Cyril Ngonge broke through late on. But he still has lasting memories of his formative years.
Cyril Ngonge had to go into exile abroad (first in the Netherlands, then in Italy) to make a name for himself in Belgium. The boy, however, made his professional debut at Club de Bruges and trained in Anderlecht until he was 14.
Ngonge is from the generation of a certain Remco Evenepoel, whom he worked with at Neerpede: “He’s a guy who meant a lot to me. We did almost all our classes until he left for PSV as young people I went to sleep at his house and he came to sleep at my house, so I am very close to him. I was very close to his parents and he to mine” he remembers for RTBF.
Already an extraordinary physique
Evenepoel surprised by stopping football. But his choice has more than paid off: “I am proud of what he has achieved in cycling. Changing sports like that, in the middle of his career, and then becoming one of the best, it shows the relentless mentality that he has. I already knew that he had it as a football player, but to do it in another sport is something unheard of.
Remco was already very impressive at the time: “I couldn’t follow him in the Bois de la Cambre. I don’t even know if it would be different today. We have lots of unforgettable memories together.”
Ultimately, neither player wore the first team jersey.Anderlecht. But both men are fully fulfilled today, with very different daily lives.
