Eduardo Camavinga joined Real Madrid this past summer transfer window from Rennes. The 19-year-old midfielder, born in Angola to Congolese parents, moved to France with his family when he was just two years old and broke into Rennes’ first team at 16.
An intelligent and hardworking midfielder, Camavinga’s game-time has been limited this season due to the fierce competition in midfield at the Santiago Bernabeu but his quality and potential is undoubted. Already a full French international, he’s proved an able deputy whenever one of Casemiro, Toni Kroos or Luka Modric drops out of Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield three.
Camavinga is hard at work learning Spanish and is determined to write his name in the history of Madrid, the most iconic and glamorous club in European football. It’s something that comes naturally to him; it’s been a part of his makeup since childhood.
“I am a very observant person since I was a kid, Camavinga told OneFootball in an exclusive interview. “For sure you have to learn from the best. All the great players, like [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldinho… Lots of great players. [Paul] Pogba too.
“I think the first lesson you learn as a footballer is that the game is unforgiving. And you can be at the top and go down very quickly. You have to be consistent; you can’t afford any mistakes.
“I am very hard on myself. Even if I had a good game, if I made any mistakes, I’ll keep those mistakes in my head. And then I’ll talk about them, or I will watch myself after the game. I have an app which allows you to see all that. But for me, I prefer to watch the game myself and then discuss it with my agent. But otherwise, I’m watching myself.
“There’s Casemiro playing here, and I’m trying to learn a lot from him tactically. Before games, when I start, Casemiro tells me to play simply, and to be efficient. Then there is Luka and Toni. I learn from the trio, because I could play in all positions in midfield, and I have to learn from everyone to be ready when the coach puts me on the pitch.”
Camavinga is no stranger to adversity and he’s grateful for the opportunity available to him due to the sacrifices made by his parents. He was born in an Angolan refugee camp because they were fleeing conflict in Kinshasa and they had their house burned down in 2013, causing them to lose most of their property.
“They didn’t necessarily talk to us about problems on a daily basis,” Camavinga said. “But as I grew up we talked about their struggles. But me, on a daily basis, I didn’t necessarily see it. But thinking back about it, I realise that we did struggle.
“The fact that all that happened in my life, I think it is a positive thing. Because I know that we went through a lot, I will always be respectful to my parents. Always. Because it’s thanks to them that I am like this today.
“I hope I’ll be remembered as a person who does not give up, who is always there. A good person, someone who won a lot of trophies. A very good footballer, a footballer who played with love for the shirt, and who scored a lot of goals and got many assists.”
Camavinga was speaking as part of FedEx’s #NextInLine series.
