At just 21 years old, Eduardo Camavinga (Angola, 2002) has managed to establish himself as one of the key figures of a real Madrid who aspires to everything again this season. The white team will fight this Saturday, June 1, to win a new Champions League, the 15th in their record, thanks in part to the work and character that the French footballer has shown on the pitch.
The 49 games he has played this season have allowed him to make the midfield his own and establish himself as the undisputed starter in Ancelotti’s eleven, even more so after Tchouaméni’s injury. A season to remember that Madrid’s ’12’ could seal with a new European Cup and that, if he won it, it would be the second of his short but successful career.
Camavinga kisses the Champions League trophy he won with Real Madrid in 2022
REUTERS
For the French midfielder, congolese origin, it has not been easy to reach the top of international football. Behind him remains a childhood marked by war, which forced his family to leave their country, and a tragedy that almost ended his life and that of his entire family. We tell you the Eduardo Camavinga’s story of improvement until reaching Real Madrid.
He was born in a refugee camp in Angola
Before becoming a star, the Frenchman’s life suffered numerous setbacks, even before he was born. His parents, Celestino and Sofía, originally from Democratic Republic of Congowere forced to leave their native country due to war that began there in 1998 and forced millions of citizens to move to neighboring countries.
The footballer’s parents then entered a refugee camp in Miconje (Angola) and it was there where, in November 2002, little Eduardo, the third of six siblings, would be born.
Just three years later, the footballer’s family I would leave Angola to emigrate to France, where they started a new life. They first settled in Lille and, shortly after, they would move to Fougeresa small town in French Brittany where they settled.
He lost everything in a fire that burned his house
The war was not the only tragedy that Camavinga faced during his childhood. After emigrating to Europe in search of a better future, the footballer’s first years in France did not help to improve his situation. With just 10 yearshis family lost everything because of a fire that broke out in the modest house where he lived with his parents and siblings.
The fire burned all the belongings of the Madrid midfielder and his family: “We had less than a year in that house that my parents had built with their efforts. I remember the fire as if it were yesterday. She was at school and, through the window, I saw the firefighters go by. At the end of class the teachers came up to me and my little sister and told us. My father came to look for us and took us there, everything was destroyed, everything burned», said the player in an interview.
At that moment, Camavinga and his parents were faced with one of the most complicated moments in their history: They had nowhere to live, neither social aid, nor enough savings to start from the beginning. Were their neighbors who helped them to recover from this hard blow, with donations of clothing and appliances, which allowed them to move forward.
However, in the midst of all this misfortune, Camavinga’s father told him one of the phrases that the young footballer remembers most: “Don’t worry, you are going to be a great footballer and you will build this house».
From young promise to international soccer star
The first sport of his life was judo, although he soon changed the kimono for the soccer ball, which was his “way of escape.” He began his career in 2009 in the Drapeau-Fougèreswhere his father played on the senior team, and very soon began to stand out for his speed and hitting, becoming one of the great talents of his generation.
In 2013, Rennes signed him and it was in that same club that he made his debut in Ligue 1. At that time, he was only 16 years and 5 months old, which made him the youngest player to play in the French championship, surpassing Kylian Mbappé.
Nominated for the Golden Boy In 2020, Camavinga ended up establishing himself as one of the great promises of international football and captured the looks from many clubs of Europe, including Real Madrid. The white club made his signing official that same summer, also coinciding with the last day of the summer market and, since then, it has become one of the main strongholds of the team, called to be the replacement in one of the best squads in the world.
