Alberto Edjogo: "Lamine Yamal can help more than the Minister of Equality"

BarcelonaThe life of Alberto Edjogo-Owono Montalbán (Sabadell, 1984) has always revolved around a ball. He defended the jersey of clubs such as Sabadell, Sant Andreu, Granollers, or l'Olímpic de Xàtiva, in addition to passing through Espanyol's youth football. He was also an international for Equatorial Guinea, his father's native land. He is now a television commentator for DAZN, where he broadcasts the best matches of the First Division. Edjogo has just published Heridas en la piel (geoPlaneta), a book where he reflects on racism in the world of football.

Why is a book like this needed?

— It is a journey to understand society through football stadiums, which are a representative sample of what happens outside. I wanted to talk about the pioneers who have been paving the way and, finally, analyze where we are and what awaits us now that two stars of the national team, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, are black. To see how Spanish society has received these changes.

He wrote a first book, Indomable (Panenka, 2021), where he explores how you, a boy born in Sabadell, rediscover your African roots when you visit your father's homeland for the first time to debut with the Equatorial Guinea national team. What has changed in these years?

— I have changed. Before I had no children and now I have two. My sense of responsibility has changed. The first book was more natural, telling stories of African football and my journey. But I also looked inside myself, as I do now, because we have a responsibility. We must talk about the effect racism has, especially on the most vulnerable. And I focus on children. In Spain, African immigration arrived later than in other places like Belgium or France. And we must talk about it. But nowadays reflections are becoming more and more superficial. A tiktok of ten seconds generates a much greater impact than a long reflection on the subject. We need calm reflections. We need to see how we can live in society in a civilized way, all together. If we don't face it well, things can happen like what we are unfortunately experiencing lately in some countries.

In Spain, many African immigrants did not arrive during the 60s or 70s, but your father did. Does having roots in Equatorial Guinea allow him to have a different perspective?

— Yes. The people of Equatorial Guinea were citizens of Spain at that time. We can say it was a privileged immigration because it was part of a Spanish province. Culturally, the culture shock was less, as Guineans spoke Spanish and were Catholic. But they were black. And that had consequences. I have spoken with other children of Guineans and we all agree that the generation of our parents were the same. We have all been educated to say that we must be impeccable in our behavior. It's that idea of the "good negro." I remember one day we were walking down the street and we had to pass near a group of people laughing. A normal situation, but my father became serious and told us to behave, lest they say something to us. We had to offer a good image. Whoever knows my father always remembers an educated man, with a tie, well-combed, who chose his words carefully. He was obsessed with being impeccable. They didn't want our worth to be questioned and it showed in how they educated us. And it makes me think. On the one hand it's good, but on the other... it's a bit unfair. If I make a mistake, a whole group will be judged. And don't we have the right to fail, especially if you are young?

It happens to Lamine Yamal.

— He's an 18-year-old kid. If another young Barça player loses his temper, people will say he's young. Sins of youth. On the other hand, when Lamine Yamal makes a mistake, many people see it differently and cite his origins. When you are part of a group that doesn't fit what some people consider prototypical for a space, you are judged differently. And not only that. Many take what a black footballer has done to accuse an entire collective. This is why our parents insisted on telling us to be impeccable. If we are not, they put us all in the same bag.

But even if he is impeccable, the day comes when racism strikes him. He cites a case when during a training session in the lower categories of Espanyol he receives one of the first racist insults and is surprised.

— Fighting for a ball, a teammate, annoyed, called me sarcastic black. I will never forget it. Our parents tried to advise us so that we would experience as few situations like this as possible, aware that we could not escape racism. That we would suffer it even if we were perfect. I think we need to talk about it, because if you don't talk about it, your child will have no tools to react to difficult situations.

In the book you explore the racism suffered by players in the past. You talk about the Nigerian goalkeeper Wilfred, who suffered it when he played for Rayo and was called all sorts of things in stadiums like the Santiago Bernabéu.

