With a broad smile, Jean-Paul N'Djoli walks into a room at the Asito Stadium for his interview with the NOS. The French-born player of Congolese descent has every reason to smile, as he is finally happy in football again. With nine goals in five matches for league leaders Heracles, the relatively unknown striker has quickly made a name for himself in the Eredivisie. And this despite the fact that, just two years ago, there were doubts as to whether N’Djoli would ever play another professional match. The 25-year-old striker’s (footballing) life has not been a bed of roses. N’Djoli grew up until the age of ten in a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Paris. He lived with his parents and four brothers in a small two-room house. “We all slept together.” It wasn’t a good neighbourhood. There was a lot going on; for example, there were frequent fights. “It was so dangerous that my parents didn’t want me to play football outside. Life in Paris was tough.” It’s striking how openly and calmly the striker talks about it. Just as calmly as he scores his goals on the pitch. “That’s my personality. I’ve been through a lot in my career and want to keep my feet on the ground. I know that life – and life in football – can quickly take a different turn.” N’Djoli’s career has had its fair share of ups and downs. At the age of eleven, he moved to Normandy. There, he joined the Évreux football academy, where players such as Ousmane Dembélé and Dayot Upamecano made their names. “That move changed our lives; I really enjoyed playing football there.” In the meantime, he was also building a career as a model, just like his brothers, who also worked in the modelling world. But N’Djoli eventually gave it up. Because in Spain, from 2021 onwards, he focused on football, although his career struggled to get off the ground. “At Vallecano in 2021, I faced my first difficult moment. I ended up in court against the club. After that, I went to Hércules Alicante. Following a decent first year, I was no longer part of the manager’s plans; I had to train separately from the squad for six months. Then I went to Badalona Futur. There, I was only paid one month’s wages in half a year – that was crazy.” This led the striker to return to France. He approached clubs in the fourth division, but they didn’t want him. “That’s when I wanted to give up. I thought: there are other things in life too.” But after much prayer and discussions with those close to him, he changed his mind. N’Djoli rang a Swiss player agent he knew. "He said: ‘If you come to Switzerland, you can take another step forward.’ In hindsight, it turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life. N’Djoli ended up at a club in the fourth tier in Switzerland. ‘It was a very low level, but I remained humble. Sometimes it’s better to take a step back. And if you think it’s not your level, you have to show that. That’s what I did.’ He rediscovered his love of football and started scoring goals. At SC Brühl, then in the Swiss second tier, N'Djoli scored 12 goals in 16 matches. “I regained my confidence there. That’s one of the most underrated things in football. In professional football, there aren’t actually good or bad players; it’s just that some have confidence and others don’t.” He’s noticing the same thing now at Heracles. The Almelo-based club found him through a data analytics firm and is placing a lot of trust in the Frenchman. “The manager and my teammates make me feel that I can do it. They talk to me a lot and give me responsibilities. I’m new, but I’m already part of the group with the team’s leaders. That gives me extra motivation.” It resulted in a flurry of goals. “I hadn’t expected that many, but now I want to become top scorer. And we have to win the league. That’s what I’m hoping for too, because I’ve never won a title before.” These are short-term goals, because N’Djoli knows that you can’t plan a career in football. “What I’ve been through gives me a lot of strength now. Whilst other players see a setback as a heavy blow, I know what it’s like. I can deal with it more easily now.” So the top scorer dares to dream again. “I want to play in the Champions League and make it into the Congo national team. My parents are from Congo and I grew up with that culture. I really want to make it into that national team, because I’ve never had the chance to visit Congo.”   submitted by   /u/Roller95 [link]   [comments]