In the neighbourhood of Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o

There is a small football field in the district of New Bell that, at first glance, is not much to look at. The approximately 100-metre-long (330 feet) pitch is rough, unkempt, replete with puddles and bookended by small wooden goalposts dressed in torn green nets.

The field is not only a symbol of the impoverished nature of New Bell, but it also reveals the community’s deep attachment to the beautiful game. After all, it is the place where football legend Samuel Eto’o first learned to play.

At a very young age, his family moved here from Cameroon’s political capital, Yaounde – where he was born. Friends and community members watched Eto’o grow from a boy who kicked a ball around in the streets to one of the world’s most lethal strikers.

Dominique Essindi, a childhood friend, also grew up here and lives just a stone’s throw from the pitch, a constant reminder of their childhood. At 48, he still clearly remembers the matches he played with his competitive friend Eto’o before they were teenagers.

“Samuel never liked defeat,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that back then, neighbourhoods played each other in what is locally called Interquarter Football.

“I remember we had a match at Ecole Publique de New Bell Bassa, and he came late when we were two goals down. He wanted to enter the pitch, but the coach kept him on the bench. Eto’o was furious. But when he entered, he played exceptionally well and even scored a goal. The match finally ended in a draw.”

Initially, Essindi revealed, the community thought at the time that Eto’o‘s friends were more likely to break through. Not many imagined he would become a global star.

“People thought his friends, Ghislain Chameni, Jean Ondoa and even his younger brother David Eto’o would grow up to be better players,” he said.

But through robust training, hard work and determination, Essindi admitted, Eto’o‘s success was assured. “He had a New Bell mindset – never give up, despite tough times,” Essindi added.

“Eto’o wasn’t afraid to suffer. That has been his driving force ’til today. He has the mindset of a winner who knows where he’s from.”

Essindi, who prides himself on being one of the best defenders in New Bell in his early days, is among those who did recognise Eto’o’s football potential. Eto’o‘s ability to control the ball, dribble and score breathtaking goals was apparent before he played later for FC Barcelona or Inter Milan. He displayed these skills first in his home country as a striker for teams including Union Camerounaise de Brasseries (UCB) in 1996.

“We believed Samuel Eto’o would become a big player in this country, when he played in the quarter-final against the great Tonnerre Kalara Club of Yaounde in the Cup of Cameroon,” Essindi recalled. “Eto’o, very young and slim at the time, singlehandedly helped UCB thrash Tonnerre in the two-legged encounter. That was when we knew that boy had great potential.”

Eto’o told CNN during an interview in 2020 that he grew up at the hands of the people in this neighbourhood and that elders took care of him and advised him because they felt he had something and could end up successful.

-al jazeera