When Ambroise Oyongo isn’t showing off his dancing skills, the Cameroon international is fine-tuning his footwork on the left flank for Montpellier Hérault SC.
Never late to the beat this season, the flamboyant full-back’s routine is one he takes great pleasure in revealing.
“Of course, I’m a footballer, but in my heart there is more dance than football! When I want to relax before games and before training, I dance,” Oyongo told The Ligue 1 Show on beIN Sports. “It reminds me that football is just a game, something to be enjoyed. Dancing allows you to forget the stresses of the game.”
Having arrived in France in January after four years in Major League Soccer with New York Red Bulls and Montréal Impact, Oyongo’s performances at the Stade de la Mosson have been as impressive as his boogie.
Following in illustrious footsteps
In shining for the 2012 champions, the 27-year-old is keeping a Cameroonian tradition alive – one that made his decision to swap Montréal for Montpellier easy.
“Before arriving here, I looked up the history of Cameroonians at the club, notably Henri Bedimo. Bill Tchato, Roger Milla – he’s a legend! All the elders performed well here, so as we say back home: ‘I have to keep the Cameroonian road clean’. I have to represent my country,” he said.
“Bill Tchato was the first person to greet me here! He turned up to training, and I was so happy to meet him! After that, two or three months later, he was named team manager of Cameroon, so now I see him here, and also when I’m with the national team. He’s the one that keeps an eye on my progress with Montpellier and relays that to the national team coach, so I always have to be at my best.”
Watch: Oyongo scores in derby victory
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Tchato need not worry though. Having already followed in both his, and Milla’s, footsteps by starring in Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations win in 2017, Oyongo has equally become a fan favourite at La Mosson. The wing-back acquired that status when he opened the scoring in the first top-flight derby between Montpellier and Nîmes Olympique for 25 years, a game his side went on to win 3-0.
“I enjoyed derby day, I’d said as a joke that whenever I play in derbies, I score! The lads just said ‘we’ll see’, and then when I scored that goal, the younger boys said ‘ah you were right, you told us you always scored in derbies’. But it was good, both for the team and for me, you have to be respected after all!
“Because I grew up playing as an attacking midfielder, and with the system we play here, I find myself in forward positions and I love it. It allows me to get the most out of my game, and I hope the club is proud of what I am doing, and for me it’s a great feeling.”
Thierry Henry ‘taught me a lot’
Oyongo’s aim this weekend is to inspire his club to their first victory in Monaco since January 1994. At the Stade Louis II, La Paillade‘s number eight will cross paths with someone he played alongside in New York: a certain Thierry Henry, now coach of Saturday’s hosts.
“Thierry Henry is a legend in football, he’s somebody I have good memories with, both on and off the pitch. He taught me a lot. Whenever I played alongside him, I wasn’t allowed the slightest error! Whether I would get dribbled, or if I misplaced a pass, that was it, I knew he’d give me hell! And the next day I would have to practice over and over again to get that specific thing right.
“It’s been difficult for him so far at Monaco, but I think if the players are receptive, they will turn things around because he knows how he wants football to be played, and he really helps players progress! But against Monaco, there will be no friendship, no joking about, just an opponent, and we’re going there to get the points.”
The game in Monaco kicks off a season-defining month of December in which Oyongo and his team-mates test their metal against LOSC, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Nantes and Olympique Lyonnais. But with Montpellier sitting in the top five since mid-September, the dancing full-back sees no reason the 2012 champions should suffer from stage fright.
“If we want to remain at the top, we have to be beating the best teams. When you look at our squad, you see real cohesion and respect. Our mind-set is unbelievable. Thanks to the work we put in every day, and the things the club put at the players’ disposition, I think we can stay in the top places until the end of the season.”
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