a écrit le 16 mars 2012 à 15h24 (Continued...)
"The kid has no limits, no ceiling so long as he continues his development the way he is,'' his youth team coach and Dream Team European Cup winner Oscar Garcia said.
Last Monday I conducted two decent-sized interviews with Messi for Sky and the BBC. The great man was in easy-going, relaxed form - almost enjoying a part of his career that he normally likes even less than being kicked. Leaving the Barca training ground, I spotted Dongou and he popped over to shake hands and have a quick chat.
He's bouncy, confident and extremely at ease with his talent. Nice kid. It felt like passing from the current superstar to the future one in the space of an hour. In fact, that's precisely what it was.
But it's a happy irony that it is at the Camp Nou where Dongou's hypnotic talent is being developed.
Samuel Eto'o was something of a force of nature at Barcelona. Capable of head-revolving, Exorcist-style rage when he was jealous of Ronaldinho or Deco, but an unbelievably good footballer, a remorseless scorer and a Rottweiler of a competitor.
But the first thing Barca manager Pep Guardiola did on signing up was to announce that Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Deco were all being handed their marching papers. Out.
Eto'o worked so hard that first summer that he was allowed to stay, but one big row with his manager later he was shown the door, despite a return of three trophies and 36 goals.
There was initially a threat of legal action over Eto'o's departure; for a while, bad blood remained. So, for such an altruistic and mutually beneficial relationship to be retained is unusual. No hard feelings.
When Eto'o was at the Camp Nou he was famous for buying old Nissans and shipping them to Cameroon so that friends, neighbours and relatives could use them to start a taxi business. He negotiated that Barcelona would be a lead partner in the Eto'o Foundation, which has a number of different educational, social, medical and sporting objectives.
In return, Barcelona would get preferred access to the foundation's footballing products and Dongou is the best example among a clutch of four or five who now reside in Barcelona.
This precocious little prince of the penalty box turns 17 next month and by the time he's 18 his Spanish passport will be very nearly in his hands, having lived there for five years. Then, if Cameroon doesn't give him his full international debut, he could choose to play for Spain, something his club will strongly encourage.
"The kid has no limits, no ceiling so long as he continues his development the way he is,'' his youth team coach and Dream Team European Cup winner Oscar Garcia said.
Last Monday I conducted two decent-sized interviews with Messi for Sky and the BBC. The great man was in easy-going, relaxed form - almost enjoying a part of his career that he normally likes even less than being kicked. Leaving the Barca training ground, I spotted Dongou and he popped over to shake hands and have a quick chat.
He's bouncy, confident and extremely at ease with his talent. Nice kid. It felt like passing from the current superstar to the future one in the space of an hour. In fact, that's precisely what it was.
But it's a happy irony that it is at the Camp Nou where Dongou's hypnotic talent is being developed.
Samuel Eto'o was something of a force of nature at Barcelona. Capable of head-revolving, Exorcist-style rage when he was jealous of Ronaldinho or Deco, but an unbelievably good footballer, a remorseless scorer and a Rottweiler of a competitor.
But the first thing Barca manager Pep Guardiola did on signing up was to announce that Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Deco were all being handed their marching papers. Out.
Eto'o worked so hard that first summer that he was allowed to stay, but one big row with his manager later he was shown the door, despite a return of three trophies and 36 goals.
There was initially a threat of legal action over Eto'o's departure; for a while, bad blood remained. So, for such an altruistic and mutually beneficial relationship to be retained is unusual. No hard feelings.
When Eto'o was at the Camp Nou he was famous for buying old Nissans and shipping them to Cameroon so that friends, neighbours and relatives could use them to start a taxi business. He negotiated that Barcelona would be a lead partner in the Eto'o Foundation, which has a number of different educational, social, medical and sporting objectives.
In return, Barcelona would get preferred access to the foundation's footballing products and Dongou is the best example among a clutch of four or five who now reside in Barcelona.
This precocious little prince of the penalty box turns 17 next month and by the time he's 18 his Spanish passport will be very nearly in his hands, having lived there for five years. Then, if Cameroon doesn't give him his full international debut, he could choose to play for Spain, something his club will strongly encourage.
