It was a story and picture that went around the world. Joseph Minala, the Lazio academy graduate, became world famous in 2014 for the most unfair reason.
Debuting aged 17 in a Serie A match against Sampdoria, Minala’s dreams came true after a childhood move from Cameroon, but things soon became crumbling down.
Due to his looks beyond his years, Minala quickly made headlines, and things only got worse when a Senegalese media outlet set the internet alight by falsely claiming he was 42.
The story spread, with the Italian, Spanish, French and English media mocking the youngster, whose entourage took the case to the Italian prosecutor’s office.
There, the case was closed as ‘concrete evidence’ proved his age, but it didn’t stop the internet mockery, and Minala’s Lazio career ended at the four-game mark after numerous loans across the country.
Now still playing professionally in Malta for Gzira United, Minala has opened up on the trauma of the fake story, but kept things positive in trying circumstances.
“Thank God, I’m fine. I’m healthy, and my family is doing well. That’s the most important thing,” he told SO FOOT.
“That damn controversy. I was dejected at that time. I did not understand why people continued to pick on me, they kept bringing up this age story.
“To achieve what I did, very few today can boast of that. I came from Cameroon, I worked hard to join a prestigious club like Lazio and I managed to reach the professional world.
“When I think back, I tell myself that I would have preferred to have really lied about my age, that way I pay for what I did.
“But this was not the case, doors were closed to me for something I was innocent of. Many opportunities were blocked for me because of that.”
Admitting he’s still hopeful of making it back to the big leagues and maybe even debuting for Cameroon, Minala finished: “I am lucky to be able to make a living from my sport, that is already a privilege.
“I continue to enjoy myself, to be happy to train and that is the most important thing.
“But I am not giving up, I am only 28 years old, and anything can still happen. A career is long.”
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