Mbaizo signs contract, might have room to move
CHESTER » For several weeks, as he has rehabilitated from a preseason knee injury, Olivier Mbaizo has trained regularly with the Union.
Tuesday, the Union made official their connection with the 20-year-old Cameroonian defender, signing him to a firstteam contract.
Mbaizo signed with Bethlehem Steel in January and traveled to Florida with the Union, but he has yet to see game action due to that knee injury that required surgery. His signing arrives at a juncture when the Union are facing injury questions on the backline that could present opportunities for Mbaizo to step in.
“It’s been really good,” Mbaizo said through a translator Tuesday at the Power Training Complex. “I’ve enjoyed my time on the second team. I’ve been appreciative of the staff here, the training staff, the coaching staff, they’ve all treated me very well.”
The 20-year-old follows a popular pathway to MLS, groomed at Cameroonian club Rainbow Bamenda, which produced Union teammate Eric Ayuk, former Montreal and Red Bulls defender Ambroise Oyongo (now with French Ligue 1 club Montpellier) and many others. Mbaizo has represented Cameroon at various youth levels, including the Under-17, U-20 and U-23 teams. He played every minute of the team’s three matches in the 2017 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring a goal.
He was called into the Indomitable Lions’ senior camp ahead of last summer’s FIFA Confederations Cup but has yet to be capped. He mentioned an aim of getting in the picture ahead of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, which Cameroon will host.
Mbaizo possesses a great deal of potential and can play as either a left or right back. “I like to play on the right, but playing on the left is no problem for me,” was how he approached the question Tuesday.
He reckons he’s about 90 percent fit after the knee injury suffered in the closeddoor scrimmage with Orlando City in February — the infamous affair that landed Fafa Picault a three-match suspension. Mbaizo had been working off to the side with fellow injured defender Josh Yaro in recent weeks, but both are back to full participation in training.
The adjustment to camp has been eased by familiarity. Ayuk, whose time at Rainbow FC predated Mbaizo’s, is a teammate from the national team. Several players, including Picault and Alejandro Bedoya, are fluent in French, piercing the language barrier.
“I was really lucky to come here and find a fellow countryman,” Mbaizo said. “It’s been really great because I played with Eric for a long time, so having him here has been great. There’s Eric, there’s Fafa, a lot of other guys on the team, too.”
The only famous Philadelphian by way of Cameroon that he hasn’t touched base with yet is Sixers center Joel Embiid, though the two know each other, Mbaizo said.
He did, however, talk to Oyongo, whom he lists as a mentor. Oyongo spent four seasons in MLS, establishing himself as a regular in the Cameroon senior team, for which he has 29 caps. Mbaizo was happy to report back to Oyongo that he is following a similar trajectory at an even younger age.
“I talk to him a couple of times a week,” Mbaizo said. “He’s an inspiration for me. He’s my big brother because we played on the national team together. When I talked to him and told him I was coming to Philadelphia, he was really encouraging and told me that this was a very good team.”