Achille Emaná Edzimbi (born 5 June 1982), known as Emaná, is a Cameroonian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He spent most of his professional career with

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

in France and Betis in Spain, playing his later years in Arab countries, Mexico, Japan and India, as well as two spells at Gimnàstic. Emaná appeared 42 times for

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

, representing the country in the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

and three

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...

tournaments.

Club career

Toulouse

Emaná was born in Yaoundé. After a brief youth spell in Spain with Valencia CF, he moved in 2000 to France and joined

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club is French professional football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the premier division of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium de Toulouse lo ...

. The following year, at only 19, he became an important first team unit for the

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue ...

club, never playing in less than 32 games in his first four seasons and helping the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

team to achieve promotion to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

in his second year. In 2005, following Michael Essien's departure to Chelsea, Emaná reportedly attracted interest from French giants

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

who were looking to replace the

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

ian, with fellow ligue side

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club p ...

also joining the race. The player stayed nonetheless at Toulouse, scoring eight times in 36 matches as the club finished a best-ever third in the first division, thus achieving

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

qualification honours. Emaná was strongly linked with

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

in the following off-season, where he would have joined a large contingent of African players. His chances of a move were quashed, however, when he was unable to obtain a work permit, and he subsequently signed a new two-year contract with Toulouse until 2010. In spring 2008, it was reported that England's West Ham United and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

were interested in acquiring Emaná's services, with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

side

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA ...

also said to be tracking him. Eventually, nothing came of it again, and he saw out the entire season with the French, who finished in 17th position, being the first team placed outside the relegation zone.

Betis

On 11 June 2008, it was reported that

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito ...

were negotiating with Toulouse for Emaná's transfer. The player was quoted as being keen to secure a move to Spain to further his career, even though his current club had apparently already rejected two bids for his signature. On 22 July, he finally completed his move to the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

ns for a fee of £5.5 million. Emaná scored his first goal for Betis on 19 October 2008, in a 3–0 home win over

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

. In mid-April 2009, he added braces against

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league sys ...

(3–2 away win) and

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, ...

(2–0 at home), finishing his first season with 11 goals – squad-best – and seven assists, but his team were relegated in the last matchday. In spite of heavy speculation about his future, Emaná continued to be an essential unit in the following

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...

seasons. The attacking trio of himself and strikers

Rubén Castro Rubén Castro Martín (; born 27 June 1981) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Málaga CF mainly as a striker but also as a winger. He represented mainly Las Palmas and Betis during his career, appearing in 282 matches in La ...

and Jorge Molina combined for more than 50 league goals in 2010–11, as the club returned to the top division after two years of absence.

Later years

On 11 August 2011, Emaná moved to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal SFC in a deal worth US$6 million. In January of the following year he was loaned to United Arab Emirates'

Shabab Al Ahli Club Shabab Al-Ahli Club ( ar, نادي شباب الأهلي) is a Emirati professional association football club based in Dubai, that currently plays in the UAE ADNOC Pro League. Al-Ahli is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE. Al Ahli ...

until June, and the move was made permanent on 27 July. On 22 January 2013, Emaná was loaned to fellow league team

Al-Wasl F.C. Al Wasl Football Club ( ar, نادي الوصل لكرة القدم) is an Emirati professional Association football, football club based in Dubai, that competes in the UAE Football League, United Arab Emirates Football League. It is a part o ...

until the end of the season, mainly as a replacement to long-term injured Mariano Donda. On 27 August, after his loan expired, he agreed to a permanent deal with Cruz Azul from Mexico. Emaná signed with Atlante F.C. on 17 December 2014 on loan until June, after being transfer listed by his parent club back in June. On 24 July 2015, already as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

, he joined Gimnàstic de Tarragona initially on trial, and subsequently penned a one-year contract. On 20 July 2016, Emaná switched teams and countries again, joining Tokushima Vortis. After making no appearances for the

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Y ...

side, he returned to ''Nàstic'' on 12 December. In August 2017, the 35-year-old Emaná signed with

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federa ...

club

Mumbai City FC Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded in Augus ...

for the 2017–18 season. In October 2018, he returned to Spain and joined CD Gerena of the

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...

, and the following January moved to

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foo ...

with

CF Badalona Club de Fútbol Badalona () is a Spanish football team based in Badalona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903 it plays in Tercera Federación – Group 5, temporarily holding home games at Estadi Municipal de Badalona, wit ...

; after no matches for either team, mainly due to bureaucratic problems, he joined UD San Sebastián de los Reyes of the latter competition in August, leaving on 21 January 2020. Emaná joined Real Jaén in summer 2020.

International career

An international since 2003, Emaná represented the Cameroon national team at that year's

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

, also appearing for the country in the

2006 Africa Cup of Nations The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Egypt won ...

, where his side exited in the quarter-finals. Late in 2007, frustrated with the treatment he received whilst at the service of the national team, he retired from international play, but returned shortly after, appearing in the 2008 edition of the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...

, where he scored against

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

in a 5–1 group stage win; the side eventually lost the final to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. Emaná represented Cameroon at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa, playing two games (two defeats) in an eventual group stage exit for the ''Lions Indomptables''. In exactly ten years of international play, he won 42 caps and scored six goals.

Personal life

Emaná's younger brother, Stephane, was also a footballer. A forward, he too had spells at Betis (youth only) and Gimnàstic.

Honours

Toulouse *

: 2002–03 Betis *

: 2010–11 Al Ahli * UAE League Cup: 2011–12 Cruz Azul *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

: 2013–14 Cameroon *

runner-up:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

runner-up:

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

References

External links