The defender is very fond of the land where he was born: “I always have the flag on my wrist.” He arrived in Italy at the age of 13: “Football helped my integration process”
Ready to cheer Cameroon. Far from the anxieties of the championship for his Dolomiti Bellunesi – considering the postponement of the restart to 23 January – Georges Petdji can concentrate on the now imminent… Africa Cup. The strong defender of the blancos team is an “indomitable lion”, the name with which the players of the national team long represented by Samuel Eto’o as a symbolic man are called. They will host the now imminent continental tournament which they will kick off tomorrow in the inaugural match against Burkina Faso. By the way, Cape Verde and Ethiopia are also present in the group. The goal is to try to get to the bottom, being also indicated by all as one of the contenders for the title. Experts identify Algeria as reigning champion favored number one, with Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon ready to enter the title fight.
ORIGINS AND … ITALY
“I care a lot about the land where I was born and where I started from,” says Petdji, born in 1996 who, in addition to Belluno and the Belluno Dolomites, also played for Sampdoria Primavera and Pro Patria. «In Italy I am very happy, but Cameroon is everything to me. When I take the field, I wear the flag of my country on my wrist. And when the fussy referees make me take it off, I slip it into my shin guards. It is my good luck charm ».
Regarding his origins, Georges says he was “born in Yaoundé, in the capital. A city with many shades and countless particularities to visit and discover. How wonderful is the center of Douala, on the Gulf of Guinea ».
Childhood memories are indelible.
«I have always played football, from an early age, with a wide and varied company of children, in an atmosphere of great celebration, joy and fun. We were always outside, in the open air. I lived unforgettable moments with relatives and cousins, while at school I learned English and French. Now, with Italian, I speak three languages. Indeed, four considering the Belluno dialect ».
Petdji moved to the province of Belluno at the age of 13.
«My mother was already in Italy with some uncles and so I joined her. At the beginning it was not easy and I struggled to communicate and make myself understood why Italian is complicated. Then things got better over time. I cultivated my first friendships and, in this sense, football helped me a lot. Here I am really at ease. Have I ever encountered racism? At most a few isolated episodes. Little can be done against ignorance “.
BELLUNESE DOLOMITES
The flexible player that the coaches have deployed over time in any clod possible on the pitch, has gladly chosen to be part of the new sporting project in the summer. Certainly there is always a starting shirt for him and now the results are making the path really interesting. The team is fifth and from Sunday 23 in Mestre will resume the race for a place in the playoffs.
«I embraced the project from the very beginning. Everything is proceeding in the right direction, we hope to continue on this path ».
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