Benoit Assou-Ekotto

Benoît Assou-Ekotto is a Cameroonian left full back of London side Tottenham and the national team. He is a citizen of Cameroon and France. Benoît was born in Arras, France to a family of a Cameroonian and a Frenchwoman.

He was a trainee of the Lens youth academy, which he joined at the age of 10. His elder brother Mathieu was also a trainee of that academy, but he did not become a professional footballer. In 2003/2004 the Cameroonian player was included in the first team of Lens and made his debut in Ligue 1. The following year Assou-Ekotto became the key left full back of his club. During three years with ‘Les Sang et Or’, Benoît made 73 appearances, including 66 league matches. In 2006 the Cameroonian footballer was thought to be one of the most promising left backs in Europe, so he transferred to another club rather soon.

In the summer of 2006 the young player drew the attention of two London side clubs: Arsenal and Tottenham. In July Benoît was bought by Spurs for about £3.5 million. The back took part in total 24 matches for the new team during his first season in England and supplanted South Korean player Lee Young-Pyo. In February 2007 Assou-Ekotto got a serious knee injury, which left him without football till the end of the season.

At the beginning of 2007/2008 the Cameroonian back took part in two matches for Spurs, but soon had a trauma relapse and skipped the whole season. In October 2008 Harry Redknapp was appointed the club manager and the footballer expressed his desire for returning to France, where PSG took interest in him. However, Redknapp began to give Benoît a lot of starts and playing time, so the back changed his mind and decided to stay at White Hart Lane. In 2008/2009 Assou-Ekotto revealed his talent and had wonderful 36 matches for Tottenham. The Cameroonian player was given praise both from the club management and from fans, who called Benoît the most progressive Spurs player.

The back scored his first career goal in the first match of the English Premier League in 2009/2010 against Liverpool. That goal was the winner and helped Spurs to drive towards a glorious 2-1 victory.

In 2013 the Cameroonian joined his former manager Harry Redknapp at QPR on loan.

The back had a choice to join either the France national team or the Cameroon national team, as he was a citizen of both countries. The player chose his father’s native country and accepted the offer of the Cameroon Football Federation. On 11 February 2009, Benoît played the first game for the full national team in a friendly match against Guinea. He also took part in the 2010 World Cup, playing all three matches of the group stage, but the Cameroon squad finished last in its group with 0 points.