The king of Real Betis' midfield

There are many great contrasts that are only possible in Africa, a continent subjugated because of its rich natural wealth and the human potential it oozes, a land of enormous diversity and one where a famous soccer player at a Spanish team, Achille Emaná, is also responsible for imparting justice in the Mvog-Ada district of Yaoundé, where he was born 28 years ago.

Cameroon, a presidential republic, also retains interesting systems of social organization that have their origins in the ancient tribal structure. On the death of his father in 2009, Emaná, Real Betis' dynamic midfielder and a star of African soccer who has been capped 38 times by his country, received the staff of office of a district of the vast Mvog-Ada area. Since then, he has been responsible for supervising neighborly altercations.

"My father was the chief of the area, a kind of patriarch to whom people would come to solve disputes. When he died, I inherited this responsibility and, of course, I have to carry it out." As with monarchies, Emaná's office is hereditary and his profession as an elite player does not excuse him from his function as justice of the peace. "I do everything by telephone. I pay somebody in Cameroon to listen to the problems of the residents and then, from here, I try to resolve them. The truth is that my decisions are respected. That I am a well-known sportsman in my country might play a part in that."

Many have been the arguments in which the Betis player has intervened. "From disputes over livestock to arguments over land boundaries or problems between families... Despite being from a good family I grew up on the street and I know what happens in Cameroon. My post gives me a chance to be just and to help people. I try to be generous," Emaná says.

A father of three girls and from a huge family, he also organizes tournaments for children in Cameroon and makes donations to the neighborhood of Mvog-Ada. It is common for family members to visit his house in Seville. On the walls of his living room are pictures of his mother and his children and there is even a small altar in one corner of the room; Emaná is a practicing Christian. "We are like that in Africa. Our house is always open to the family and we never ask for how long they intend to stay. Sometimes my house is like a camp. But I like it that way. I like to be surrounded by my loved ones."

Curiously, as well as being a kind of king, Emaná's father was also a soccer player for Yaoundé and imparted his passion for the sport to his son, who nonetheless had to practice furtively. "My mother didn't want me to play soccer. I liked drawing and she would have preferred me to be an architect. However, I kept my kit and boots at my friends' houses. I would change there, play and return home as if nothing had happened. We had to lie to the poor woman so I could play in Spain.

"Scouts from Valencia saw me play in a tournament in Yaoundé and they arranged the paperwork so I could come to Spain. One of my uncles told my mother that I was staying at his house, in Cameroon. I was in the youth team at Valencia for many months and at Christmas the club paid for my mother to travel to Spain. When she discovered the ruse, she gave me a good dressing down but I twisted her arm. I wanted to be a soccer player."

Problems with his Spanish residency papers meant Emaná couldn't stay in Valencia and had to move to Toulouse to live with another uncle. "I was going to go back to Cameroon but I made a stop in France first," he says. "As happened before, after playing in a junior tournament, Toulouse signed me (in 2001). Two weeks later I was in the youth team and after a month I was in the first team."

His performances in France earned him a call-up to the Cameroon national team and after seven seasons in Toulouse, he signed for Betis. After a near miss last year, the Andalusian side is aiming for promotion. "We'll go up, definitely."

The king has spoken.