Achille Emaná Edzimbi (born 5 June 1982), known as Emaná, is a Cameroonian former 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, rugby lea ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He spent most of his professional career with

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in France and Betis in Spain, playing his later years in

Arab countries The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

, Mexico, Japan and India, as well as two spells at Gimnàstic. Emaná appeared 42 times for

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, representing the country in the 2010 World Cup and three

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

tournaments.

Club career

Toulouse

Emaná was born in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

. After a brief youth spell in Spain with

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

, he moved in 2000 to France and joined

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

. 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 reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...

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

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

team to achieve promotion to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

in his second year. In 2005, following

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian Association football, football coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach at Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland. During his prime he was regarded as on ...

'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 French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

who were looking to replace the

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian, with fellow ligue side

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

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 (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

qualification honours. Emaná was strongly linked with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

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 A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone ho ...

, 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 West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

were interested in acquiring Emaná's services, with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

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 () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

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 ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

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, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

. 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, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

(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 is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

(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, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

seasons. The attacking trio of himself and strikers Rubén Castro 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 Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club (), simply known as Al-Hilal, is a professional multi-sports club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their Association football, football team competes in the Saudi Pro League. In Arabic, Al-Hilal means "the Crescent Mo ...

in a deal worth

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

6 million. In January of the following year he was loaned to United Arab Emirates' Shabab Al Ahli Club 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. 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 Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

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 or manager 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 a contract at present ...

, he joined

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

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 Yasud ...

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 a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

Mumbai City FC Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is part of the City Football Group. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of the Ind ...

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

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

, and the following January moved to

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

with CF Badalona; 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 Real Jaén Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Jaén, Spain, Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1929 it plays in , holding home matches at ''Nuevo Estadio de La Vict ...

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, CONMEBO ...

, 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, from 20 January to 10 February. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split int ...

, 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, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

, where he scored against

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

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

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Emaná represented Cameroon at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

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 Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

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 Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

: 2013–14 Cameroon *

runner-up:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

runner-up:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emana, Achille 1982 births Living people Footballers from Yaoundé Cameroonian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Toulouse FC players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Real Betis players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers CD Internacional de Fútbol Sevilla Dos Hermanas players CF Badalona players UD San Sebastián de los Reyes players Real Jaén footballers Saudi Pro League players Al-Hilal Saudi FC players UAE Pro League players Shabab Al Ahli Club players Al Wasl F.C. players Liga MX players Cruz Azul footballers Atlante F.C. footballers Tokushima Vortis players Indian Super League players Mumbai City FC players Cameroon men's international footballers 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in India Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in France Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in India CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players