Cameroon International player, Estelle Laura Johnson says her father inspired her to build a football career. She made the revelation in a video published on the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) Facebook page in commemoration of World Father’s Day.
She narrated how during her high school days at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado – USA, “he realized I was pretty good in football, he would come to all my games and after every single game he would say ‘Estelle you made ten mistakes, you made nine mistakes of eight mistakes’ and I always felt like he was pushing me to my limit.”
Like a lioness that she was and is, made interminable effort to prove her worth. “So I started counting my own mistakes. I remember one day after the game, I went over to see my Dad and I said ‘how many mistakes did I make?’ He said ‘zero’ and I just remember like how much joy and excitement that brought to me, pushed me to continue playing games where I had zero mistake.”
Because of her hard work and ever-fighting spirit, she was named the best defensive player by the team, though being a freshman.
She earned all-conference first team and all-state honors in her junior and senior years. She was named team Most Valuable Player (MVP) during her second and third years.
The 31-year-old Sky Blue FC Defender acknowledged how difficult it has been keeping that record. “It was a tough thing to stand up to. I really appreciate the inspiration that he gave me.”
Johnson made her first international appearance for Cameroon, her country of birth, in a May 2019 friendly match against Spain at the Estadio Pedro Escartin, coming in as a replacement for Christine Manie at the 58th minutes.
Her impressive play style at the lionesses’ defense in all 3 group games at the 2019 world cup in France, help the team reached the second round before losing to England 0-3goals.
