Joseph Marie Minala was born on August 24, 1996 in Yaoundé in Cameroon.
After leaving his country he moved to Rome and started playing in amateur clubs. He was noted by Lazio scouts and signed for the Biancocelesti in the summer of 2013. He became a star of the Primavera team but a fake rumour started back in his country that would harass him for the rest of his career.
How old is Minala?
A website claimed that he was 42 years of age. He certainly did look much older than 17, but that was the sign of a difficult life and he certainly moved like a youngster. There was an enquiry by the Italian Federation but nothing came of it and they certified that the age on his documentation was correct. This however would haunt him for the rest of his life. Interviewed recently by the Daily Mail, he said “I'm convinced that the age story has always held back my career”.
Career
He debuted with Lazio on April 6, 2014 in the home game against Sampdoria and at the end of the season was loaned to Bari. He then came back to Lazio who loaned him to Latina but in the winter transfer window he was again sent to Bari.
Back at Lazio in 2016, he was part of the squad but never played. In January 2017 he was sent to Salerno for six months. After he returned to Lazio at the end of the season he was again loaned to Salernitana for the 2017-18 season. He did pretty well, making 36 appearances with 3 goals but he returned to Rome.
Never really considered for any playing time at all by Simone Inzaghi in January 2019 he was loaned yet again to Salernitana for his third stint, but still did not stay on.
Back at Lazio one final time, he played a few minutes in a Coppa Italia tie before being loaned to Qingdao Huanghai in the Chinese Super League. At the end of that experience, his contract with Lazio was over and he signed for Lucchese for a season in Serie C and then was at Olbia for six months. In 2023 he moved abroad and started to play in the Latvian League with FC Liepaja but did not play much (2 appearances).
In 2023 he signed for Sliema Wanderers in the Maltese league.
With Lazio he was unlucky and the rumours on his age certainly did not help. He is a good midfield player and showed some quality with Salernitana, maybe not first tier skills, but a useful player.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
2013-14 | 3 | 3 | - |
2019-20 | 1 | - | 1 |
Total | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Sources