Stephen Tataw Eta (31 March 196331 July 2020) was a Cameroonian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

who played club football in his home country and Japan. He captained the Cameroon national team at the

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

editions of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

. He was the first player from Africa to play for a Japanese club.

Career

Tataw played with CAMARK of Kumba before joining

Tonnerre Yaoundé Tonnerre Kalara Club of Yaoundé is a professional football club based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The club was most prominent during the 1980s, winning all of their 5 national championships. They have also won the national cup 5 times. Among the clu ...

from 1988 to 1991, and for

Olympic Mvolyé Olympic Mvolyé, also known as Olympique Mvolyé, is a Cameroonian association football, football club based in Mvolyé. Overview Olympic enjoyed some success in the 1990s as they won the Cameroonian Cup twice in 1992 and 1994 and then went on ...

from 1992 to 1994. Although Tonnerre were one of Cameroon's leading clubs, they lacked basic facilities; playing on a baked earth pitch in a stadium with no showers or dressing rooms. In 1991 Tataw was reported to earn £60-per-week, with another £100-per-week from a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

with

Cameroon Radio Television Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) is a major radio and television broadcasting company in Cameroon. CRTV is a government-controlled radio and television service in Cameroon. It started as Cameroon Television (CTV) and later merged with the radio ...

. In October 1990, Tataw joined English

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on trial. It was reported that he was "bemused" by the experience: "The manager, I forget his name /nowiki>Don Howe">Don_Howe.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Don Howe">/nowiki>Don Howe/nowiki>, said I was good – excellent – but he was full up. I was a right-back and he did not need one. Why did he not tell me this before I came? Ask him. I was excellent." The following month he was reported to be on trial with Football League Second Division club Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion. In Simon Kuper's ''Football Against the Enemy'', Tataw is described playing for second tier Olympic Mvolyé. He was dragged from his car and beaten up by four armed men days before the 1992

Cameroonian Cup The Cameroon Cup or ''Coupe Du Cameroon'' in French is the national football competition in Cameroon, on a knock-out-basis. Cup finals Before independence * 1941 : Caïman de Douala 6-0 Mikado ASTP * 1942 : Caïman de Douala 3-1 Léopards ...

final against

Diamant Yaoundé Diamant de Yaoundé is a Cameroonian football club based in Yaoundé. In 1966 the team has won the Cameroon Première Division. Achievements * Cameroon Première Division **Champion (1): 1966 *Cameroon Cup The Cameroon Cup or ''Coupe Du Cameroon ...

. He rebounded to captain his club in the match and played well, winning the penalty kick from which teammate Bertin Ebwellé struck the only goal. In 1995, Tataw joined

Tosu Futures The was a former Japanese football club that played in the Japan Football League between 1994 and 1996. History PJM Futures was founded in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in 1987 as the team of PJM Japan, a company based on Paul J. Meyer's U.S. academy S ...

of Japan. He became the first African footballer to play for a professional Japanese club. While he was in Japan, he tried to guide his club to the

J-League The , commonly a.k.a. shortened to the , and officially known as the for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, in ...

, the top division. But in 1997, Tosu Futures folded due to the withdrawal of its main sponsor. He hoped to play for

Sagan Tosu is a Japanese professional Association football, football club based in Tosu, Saga, Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese football, since 2025 following relegation from the J1 League in 2024 J1 Leag ...

, the new club in the city, but he did not agree terms and retired.

International career

Tataw made his debut for the

Cameroon national football team The Cameroon national football team (French language, French: ''Équipe du Cameroun de football''), also known as the Indomitable Lions (French: ''les lions indomptables''), represents Cameroon in men's international Association football, footb ...

in December 1986, in a

UDEAC Cup The Central African Customs and Economic Union (UDEAC) Cup was an association football tournament contested between countries in Central Africa. The creation of the UDEAC Cup was to mark the 20th anniversary since the formation of the Union but it ...

game against the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly ) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea in the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko (, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a population of approxim ...

, Equatorial Guinea. He became a regular fixture in the side during the subsequent years. Tataw's most successful and notable international tournament he participated in was 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 ...

, in which he captained Cameroon as they became the first African nation to reach the tournament's quarterfinals. They began their campaign in

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

with the competition's opening match, against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, who were the holders of the tournament as 1986 winners. The South Americans were heavy favourites to win the game but Cameroon achieved an upset victory, winning 1–0 through a

François Omam-Biyik François Omam-Biyik (born 21 May 1966) is a Cameroonian football manager and former player who works as assistant manager of Cameroon. A forward, he was one of the most important players of the Cameroon national team in the nineties, playing ...

goal. They also won their next game, beating

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

2–1 at the

Stadio San Nicola Stadio San Nicola () is a multi-use all-seater stadium designed by Renzo Piano in Bari, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of SSC Bari. It replaced their previous home, Stadio della Vittoria, in 19 ...

in Bari,

Roger Milla Albert Roger Miller (born 20 May 1952), known as Roger Milla, is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three Wo ...

scoring twice in the space of ten minutes after coming on as a substitute. They suffered a 4–0 defeat against the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in their final group game, but the two wins were sufficient for them to qualify for the next round as group winners. In their second round match they played Colombia and again Milla was the hero. After the match finished goalless in normal time, Milla again scored twice in quick succession in extra time, and despite a subsequent goal from Romania, Cameroon held on to record a 2–1 victory. The quarter final game against England was a thriller. England took the lead through David Platt but Cameroon replied in the second half with two goals in four minutes to lead 2–1. An England penalty took the game to extra time, in which Cameroon conceded another spot-kick and were eliminated 3–2. The Russia game at the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

was Tataw's last international cap. In total he played for the national team on 63 occasions, scoring three goals.

Coaching career

In April 2018, Tataw was one of 77 applicants for the vacant Cameroon national team coaching job.

Honours

Club

Cameroon Cup The Cameroon Cup or ''Coupe Du Cameroon'' in French is the national football competition in Cameroon, on a knock-out-basis. Cup finals Before independence * 1941 : Caïman de Douala 6-0 Mikado ASTP * 1942 : Caïman de Douala 3-1 Léopards ...

: 1989, 1991 and 1992

International

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 ...

: 1988

References

External links

Stephen Tataw on Camfoot
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tataw, Stephen 1963 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Yaoundé Men's association football fullbacks Cameroonian men's footballers Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers Cameroon men's international footballers Tonnerre Yaoundé players Olympic Mvolyé players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1988 African Cup of Nations players 1990 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Japan