— I have discovered truly hard situations and I value highly those pioneers who faced them. I have been able to speak with people like N'Kono, who is an example. Pedro Riesco, who played for Rayo with Wilfred, told me that when he arrived, they saw him as an alien: a black goalkeeper in a First Division team was a strange thing back then. The book's title speaks of what people like him experienced. A wound that you can heal, but the scar remains. Wilfred always put on a brave face. He was the good black guy. But all that suffering leaves you with a psychological impact. If someone thinks that racism doesn't hurt football players or a neighbor because they've put on a brave face... they don't understand. Racism stays with you. It makes you feel insecure, it affects your confidence. And if it happens to a young person, imagine. You ask yourself who you are. I'm from Sabadell, I speak perfect Catalan, and I have groups of friends where I'm the only one of another race. But when there's a problem, the topic of race quickly comes up. Someone will tell me that I'm not one of them. Then... how do I build my identity if even though I'm an exemplary citizen, someone will always tell me that I'm not one of them? We need to talk about it. You can't always put on a brave face. Do you remember when they threw a banana at Dani Alves? He pretended to eat it, laughing. And people celebrated it. But by laughing, you downplay a very serious event. When you suffer racism, the scar remains.

Lamine Yamal, the great player of the moment, recently heard them shouting at the Metropolitano "go play with Morocco"...

— Even though you bring glory to the country, there is always someone waiting for you. Yes, yes, you are one of us, but there is always someone waiting for you around the corner. Lamine Yamal brings glory to Barça and the Spanish national team. And with his taxes he is contributing economically. He does pay taxes, he does help, he does work. And he is a role model for children who want his jersey. But when he behaves in a way that doesn't fit with what is understood as correct, then we have a problem, right? But if he is 18 years old, does he really need to be judged like that?

Do you remember the cases of black players from other national teams, like John Barnes, who scored a goal with the English national team and some fans didn't celebrate it because he was black. Could this happen with Lamine Yamal?

— I was able to speak with Lamine Yamal for a piece we did on DAZN and I was very surprised by something he said. Before the European Championship, he left social media because he didn't understand why there was debate about him and not about two French players like Le Normand and Laporte, who play with Spain because they have been here for a long time, but were not born in the State like Lamine. If you don't have a problem with Laporte and you have one with Lamine Yamal... it's obvious something is wrong, isn't it? That feeling that you are not one of us.

In the book you recall how complicated it was to deal with the racism case that Vinícius suffers at Mestalla, working in the media.

— It was complicated because I was in Seville commenting on a very heated Sevilla-Betis match. And when it ended, they told me I had to talk about what had happened. When there's racism, it falls to me to speak because there aren't any racialized people in newsrooms. When there's racism, they always ask for the opinion of the four well-known people of other races. I do it with responsibility and respect, but it's symbolic. That day, as Valdano says, football was the cheapest psychologist. People go to the stadium and get everything out. But if you don't like what Vinícius does and instead of calling him a provocateur, a bad player, or a swear word, you choose a racist insult... you're already making it clear what you're like. If what comes out of you is to make monkey noises, you hurt Black people who have done nothing. There are people who blame Vinícius for receiving racist insults by saying that other Black Madrid players don't receive them. And that's false. Tchouaméni and Rüdiger have also received them. Vinícius should improve many things, but at least he has managed to get these topics talked about.

Alexia Putellas used to say that she only wanted to be a player. She didn't want to be an activist. But she couldn't look the other way and from time to time she had to raise her voice. Is the same thing happening with Vinícius or Lamine Yamal?

— When Lamine Yamal sees what happened in Spain-Egypt... well, he has to say something. If he says something, it has more impact than the Minister of Equality. That's how it is. Thousands of children want to be like him. If in a case of racism in a children's match we manage to make someone think twice because they remember that Lamine Yamal has spoken out, it would be a success. He is a role model. When Alexia was little, she had no female role models. Now many young children of immigrants have role models like Lamine Yamal or Alejandro Balde. They can dream of being like them. Or they can dream of having good jobs because they have seen these success stories.