📍New Bell, Douala, Cameroon
1981 – 1996“Samuel Eto'o was born in Nkon, near Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, in March 1981, and moved with his family as a young child to New Bell, one of the oldest and most crowded working-class neighbourhoods of Douala, the country's great port city. New Bell was a tough, lively place of narrow streets, markets and tin-roofed houses, and football was everywhere. Samuel played on a rough dirt pitch about a hundred metres long in the neighbourhood, and in the fierce inter-district matches the people of New Bell call interquartier football. His mother wanted him to concentrate on his studies, but his father quietly encouraged him, once giving him a pair of rubber boots to play in. A childhood friend remembered that Samuel was not the player the neighbourhood expected to make it, but he was fiercely determined. He played for local clubs, and as a teenager joined the Kadji Sports Academy in Douala, one of the best in the country. He was rejected by several French clubs, and returned home disappointed, but in 1997, after scoring twice for Cameroon's junior team, he was signed by Real Madrid. He went on to become one of Africa's greatest players, winning the Champions League three times, twice with Barcelona and once with Inter, and two Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon. He won the African Player of the Year four times. He has supported young footballers in Cameroon through his foundation, and has worked with the Kadji academy that gave him his start.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today