PERS. INFORMATION
Jeannot Esua
Name: Jeannot Sama Esua
Date of birth: 06/08/1996
Place of birth: Idenau
Nationality: Cameroonian
Language: English/ French
Club: Sligo Rovers FC
Favourite position: Right Back/ Right wing Back
Favourite foot: Right Foot
CLUB HISTORY
- Rainbow FC | Youth – 2017
- Orange County SC | 2017 – 2018
- MFK Vyskov | 2018
- Rainbow FC | 2018 – 2019
- FC Edmonton | 2019 – 2022
- PEPO Lappeenranta | 2022 – 2023
- Ekenäs IF | 2023 – 2024
- Galway United FC | 2024 – 2026
- Sligo Rovers FC | 2026 – …
INTERVIEW
Introduce yourself…
Jeannot Sama Esua, born and raised in Cameroon to a family of 3 boys. Now enjoying my dream of becoming a professional footballer player.
How would you define your strengths as a modern right-back?
I am a very dynamic and athletic player and like to play unpredictable. I believe I work a lot to develop strong 1v1 abilities both defensively and offensively and also putting in good crosses in the box for my strikers. Generally I play to help the team in the best way I can and also enjoy while doing so.
How did your time at Rainbow FC Bamenda shape you as a young player and as a person?
Working with Rainbow FC was an opportunity that really helped promote my talent beyond Africa and gave me the opportunity to go pro. It did came with its own challenges but only to help shape me into a resilient and determined footballer and person.
What convinced you that a move to Orange County SC was the right step in your career at that time?
At that I had faced a series of setbacks in Cameroon with foreign scouts so we needed an opportunity for me to take the next step so Orange County came in the picture and the club was keen on bringing me in and so we took it and that kickstart my professional journey and I did well for them and was linked with a move to LA Galaxy but things didn’t go as planned behind the scenes.
Did your time in Canada influence your mentality or maturity as a professional?
Yeah a lot. I discovered myself as a player and person while playing in Canada. I realize how I could affect games and what to improve on and how I could be a better person while playing in Canada for FC Edmonton.
How would you describe your growth as a player since joining Galway United?
It’s been amazing joining and playing for Galway United. It came with its own challenges as I had never played in the league of Ireland and also never played the style of play we played at Galway so I had to adapt to that and do a job and I gained a lot of experience while doing so. My time there was great and the club, staff, fans and teammates were good with me and day in day out I always tried to repay it on match day with hard work.
What factors have influenced your thinking about a potential move from Galway United to Sligo Rovers?
First off it was a difficult decision leaving Galway like I said the club, staff, fans and teammates were good with me but am at that age now were I just felt I wanted to keep testing myself and I needed to take up a new challenge, a fresh start, a different kind of football and a different project from what I had in Galway. So my agent spoke to a couple of clubs and we made the decision to go with Sligo Rovers.
What aspects of Sligo Rovers’ project or playing style appeal to you most?
Well my agent and I had conversions with the manager of Sligo a couple of times in recent years and his ambitions, enthusiasm, manner of work, the way he sets up his team, the freedom and free flow in the football they play and how the club and fans gets behind them and above all the desire they showed in bringing me in for some years now is something that captured me better than the other conversations we had with other clubs and so we opted for Sligo Rovers.
From Cameroon to North America to Ireland, how has each league changed your perspective on football?
Well every league I have played in has helped shaped my playing style in its own way either tactically, physically or mentally but I’ll say it’s been all positively impactful and help me better understand and see the game in different ways.
What personal milestones do you still hope to reach in your career?
Right now the goal is to achieve better results and performances with Sligo Rovers both collectively and individually and also push to represent my National team at some point and test myself at the highest level possible weather at club level or national team level so that when am done I can look back at my career and say I was happy to live my dream to the best of my abilities.
