I don’t ask for the ball I go for it and this determination was lacking in the team. And the coaches saw that it was an asset. That is how I integrated the team. That is how I gained my place in the team gradually winning the hearts and mind and was made captain. So many good things happened to me. I played there for two seasons and we were ABSA cup holders in the frist and became vice champions in my second season there.
Who is Eyong Enoh Takang?
Eyong Enoh: Eyong Enoh is a young guy like every other young Cameroonian out there who’ve dreamed to be somebody. From a family of 6, I am the first son of the family with 4 sisters and a younger brother. I started my primary school in Limbe, SWR, Catholic School Bota, later on to mile four Bonadikombo where I spent few years there then finally to Tiko which is where I really started to play football. In Tiko I attended IMPASS and it was during my time there that I played my first top cup. As captain of my team we won the tournament. From there I moved to the University of Buea which was an important step in my career as it was here that I took my game to another level. My stay in Buea saw me got integrated into Mount Cameroon. And I played a few games too for the University of Buea football team. This was where my career took a different dimension.
How did you develop the passion of playing football?
Eyong Enoh: Like every other Cameroonian I have always loved football like from my days as a toddler. I used to watch other people play especially on television. I have always dreamed of playing the game at the highest level. So for me its like it was in the blood and it was a matter of time before that burning desire surfaced to the public view.
How were you able to go through the transition from playing in the secondary school, University and eventually decided to play the game rather than continue your education?
EE: It was a crucial moment in my life and after going through regular secondary and high school it came a point where I had to decide. This created problem with even my dad who did not just want me to be a footballer but an intellectual one. For him it was not just a matter of playing football but what you are going to do after football. I took upon this challenge to play football and go to school that is why I got right to the University level. It was there that I had to decide. The decision was not easy because if I had to make a career in football I had to start dedicating more time to the game. As a Christian I was guided by the book of Proverbs 3:5. I trusted God and acknowledged him. So he led me to the right choice to make. I had this conviction to suspend school and play football. Ever since I took that decision, only good things have happened to me. It was not long before I had my first call with the Junior national team. From there I became a regular player in Mt. Cameroon and my career just went on from there.
From Mt. Cameroon to Ajax Cape town it was not any easy walk. How did it all happened?
EE: Going to Mt. Cameroon for me was a very big advantage because there were too many experience players in the team. Many initially doubted whether I was going to make it because of that. Maybe I was not going to make it but I was going to learn. One of the scriptures in the bible says he who seats with the wise become wise so I had to stay with experience players to become one too. In Mt. Cameroon, players like Essono Mballa, Atem Valentine, Mokake Chief, Ache Ebenezer (Django ) all helped me gain experience. That is how I had my break through. It was a determination to learn. From then on I went to Cyprus through one friend, Divine Ngolle, who helped me as he had played there. At the time I really wanted to have the experience of playing out of Cameroon so I accepted his proposal. My direction was God so I went there for a season and half and became the best player in the league with MTG Famagusta. We won the league and while I was there, a lot of people were expecting me to move from there to Turkey or mainland Europe. But it did not turn out that way. I was spotted by a Turkish agent who leaves in South Africa and when we started working he contacted the coach of Ajax Cape town who is also a Turkish and proposed my services. So I had to go to South Africa after impressing during the trail period. I went to South Africa and gained exposure as the World Cup was fast approaching and I choose Ajax Cape Town because of their professional setting and links to Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam. God led me to the best of choices.
How did you make you mark with the Cape Town based side?
EE: It was a determination to fight. I don’t ask for the ball I go for it and this determination was lacking in the team. And the coaches saw that it was an asset. That is how I integrated the team. That is how I gained my place in the team gradually winning the hearts and mind and was made captain. So many good things happened to me. I played there for two seasons and we were ABSA cup holders in the frist and became vice champions in my second season there.
Was your transfer to Ajax Amsterdam a surprise?
