In Guingamp, no one steps onto the Roudourou pitch without Emmanuel Bessong’s permission. And with good reason — the Cameroonian has turned the role of groundskeeper into something almost legendary.
While the story of Adil Rami, who rose from municipal groundsman to French international, is widely known, Emmanuel Bessong has charted an inspiring path in reverse. Born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Bessong pursued his football dreams across Indonesia, China, Germany, and Turkey, playing the beautiful game professionally for seven years. But it’s in France, and more precisely on the turf of Ligue 1’s En Avant Guingamp, that he’s found his lasting calling.
Since August, Bessong has been the official groundsman at Guingamp, having been recruited from Le Havre, where he worked for six years. Before that, he juggled amateur football and work in gardening — until life directed him permanently toward the grass he once played on.
Now, under the eyes of coach Jocelyn Gourvennec, Bessong is considered a core member of the club’s technical staff. His meticulous care and deep football knowledge have helped propel Guingamp’s pitch from 19th in Ligue 1’s lawn rankings in 2013 to 5th place after 14 games.
“I stay in touch with the pitch, the players, I can follow the matches as I want. It’s as if I’m still in the thick of it,” he shared with L’Équipe, which hailed him as an “endearing and atypical groundsman.”
From Cameroonian football hopeful to one of Ligue 1’s top pitchmasters, Emmanuel Bessong proves that passion for football doesn’t always lead to goals — sometimes, it leads to perfect grass.
