in an interview with the Mail.
In his interview with them he also explained the reasoning behind his celebration.
He explained: “A trialist had got the guns out after scoring in training, just got dead excited. It was hilarious. Every time I scored, the lads said, ‘Get the guns out’.
“For some reason, I did it then for the first time. I think to myself now, ‘Why?’ It wound them up, I get that.”
Mendonca starred for Charlton for five years, scoring 45 goals in 96 games between 1997 and 2002.