EE: Ajax was not even in my widest dreams at the time and when we ended the second season I was voted the best player of the team. A lot of teams in South Africa were interested in me, Pirates, Sundowns, Chiefs, etc but the president was not willing to let me go. He had build a good relationship when he was playing with Maccabi Haifa in Israel so I was advised to go for a trial there. When I got there all went well and I was already discussing with my wife how to move. But the deal did not go through because he wanted a good package for me which Maccabi could not meet up. While negotiations were ongoing my coach made a trip to Amsterdam and met with Marco Van Basten. He spoke about me to the Ajax coach and he was ready to give me a try. When I traveled there I was supposed to have a 10 day trial but I trained with the team just for four days and Van Basten called me. He said he had seen a lot of good things in me and he was going to talk with the club to sign me. That was how I found myself with Ajax Amsterdam.
Was it easy to make the regular eleven for the Dutch giants?
EE: It was not easy but that is why my stay with Ajax Cape town was good because the town teams have the Rinus Michels philosophy. The system used in Cape Town is the same in Amsterdam so I did not see any difference. It helped me. When I even played my first game everyone was surprised. The journalists were even asking me how within no time I had adapted so much to the style. I had to adapt to the rythym of the game and move fast to make a place. After a few game Van Basten called me and said he was going to make me a regular. I seized the opportunity and made carved my nitch till date.
How did you manage to get into the national team?
EE: Sometimes you just focused on what you are doing and things just follow. Fulfilling that has always being a dream. I have always been known to work hard. It was a dream come true. Every other young Cameroonian who starts playing football in the streets has a dream to represent the national team someday, somehow. Most of us don’t know when and how. For me things just took their turn. Sometime there are things that happen beyond your control. God has really been the one who has worked out everything for me to be called up to the national team. He has so favoured me out of so many footballers in the S W and in Cameroon.
How did you know you had been summoned to play for the lions during the June 7 World Cup qualifier?
EE: I got a call from the administrative director of the national team who told me I was one of the players pre selected for the training camp ahead of the June World Cup qualifiers. I also received calls from some other members of the coaching staff. It was just a confirmation from what I had been told by the coach before. Otto Pfister had been in Amsterdam a couple of times to watch me play.
Had you ever been approached to play for another country before?
EE: Yes I had many people lobbying that I should play for their countries of origin. But I had already made up my mind right from the day I started playing football. I really wanted to play for Cameroon. It had always been a dream and there was a feeling that my time would come. Cameroon has always been in my heart because it was where I was born, nurtured and I love it immensely and so I could not change my mind irrespective of what I was being told.
After your training period in Belguim you returned to Cameroon to play Morocco. How was your integration within the team?
EE: It was a great honour for me. I have always worked hard and so I was not surprised. It was more like normal because any player called up to the team is a professional and when you come there you strive to give your best. When I came to the team I always tried to give my best. So it was not that big of a surprise. The important thing was for me to get there, learn and gain experience while waiting for your time. I give a lot of respect to this guys because they have done so much for the country. I was received by the captains of the team Rigobert Song and Geremi Njitap who all encouraged me to work hard.
What was your immediate reaction when you were told you were going to be starting against Morocco?
EE: That is where my thinking is different. I think a little bit different because everyone has his or her mindset. I did not have anything to prove. The first thought I had was to ask God to give me strength to do that which is honourable to my country and family. This gave me the much needed motivation. I had to bury myself in the game and did what I could. Unfortunately luck was not on our side even though we did our best.
You certainly played well and won most of your ball. Do you think that has cemented your place in the team?
EE: This is an opportunity I have. It is a moment I have which is accorded to a chosen few. And I am really going to maximize it. Every time, every chance I have I am going to give in 100 percent. For me the train is on. I just have to continue moving on and as long as I can.
With the present situation of the team are you convinced we can make it to the World Cup?
EE: If I tell you I don’t believe we gonna make it I don’t have any reason to be there. If you do not have that hope, then you are not worth to be an indomitable lion. Apart from the national team, any other soccer milieu you cannot be there. We believe we can do it. Our objective is to grab all the remaining points because we know anything short might not take us to the World Cup. It is a very difficult task. Not winning in Yaounde against Morocco has made our task more difficult. But we don’t have to give up. We need to continue working so as to achieve desired results.
What will be your advice to the younger generation and for those you have become an idol to?
EE: The first thing is that they need a plan. You can never start a journey without a plan and that plan has to come from you and guided by God. When you have God with you everything is possible as your ambitions shall be realized. The message is God first, discipline and hardwork and you don’t need to give up. Once you have set a goal you should try to attain it.
Interviewed by Bernard Manyo Besong
