On the occasion of AS Saint-Etienne’s 90th anniversary, the Green Village offers you the portrait of the 50 most productive players of ASSE among the 775 who, since 1933, have worn the green shirt. From 50th to 21st place, the ranked players will be presented in alphabetical order.
EUGÈNE N’JO LEA (158 caps, goals from 1954 to 1959)
Eugène N’Jo Léa was born in Batuchi, Cameroon, on the banks of the Wouri River, on July 15, 1931. He received his BEPC in 1951 from the Modern College in Nkongsamba. He wanted to continue his studies and, thanks to a scholarship, to move to France.
He left his small football club, Vent Lalanne, where he roamed freely, and landed in Roanne. He became a student at the same time that he was still playing ball at a local club. For some unknown reason, he was expelled from the best school he attends along with two other African students.
ASSE, Pierre Garonnaire’s intermediary who had discovered him, took the opportunity to rent him and endorsed his enrollment in a new school in Saint-Étienne.
However, as his signing was forced by the chances (the Greens did not plan to sign him so soon), they find themselves with too many transfers in their squad. They loaned the Cameroonian to a club on the outskirts of Saint-Etienne, Roche-La-Molière. His debut there was impressive, as he scored 11 of his team’s twelve goals in his first meeting with his new teammates.
At the end of the season, he may join ASSE’s professional team, where he promises a brilliant long-term career as a centre-forward. However, his debut was perfect – he scored a brace in his first official D1 match on 12 September 1954 against Toulouse – it may have been no more than a passing flare-up.
It didn’t entirely convince Jean Snella, who was sceptical about his striker’s involvement. Indeed, is it his lymphatic appearance or the fact that he preferred both studies and football?Still, at the start of the 1955–56 season, he played more with the reserve team than with the professionals.
The local press, captivated by the Cameroonian’s flexibility, strength and relaxation, was moved. He even claims that if Jean Snella doesn’t play him, it’s to show the hounds that he’s in charge.
Fortunately, everything temporarily returned to normal and regained his position at the forefront of the attack. Then you will be able to give your full measure and justify your name, because in the Cameroonian dialect of Douala, N’Jo Lea means “panther”.
The legend is in the making. Accompanied by teammates Rachid Mekloufi and Kees Rijvers, they form the club’s first main trio. Some have no hesitation in stating that there has never been an equivalent in the history of AS Saint-Etienne.
It’s the “machine gun” attack or the “Rock n’ Roll” attack, as the media dubbed it, that is at the basis of the first name of the Greens’ 1957 French champion.
The duo of N’Jo Léa and Mekloufi scored 54 of their team’s 88 goals that year. The Cameroonian even managed to score at least one for 11 consecutive games (17 in total), completing the 3rd best scorer of the festival with 29 goals. The following year, he was the club’s first centre-forward in European history against Glasgow Rangers.
N’Jo Lea then peaked, although he led Saint-Etienne’s attacking team for two more years, until 1959, scoring a total of 93 goals in all competitions.
At the same time, he continued his studies which led him to the University of Lyon, where he studied law. In order to have to make the grueling round trips between the Forez and the Rhône, he asked to be transferred to Olympique Lyonnais.
He thus becomes the first player to wear other shirts. After graduating, he finished his career at Racing de Paris, where he signed in 1961.
That same year, he struck up a relationship with Just Fontaine and lawyer Jacques Bertrand and together they created the first players’ union, the UNFP (National Union of Professional Players), on November 16, 1961.
He retired from the game in 1963, at the age of 32, but before realizing his dream of playing he faced his idol, King Pelé, in a gala match.
With the creation of UNFP, his legal career began. After completing his studies in the United States, he naturally entered world politics in Cameroon. He worked for several foreign embassies where he served as consul, especially in France and Spain.
He also struggled to identify professionalism on the African continent, first in Senegal and then in his own country. At the time, he faced opposition that would never stop putting the brakes on the work.
The cruelest low blow never landed on his son, William, a well-deserved player who also followed in his footsteps, in the Cameroon national team.
Gradually, he forgot everything and passed away after a long illness on October 23, 2006, at the age of 75, in a scandalous and shameful indifference on the part of the Cameroonian authorities.
Fortunately, the minute’s silence organised at Geoffroy Guichard in the Ligue Angels’ Cup against Marseille on 25 October 2006 was a demonstration, and rightly so, that it had remained in Saint-Etienne’s memory. He deserves to be in the panteón. de the 50 most productive Angel Scouts to have worn the green jersey.
By Alberto Pilia
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