In the world of Beninese athletes : Research Coach, a life in football

Emmanuel Urbain Researcher, as named by his parents. But in the football world, call him "Coach". This title is the one that suits him the best since 30 years as a coach.

Junior ISSA

Coach, framer, coach, it was as good with the ladies as with the men. Fifa players agent, Chèchè still is even if, under the influence of illness, he was forced to no longer continue in this sector. Dossou-Gbété Expedition, Euloge Sacramento, Leon Besan, are among others players who have passed through their skills for the outside world. In truth, Chèchè's life is in a round ball.

The man who breathes football

71 years gone, dark complexion, very pronounced baldness in the middle of a few white hairs, chin crossed by a few white hairs, act as a goatee under the old man's chin. Respectful, correct, sage, very disciplined, he only had one red card in his career as a Sharks player against the Nigerian team Nigeria Rangers. It was at the René Pleven stadium.

Its origins Sèto Djègandaho, an ethnic group limited to a stone’s throw from Porto-Novo, the political capital of Benin, made him adopt, next to sports jerseys or tracksuits, the sleeveless boubou as a clothing preference, often sewn with African loincloths. Seeing him limping with his right foot, one could believe in the impact of an old injury contracted on a football field, but that's just the effect of the natural posture of his bowed legs, reinforced by the weight of age.

Footballer since childhood

1, 65m, Coach Chèchè touched the ball from a young age, at 7-8 years old when his dad didn't hear it that way. " One day, he tied me up like that”, making the gesture of two hands placed one on top of the other. In the footballing universe of the player of the time, we can cite clubs such as: Asso Porto-novo, Mogas 90, Atlantic sharks, ABC you Nigeria. A country that has become its 2nd country. Which earned him the nickname “Nigerian” which he readily accepted.. Why did you opt for an adventure in Nigeria? ? “It’s because some of my compatriots Dovi Lakoussan, Médard Houéyèvi and Valère Houandinou went there and so did I, I decided to follow in their footsteps”, he replies. Determined, he left his work at Sobebra, the brewing company of the time and landed in the land of the Super Eagles. Present on the ground for the recruitment test, he was retained after only around thirty minutes of training session by the club coach who, previously asked him if he is really a footballer. The apotheosis, it is his selection in the Lagos State team with a starting position. A first for a Beninese in a country where talent abounds. Memories of this country, he keeps good ones and the best ones.

The memories of man

His great positive memory, he has it from his history with the Independence Cup which he won as a player and coach with a single club, Mogas 90. In 1972, then player of Asso Porto-novo, legendary club of the capital of the years 60, he lifted the trophy for the first time after a final won against Cheminots FC with a score of 3-2. Difficult match because within the Cheminots FC team, there was a formidable player named Raphael De Souza whom coach Chèchè affectionately called “Sorcerer”. Striker and scorer in this final at the Charles de Gaulle stadium in Porto-Novo, Chèchè remembers his goal scored as if it were yesterday. On a pass from Nourou Bello, his best accomplice on the ground, he recovered the ball, escaped five defenders, dribbled past the goalkeeper and drove the ball into the back of the net, like in training. " In Benin, today, there are quality players but current footballers don't give enough.", he is sorry. " This goal, I can never forget it”, hammered the septuagenarian, suddenly overcome with emotion, hands trembling and lips hesitant. Assistant coach of Mogas, he tasted the delights of this competition alongside other national technicians including Christophe Dossou-yovo, Fortuné Glèlè, Vincent Flacandji, César Dagba, Edmé Codjo. The Sharks, the Dragons, the Buffaloes, Soleil FC have meanwhile fallen by the wayside in front of Mogas in this competition. A reminder of the old man quickly stopped by a memory lapse. In total by 09 time, he won this Independence Cup. So, he says he is sorry for the indifference shown to him in recent years by the organizers. Between coach Chèchè and the independence cup, is there a love story ? “That’s really it”, he retorts, “and it’s because I never like it when a cup escapes me”,  he emphasizes with a slight smile.

His worst memory on a playground, was that day when in a duel, his opponent aimed for his head. The shock was violent. The passes 48 hours in a coma. But miracle, he came back to life when his parents were already predicting the worst.

The enemy of alcohol

Like any man, coach Chèchè has his moments of vice. My late friend Jean-Marie Zohougbogbo liked to take me to nightclubs. “If going to a nightclub is a fault, I then have this fault and then in my life, there is only one woman who gave me children, here is another fault. If it is one”, he quips. But never, he did not take a drop of beer or alcohol even though he was playing for the Sobebra team. His favorite drink has always been water. “Today’s young footballers love bars too much. How can they play football ? », he asks himself with an air of desolation tinged with bitterness.

Researchers, believer !!!

Spiritual, coach Chèchè is profoundly so but in his own way. Do you believe in God ? Yes I believe in God but we are in Benin. " You know, I played a very mystical match in my career and it stuck in my throat. “Before this match, someone predicts that we will see what we have never seen. Actually during the match, three times we shot in the net. We were going to get the ball behind the nets. We checked if the threads were pierced. This was not the case and each time the referee ordered the ball to be placed at the 6 meters ». What I tell you, It’s an experience but I cannot reveal to you the identity of the author of this unusual fact..

The defender of young footballers?

To the question of whether there is talent in Benin. His response is unequivocal: “The Beninese is talented but lazy”. If in Nigeria during our professional adventure, three of us out of four had become starters in a country like Nigeria, it’s because we worked in particular under the leadership of the late Atta Pinçon, great renowned trainer.

Member of the Association of Ancient Glories of Dahomey, coach Chèchè has the ambition to defend young footballers in our championships who are often deprived of salary, of bonuses by club promoters even though the government puts the means into it. “Take care of the players, take care of them because they are not thugs”. This is a heartfelt cry from Coach Emmanuel Urbain Chèchè.