Enoh

Eyong Enoh shows the way: from SA PSL to Dutch Premier League

Eyong Enoh (22, Cameroon) is surprising a lot of soccer fans in South Africa, Cameroon, Holland and the rest of Europe.

After playing for Ajax Cape Town for 18 months, Enoh joined the Dutch Premier League (‘Eredivisie’) team, and former European champions Ajax Amsterdam, in September 2007.

He has already played five matches for Ajax Amsterdam’s first team.

Marco van Basten, the Ajax Amsterdam coach, former Dutch National Team coach and top scorer for Ajax Amsterdam, AC Milan and the Dutch National Team, is very enthusiastic about Enoh’s performance in matches and training sessions.

Van Basten comments in the Dutch press that Enoh made a very good impression during his trials at Ajax this summer. “He won many man-to-man battles and was responsible for a good balance in the Ajax Amsterdam team. He is a very strong midfield defender who controls the balance in a team with many attacking players.”

Integrating into the Ajax Amsterdam team did not take long, as Eyong had the advantage of playing for Ajax Cape Town who work according to the same soccer principles. Eyong was familiar with the tactics and mental attitude of Ajax Amsterdam.

Eyong has already played in the classic Dutch battle of the top teams Feyenoord-Ajax. Afterwards he told reporters that the atmosphere, from “warm up” right to the last moment of the match in the Rotterdam “Kuip” stadium, was great and that he enjoyed it tremendously.

The Dutch press have already compared his style to that of the French National team player Claude Makelele (Real Madrid, Chelsea and now Paris St. Germain). A great compliment!

Another Dutch legend, former player and current trainer of FC Utrecht, Willem van Hanegem, has also told reporters how he appreciates Eyong’s talent.

Marco van Basten hopes that, if Eyong continues to progress in this manner, he can follow the footsteps of former top player Edgar Davids (Dutch National Team, Ajax and AC Milan).

Making his debut, Eyong commented “Sure I was surprised, but as a professional you have to be prepared when the trainer needs you. I was ready for my debut!” He continued: “I was lucky to play in good Ajax matches”. The press wrote, “Eyong played like an all-rounder in the Ajax team”.

Eyong said that, as a child, he watched many Ajax Amsterdam matches on TV during the time that his idols, the great African soccer stars Nwankwo Kanu en Finidi George, played for the team.

Much of Ajax Cape Town’s success last season is due to work done by previous coach Muhsin Ertugral, and most of the group that won the Absa Cup in 2006 attest to the influence he had on their careers.

Enoh is no different and says he owes a lot to the Turk who brought him in from Cyprus two years ago.

“Muhsin is one of the great disciplinarians of the game here,” he says. “To most of us he is like a father figure and his passion inspired us.”

The midfielder added: “He’s big on the tactical and technical aspects of the game, but for me he’ll always stand out for the passion he instilled in us; we all had the hunger to win and thus desire to play good football. He brought stability to my game and enhanced my tactical and technical skills.”

For me Eyong is a very talented player with the right mental approach to train and play. He has an excellent attitude, wanting to listen, to train and to work hard. He is an example for many soccer players in the SA PSL.

He shows that, besides talent, you need the correct mental approach to reach the top in soccer. That mental approach is clearly showing at the moment. In the game against Heerenveen he was injured. He pulled his hamstring. I’ve never seen anyone working so hard to make his comeback as he is doing now. He trains twice a day, mornings in the gym and afternoons on the field with his physio. All of this without complaining.

Eyong’s career can be compared to that of Steven Pienaar. Up and coming South African soccer players can learn from their successes. The keys are talent and the right attitude.

It’s a pity that many very talented players in this country don’t understand the mental attitude necessary for real success. They, their family and fans presume too early that “they are a star!”

When you start to show your talent and have the opportunity to play in the PSL, that is when the real development is just beginning. Only with very hard training and the will to learn, will a soccer player reach high levels of soccer success.

I am convinced that South Africa has a lot of great talent, but these youngsters have to work hard, harder than they are doing now, for their technical, tactical skills, physical strength and … mental attitude to progress!