In the year 2006, Eyong Enoh turned 20 and had been playing in the Northern Cyprus League where he had excelled in his time in the island country after arriving from back home in Cameroon.
With thoughts of crossing over to Turkey fate had it that Mario Atkaligan arrived on holiday from South Africa and was told about 'this young African'.
Read | Yanga coach wanted in PSL, amid Chiefs option
Having heard enough about Enoh to convince him despite not even watching him in action, Atkaligan quickly dialled up his close contact Muhsin Ertugral – who was at Ajax Cape Town at the time, and a trial was arranged in the Mother City.
"I have heard to leave South African for someone to start asking about how I ended up in South Africa," Enoh laughs out loud talking to KickOff.com from his base in Amsterdam, Holland.
"I was playing in the Turkish side of Cyprus and was Player of the Season there and so it happened that his friend Mario came to visit on holidays and heard about me, so he then paid my flight and I came for trials at Ajax Cape Town.
"Obviously, you are thinking why would someone already in Europe come for trials in Africa?
"The issue was that there was no footage of me, and I had no qualms coming for trials and my goal was to use Ajax Cape Town's connection to Ajax Amsterdam because I knew of Steven Pienaar and Benni McCarthy.
"For me, coming to Cape Town meant the possibility of exposure and I knew of a few Cameroonians who had come to play in SA.
"When I got to Cape Town the president spoke about how they had missed out on John Obi Mikel after he came for trials and they hesitated and he then left for Norway and on to bigger things," says Enoh who lasted just under two years with the Urban Warriors.
The 2007/08 season was a standout for Enoh and his last in South Africa as per his plan, the move to Ajax Amsterdam happened.
"After my second season at Ajax, my mind was already fixed on taking then step and they knew it at Cape Town because Terror (Fanteni) had signed for Maccabi Haifa in Israel after we went there together.
"Maccabi had been keen on me just like English Premier League club Portsmouth who had come to do their pre-season in Cape Town and asked me to train with them.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't move to Portsmouth due to not meeting the national team caps requirements to play in the EPL.
"But then Ajax Amsterdam happened so quickly, I was surprised.
"l switched from the pressure of thinking I'm going to make it at Ajax Amsterdam to enjoying it and it just worked out well in Holland, because I won trophies there.
"My dream had always been to play in the EPL and while it did happen with the move to Fulham, (but) I didn't stay as long as I would have loved.
"My career goals had always been to play in the UEFA Champions League, the EPL, and the World Cup, and they all happened.
"Being in the EPL remains special to me to this day.
"Remember, I was the guy that came for trials at Ajax Cape Town, made use of my chance, and then moved on.
"You must understand that even in Cyprus, I was in the amateur league where the payment was just to keep body and soul together, which is why some people in Cameroon thought I had just disappeared to Europe and so people back home were surprised when I surfaced at Ajax Amsterdam.
"From where I started at a small club in Cameroon, I feel blessed that I went to two World Cups and played in the first World Cup in Africa in 2010 two years after I had left South Africa.
"In January 2008, I was in Cape Town watching Cameroon playing at the AFCON finals and two years later as part of the World Cup, that was a career highlight.
"My career took years of endurance and perseverance which is why I always say, don't be excited about people's success stories, just make sure that you always try to know the process of how they got the success.
"That leap from Ajax Cape Town to Ajax Amsterdam to the national team and the EPL was a reward for years of intense focus, hard work, and discipline," says Enoh, who also played in Turkey, Belgium, and the main league in Cyprus.