Eric Djemba-Djemba
| File:Eric Djemba-Djemba.jpg | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfield | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 August 2006 | |||
Eric Djemba-Djemba (born May 4, 1981 in Douala, Cameroon) is a football player who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Aston Villa and the Cameroonian national team.
Djemba-Djemba rose to prominence with FC Nantes, in France. His impressive performances for the French club earned him a dream move to Manchester United in the summer of 2003. A feisty and uncompromising tackler, the Cameroonian was mooted by Sir Alex Ferguson as a possible replacement for the aging Roy Keane. Arriving in England, Djemba-Djemba was complete unknown to many fans and pundits alike. He wasted no time in establishing his ultra-aggressive style during his debut against Arsenal in the Community Shield, leaving an impression - literally - on Arsenal's Sol Campbell with a typically rambunctious challenge which Arsène Wenger called "obscene".
In 18 months at Old Trafford, Djemba-Djemba never fully established himself as a player capable of filling Keane's shoes. It did not help Djemba-Djemba's cause that United were in a period of transition and he was constantly being rotated in and out of the team with a number of other potential suitors to Keane's midfield mantle, as Ferguson searched for a worthy successor to his captain.
Djemba-Djemba was sold to Aston Villa in the January 2005 transfer window for a fee of £1,500,000. However, the move has done little to restore the player's reputation as he has found it difficult to move ahead of Gavin McCann and Steven Davis in Villa's midfield pecking order. A possible switch to La Liga in Spain has been speculated.
Djemba-Djemba was a member of the Cameroon team that won the 2002 African Nations Cup and finished runner-up to France at the 2003 Confederations Cup. He also appeared at the 2002 World Cup.
External links
- Eric Djemba-Djemba at Soccerbase
