Patrick Ekeng facts for kids
Ekeng playing for Lausanne-Sport in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick Claude Ekeng Ekeng | ||
| Date of birth | 26 March 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Yaoundé, Cameroon | ||
| Date of death | 6 May 2016 (aged 26) | ||
| Place of death | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.80 m | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2008 | Canon Yaoundé | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008–2009 | Canon Yaoundé | 29 | (7) |
| 2009–2013 | Le Mans | 35 | (1) |
| 2011 | → Rodez (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Lausanne-Sport | 28 | (2) |
| 2014–2016 | Córdoba | 14 | (1) |
| 2016 | Dinamo București | 10 | (1) |
| Total | 129 | (12) | |
| National team | |||
| 2009–2010 | Cameroon U20 | 10 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Cameroon | 2 | (0) |
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Patrick Claude Ekeng Ekeng (born March 26, 1990 – died May 6, 2016) was a professional football player from Cameroon. He played as a defensive midfielder, which is a player who helps protect the defense. He also played for his country's national team twice and was part of the team for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Patrick Ekeng started his career at Canon Yaoundé in Cameroon. He then played for teams in France, Switzerland, Spain, and Romania. Sadly, he passed away after collapsing during a match in Romania while playing for Dinamo București.
Contents
Playing Career
Early Days and French Clubs
Patrick Ekeng was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon. He joined the youth team of Canon Yaoundé in 2006 when he was 16 years old. He started playing for the main team in 2008.
In 2009, he moved to France and signed a three-year contract with Le Mans FC. At first, he played for their reserve team. He played his first professional game on August 20, 2010, for Le Mans in a Ligue 2 match.
In January 2011, Ekeng went on loan to Championnat National team Rodez AF. He played regularly there, but his team was moved down to a lower league. After his loan, he returned to Le Mans and played for them for two more seasons.
Moving to Switzerland and Spain
After leaving Le Mans in 2013, Patrick Ekeng signed a two-year deal with FC Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland. He played there for one season.
On July 14, 2014, Ekeng signed a two-year contract with Córdoba CF, a team that had just been promoted to La Liga in Spain. He made his debut in La Liga on August 30. He scored his first goal in Spain's top football league on October 3, 2014, in a game against Getafe CF. The next year, after his team was moved down to a lower league, he left Córdoba.
Time in Romania
On January 11, 2016, Ekeng moved to Romania to play for FC Dinamo București. He played 12 official games for the team. He scored his only goal for Dinamo on April 20, 2016, in a cup match against their rivals FC Steaua București. His goal helped Dinamo reach the final of the Cupa României.
International Matches
Patrick Ekeng played for the Cameroon under-20 team in the 2009 African Youth Championship. His team finished second, losing to Ghana in the final. He also played in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, but his team did not make it past the group stage.
On January 7, 2015, Ekeng played his first game for the main national team. He came on as a substitute in a friendly match against DR Congo. A few days later, he was chosen for Cameroon's team for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. However, he did not play in any matches during the tournament.
A Tragic Loss
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On May 6, 2016, Patrick Ekeng was playing in a televised match for Dinamo București against Viitorul Constanța. He had told his friend that day that he felt tired and did not want to play. Seven minutes after he entered the game as a substitute, he suddenly collapsed. His team was leading 3–2 at the time.
He was quickly taken to the hospital. Doctors tried to help him, but sadly, he passed away within two hours. The doctors believed he had a heart attack. Patrick Ekeng was 26 years old. Nine days later, his funeral was held in his hometown in Cameroon. Many football players and the country's sports minister attended.
After Ekeng's death, all football matches in Romania that weekend were postponed. Dinamo's cup final game was also moved to a later date. The club promised that if they won the cup, they would take the trophy to Cameroon and place it on Ekeng's grave. Before the final match, 50,000 Dinamo fans honored Ekeng with a large display, including a giant picture of him.
Looking into What Happened
After Patrick Ekeng's death, an investigation was started by the Romanian interior ministry. They found that the ambulance that took Ekeng to the hospital had broken equipment and medicine that had expired. The private ambulance company, Puls, had its license stopped for 30 days and was fined.
Football players' unions had been asking for every game to have a fully equipped ambulance available, especially after another player, Henry Chinonso Ihelewere, died in 2012. The global union for players, FIFPro, said that this showed a history of not being careful enough about players' safety in Romania.
Prosecutors also started an investigation because there were reports that not enough professional care might have led to his death. In June 2020, a doctor involved was found responsible for not providing enough help. She received a suspended sentence, a fine, and community service.
See Also
- List of association footballers who died while playing
