Martin Falola alias Pépé Epassé : The big fan of round leather

Martin falola. His name in the civil status. But for close friends and for better location, call him Epassé and he will answer you Present. Added Grandpa, and he will answer you twice because Pépé Epassé values ​​him more. The pseudonym Epassé is more than his name, it's more of his shadow.

Born in the Missèbo district in the 5th arrondissement in Cotonou to a Goun family from Porto-Novo, Joseph Djogbénou Falola and Madeleine Kouton Goussanou, Pépé Epassé grew up in Akpakpa, a stone's throw from the René Pleven stadium, un stade colonial. 71 years ago, 1m 65, he is a Dahomean as he likes to call himself. Frizzy hair, whitish at the edges and blackish when it receives a good color, Epassé is neither fat nor thin. Black complexion, teary eyes, front large, his build refers to an elderly man but the anatomy and bipedalism are still in good place and functional. Wrinkled face, spotted on right cheek, without doubt, consequence of the African sun and the bad weather of social life. In reality, Martin Falola is one of those who are said to not look their age.

The proximity of his youth neighborhood, with the football stadium, René Pleven created in him a love for football very early on, which is sometimes difficult to explain.. Toddler, he played football under the colors of Avizo, a neighborhood team from Akpakpa, then chaired by the late Samuel Aron then by Frédéric Aniwamou, father of our colleague Modeste Aniwamou. His generation is that of Mathieu Tchibozo, former goalkeeper of Postel Fc. His favorite position, the midfielder with versatility on both feet. Once very young, he was on the wall of the René Pleven stadium either to go play football or to fulfill his desires. But although his career remained at the neighborhood level, Epassé has never strayed far from the stadiums, much less from football.

A crazy Atlantic Sharks fan

DodjiGamélé alliance supporter from Cotonou over the years 1960, Epassé subsequently knew the Atlantic Sharks, flagship and legendary club of the economic capital. The latter remained his favorite club ; hence the nickname Awissi, which desperately sticks to his skin. You call him Awissi, he answers you Wassa. In truth, Awissi-Wassa is nothing other than the lucky name, Sharks, the reds and whites. Colors that he has struggled to separate from since 50 years. Don't be surprised to see him on a match day, wear a red shirt or t-shirt, white panties, a jackal hat and shoes all in red and white. All draped with a red scarf. The Sharks, he has it in his blood. When the team wins a match, he is in heaven, the opposite makes him lose his appetite overnight.

Sharks fanatic, he makes it known to anyone who will listen, especially to his rivals, Dragons fans, that he never stops sleeping. A role as lodger that he plays wonderfully and which makes him a famous supporter of both the Sharks and the Dragons. Former presidents of the Dragons, Feu Moucharafou Gbadamassi, passing through Séfou Fagbohoun, Jean Agondanou, he practiced them all as much as he practiced Paul Gnanguénon, Henri Deguenon, Frédéric Affo or even Ganiou Soglo who succeeded one another on the board of the Rouges et Blancs. Better, even after his 71 girl's, he is able to give you the first names, last names and positions of the two training courses with an excellent chronology. Pépé Epassé has an elephant’s memory. But his relations with the supporters of the Dragons de l’Ouémé, still haven't gone well. No wonder when we talk about football or sometimes psychological warfare, the teasing, jokes and nastiness go hand in hand. After a victory for the Sharks in one of the Super Cups played in Porto-Novo, the impregnable citadel of the Dragons, while Epassé showed his joy, he was attacked by hooligan supporters. The rest of the story is that he found himself outside over the fences surrounding the field. Shirtless and without shoes, he had to return to Cotonou by running away. Today when he talks about it, he laughs about it.

Martin Falola and his love for national teams

Support Sharks, it is also for the Squirrels, the Benin national team. In 1996, he was elected best supporter of the national team. To Pépé Epassé, we don't talk about a Squirrels match, he sometimes experiences it himself beyond national borders. How many times has he taken a taxi to attend a Squirrels match in the next country?, the Togo or the Mali. But the greatest expedition, that he carried out with the Squirrels was that of the Gambia during the qualifiers for the Can 2019. It was a Thursday 15 November 2018. “That date, I will never forget him ", he asserts. It was a historic day that had a profound impact on the septuagenarian. " For more than 50 years that I have been dragging my hump in the world of football, This is the first time I’ve taken a plane”. He who knew the first president of the Dahomean Football Federation, Norbert Imbs. This first flight and this mark of consideration, he owes it to Mathurin de Chacus, the current president of the Beninese Football Federation whom he never ceases to bless as soon as you mention this memory. Although forgotten for the supporters' trip as part of the 32nd edition of the Can in Egypt, Epassé doesn’t hold a grudge against anyone because “Mathurin de Chacus has already done everything to me”, he said.

