Cyrille Thomas Makanaky (born 28 June 1965) is a Cameroonian retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Club career

Makanaky was born in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

. After impressing at amateur level in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, with FC Saint-Leu and

Gazélec Ajaccio Gazélec Football Club Ajaccio (), commonly referred to as GFC Ajaccio, GFCA, Gazélec Ajaccio or simply Gazélec (), is a French football club from Ajaccio, Corsica. Founded in 1910, Gazélec played one season in Ligue 1 in the 2015–16 seaso ...

, he represented, with little impact but always in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

SC Toulon Sporting Club Toulon is a football club from Toulon, France, that plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of the French football league system. The club was founded in 1944 and played under that name until the 1999–2000 season ...

(twice) and

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

. In 1990, Makanaky moved to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and remained in the country for three years, playing in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

for

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

and

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

. His second year, whilst at the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns, finished in relegation, and the club folded soon afterwards. Until his retirement at the age of 32, Makanaky also played in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

with

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club (; ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli professional association football, football club from Tel Aviv and part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Tel Aviv Sport Club. Founded in 1906 in Jaffa as t ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

for

Barcelona Sporting Club Barcelona Sporting Club (), internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of ...

– two spells, winning the

national league National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

on both occasions – and France with former side Gazélec.

International career

Makanaky appeared in two

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

with the Cameroon national team. In the 1988 edition, held in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, he scored the game's only goal, helping defeat the hosts in the semifinals and eventually winning the trophy. Makanaky also represented the nation at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, playing all five matches (two complete) as the ''Lions Indomptables'' reached the quarterfinals. In popular culture "Makanaki" is a nickname coined from Makanaky's name and was commonly used in some Yoruba speaking parts of western Nigeria after the exploits of the Cameroun National Team in the FIFA 1990 World Cup. The ruggedness and flamboyance of Makanaky led to the use of the Nigerianized version of the name to be used to refer to a skillful and rugged person.

External links

Racing Lens archives
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Makanaky, Cyrille 1965 births Living people Footballers from Douala Cameroonian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Gazélec Ajaccio players SC Toulon players RC Lens players Segunda División players CD Málaga footballers Villarreal CF players Israeli Premier League players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Ecuadorian Serie A players Barcelona S.C. footballers Cameroon men's international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1988 African Cup of Nations players 1990 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players Africa Cup of Nations–winning players Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Ecuador Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in France Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador