Stephen Tataw Eta is a Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

ian former football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 defender

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 who captained the Cameroon national team

Cameroon national football team

The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...

 at the 1990 FIFA World Cup

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

.

At the club level, he played with Tonnerre Yaounde

Tonnerre Yaoundé

Tonnerre Kalara Club of Yaoundé are a football club based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The club was most prominent during the 1980s, winning all of their 5 national championship during the decade. They have also won the national cup 5 times...

 from 1988 to 1991, and for Olympic Mvolyé

Olympic Mvolyé

Olympic Mvolyé, also known as Olympique Mvolyé, is a Cameroonian football club based in Mvolyé.Olympic enjoyed some success in the mid-to-late 1990s as they won the Cameroonian Cup twice in 1992 and 1994 and then went on to compete in Elite One, the country's top level, from 1997 to 2001.They also...

 from 1992 to 1994. He then joined Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese side Tosu Futures

Sagan Tosu

is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 2. The team is located in Tosu, Saga Prefecture.Sagan is a coined word with a couple of meanings behind it. One of its homophones is in Japanese. This symbolises many small elements uniting to form one...

 where many viewed him as the first African-born professional player in Japan. While he was in Japan, he unsuccessfully tried to guide his club to the J-League, the top division.

He is probably best remembered as the captain of Cameroon

Cameroon national football team

The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...

 during their historical run at the 1990 FIFA World Cup

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

, where the team became the first African nation to reach quarterfinals.