Passed, the father of Beninese sports journalists

Besides the football family, if there is a family to whom, he is truly attached, it is that of sports reporter journalists. At the stage before and after, he is always with the media men. On TV sets and in radio studios, he gets invited and does not hesitate to sing mobilization songs on the eve of matches, sometimes in an atypical vocabulary. “My Elementary Primary School Certificate, I spent it in 1964. I was not eligible and I never went to school again”, he reminds. The very first sports reporter who honored me was the late Guy Galbert Ahouitonon, does he like to remind. The 9 October 1996 he announced the death of my father in the 1 p.m. talk show on national radio, who am I to deserve this. He also rubbed shoulders with Alex Chodaton, another emeritus sports journalist-reporter from the Ortb. His calling card in the world of men of pen and paper, is quite rich.

Passed, the stylist

Generous, franc, honest, Pépé Epassé is kind and distributes joy wherever he feels sorrow. He has the gift of words and expressions to bring a little smile out of you.. True, sometimes overboard tease and loud talker, he likes to challenge and verbally take down his counterparts, in a good-natured atmosphere. Pépé Epassé doesn’t like the word worries. “Man cannot wish to have worries but problems do because every problem is a proof that requires a capacity for reflection to be resolved while worries make us sick.” Father of a large family, strong as a tree trunk, he likes to maintain his body. Her appetite for elegance dictates her daily dress code to highlight her body. Costumes, dust jacket, French tie or traditional clothes with or without Portonovian headgear, shoes always polished, the septuagenarian doesn't mess around with the sap. Epassé has taste and knows how to dress. Even a kilometer away, always drawn to 4 pins, he is quickly spotted on his motorbike. This is not surprising because the sewing machine, textiles and their accessories, he knows a thing or two about it having been a fashion designer and even a dressing consultant in the good old days. Faithful Ayikoué, former Director General of Ortb, Alexandre Paraiso, magistrate, former President of the Supreme Court, are a few names that have benefited from his deft fingers and stylistic prowess. Besides, sewing, Pep Epassé, the abbreviation for Pépé Epassé, was also a hardware merchant before falling into entrepreneurship in Buildings and Public Works, construction. In fact, some will say in easy French that Pépé Epassé is a jack of all trades, except that it is multidisciplinary.

Pépé Epassé and his faith in God

If there is also an area where Epassé excels, it is of course that of the spiritual. Born into a Catholic family and became an evangelist himself, he deeply believes in God. The inscription “where are you going without Jesus Christ ? On the license plate of his motorcycle, and this lung. Pépé Epassé shares the word of God to whoever wants to hear it, he sings it to whoever wants to dance it and recommends it to whoever wants to apply it. Gospel songs, he interprets them in French, a phone, en yoruba, a mine, year of, en ashanti, an Ibo. Epassé bathes in the spiritual.

Passed, the ambiancer

If there is a quality that characterizes Pépé Epassé, it is inevitably its ability to sow humor. With him, we don't get bored. man of joy, of cheerfulness, laughter and even atmosphere, he lives and spreads good humor. He is easy to communicate with and has an impressive business card.. Wherever he goes, he always has an anecdote to tell to lighten the mood. Because for him, laughter is therapeutic and a man must do everything to keep smiling. Most cases of illness and tension which number in the thousands in our society, is due to sadness and worries, affirm. To make you smile, he has more than one trick up his sleeve. When Epassé talks to you about atemtal, he refers to the beautiful game, ayou man beautiful goals that make the nets cry. A “skylight” goal is a goal in the top corner. Unconditional rabbit and pork meat, akassa or sorghum dough accompanied by vegetable or sesame sauce, he likes the gastronomic atmosphere where the beer or wine flows freely, although football remains his first pastime. But in a day, Epassé never passes without going through a stage. Ask the football gods, they will answer you in the affirmative.

Junior Issa