Football icon Mo Idrissou: from football star to entrepreneur, with Karl Lagerfeld as a mentor
Mo Idrissou, a former Bundesliga professional, Cameroon international and World Cup participant, talks to Reza Mehman about his career at Freiburg, Hannover and Gladbach, how Karl Lagerfeld became his mentor and what football and entrepreneurship have in common.
This translation preserves the original article and its transcript section, published on 17 November 2025. Time references relate to that discussion. The coach called “Philipp Magath” in the original is Felix Magath; his first name has been corrected here.
Mo Idrissou: football, fashion and entrepreneurship
Mo Idrissou is a true football icon: a professional at Freiburg, Hannover, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Kaiserslautern, a World Cup participant with Cameroon and an Africa Cup of Nations player. Then came Karl Lagerfeld as a mentor, his own store in Paris and business ventures in Germany. Reza Mehman talks to Mo about his extraordinary career, from an Islamic school in Cameroon where he was not allowed to play football to the Bundesliga and fashion. Mo’s message: “Fear is just an excuse. If others can do it, why can’t you?”
Summary
One-sentence version: Mo Idrissou, a Bundesliga professional, World Cup participant and Karl Lagerfeld protégé, talks about football, fashion and entrepreneurship.
Three-sentence version: Mo Idrissou grew up in Cameroon and was not allowed to play football at his Islamic school. Nevertheless, he became a professional at Freiburg, Hannover, Gladbach and Kaiserslautern. After his football career, Karl Lagerfeld became his mentor, and he now has his own store in Paris.
Five-sentence version: Mo Idrissou grew up in Cameroon and was not allowed to play football at his Islamic school, yet his talent was discovered. He went on to play for Freiburg, Hannover, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Kaiserslautern, representing Cameroon at World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. After his football career, Karl Lagerfeld became his mentor, and he now has his own store in Paris. Mo’s philosophy: “Football is a combat sport: either you can do it or you can’t.” And: “Fear is just an excuse. If others can do it, why can’t you?”
Context: who, what and why
Who is speaking: Reza Mehman and Mo Idrissou, a former Bundesliga professional and entrepreneur.
What it is about: Mo Idrissou’s career as a footballer and entrepreneur, from Cameroon via the Bundesliga to Karl Lagerfeld and his own store in Paris.
Why it matters: Mo Idrissou is an example of extraordinary resilience, progressing from an Islamic school in Cameroon where he could not play football to the Bundesliga and fashion.
Three central questions in this episode:
- How did Mo Idrissou become a Bundesliga professional despite the obstacles?
- How did Karl Lagerfeld become his mentor?
- What connects football and entrepreneurship?
Contents
- Introduction
- Summary
- Context
- Topics and analysis
- Key points
- Frequently asked questions
- Selected quotes
- The conversation: transcript from the original article
- Keywords
- Names and terms
- Passage for quotation
Topics and analysis
1. From Cameroon to the Bundesliga
Mo grew up in Cameroon and was not allowed to play football at his Islamic school. His talent was discovered nonetheless, and he played for Eintracht, Duisburg, Freiburg, Hannover, Gladbach and Kaiserslautern.
Keywords: Cameroon, Islamic school, Bundesliga, Freiburg, Hannover, Gladbach, Kaiserslautern
2. Football as a combat sport
Mo says: “Football is a combat sport: either you can do it or you can’t.” He was known as the hungriest player on the pitch because he hated losing the ball.
Keywords: combat sport, hunger, will to win, Bundesliga, striker
3. Karl Lagerfeld as a mentor
After his football career, Karl Lagerfeld became his mentor. Mo learned from Lagerfeld and now has his own store in Paris.
Keywords: Karl Lagerfeld, mentor, fashion, Paris, store, entrepreneurship
4. Fear is an excuse
Mo says: “Fear is just an excuse. If others can do it, why can’t you?” He puts pressure on himself: that is his formula for success.
Keywords: fear, excuse, success, courage, entrepreneurship
Key points
- Mo Idrissou was not allowed to play football at his Islamic school in Cameroon.
- His German professional career included Eintracht, Duisburg, Freiburg, Hannover, Gladbach and Kaiserslautern.
- He represented Cameroon at World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
- Mo says: “Football is a combat sport: either you can do it or you can’t.”
- He was known as the hungriest player on the pitch: he hated losing the ball.
- He turned down a contract with Schalke 04 under Felix Magath after paparazzi exposed the negotiations.
- After his football career, Karl Lagerfeld became his mentor.
- Mo also now has his own store in Paris.
- Mo says: “Fear is just an excuse. If others can do it, why can’t you?”
- Mo says: “If you are healthy, you can achieve anything.”
Frequently asked questions
Who is Mo Idrissou?
Mo Idrissou is a former Bundesliga professional from Cameroon. His clubs included Eintracht Frankfurt, MSV Duisburg, SC Freiburg, Hannover 96, Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He also represented Cameroon at World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. After his football career, Karl Lagerfeld became his mentor, and he now has his own fashion store in Paris.
How did Karl Lagerfeld become Mo Idrissou’s mentor?
Mo Idrissou moved from his football career into fashion. Karl Lagerfeld became his mentor. Mo learned from him and eventually opened his own store in Paris. He is also trying to expand his activities in Germany.
What connects football and entrepreneurship, according to Mo Idrissou?
Mo Idrissou says: “Football is a combat sport: either you can do it or you can’t.” For him, this also applies to entrepreneurship. His formula for success is to put pressure on himself, pursue goals to the end and reject fear as an excuse. “If others can do it, why can’t you?”
Why was Mo Idrissou not allowed to play football in Cameroon?
Mo Idrissou is Muslim and attended an Islamic school in Cameroon. Football was not allowed at that school, while children at other schools played. That was very difficult for eight-year-old Mo. Nevertheless, his talent was discovered and he made his way to the Bundesliga.
Selected quotes
“Football is a combat sport: either you can do it or you can’t.”
— Mo Idrissou
“Fear is just an excuse. If others can do it, why can’t you?”
— Mo Idrissou
“If you are healthy, you can achieve anything.”
— Mo Idrissou
“I am the hungriest player on the pitch. I hate losing the ball.”
— Mo Idrissou on his playing style
“I have a goal, and I have to see that goal through to the end.”
— Mo Idrissou on his mindset
The conversation: transcript from the original article
Introduction: Mo Idrissou, football icon and entrepreneur
Reza Mehman:
I would now like to invite someone to the front whom I met recently: Mo Idrissou. I have to say, Mo is a very, very nice person who can also be difficult. You are a former professional footballer, and what is interesting is that you were very successful at what you did. Now you are moving into entrepreneurship. You learned from Karl Lagerfeld, have your own store in Paris and are trying to do a little more in Germany, too. Mo, when I think about all the clubs you have played for, it is incredible. You were at Eintracht, Duisburg, Freiburg, Hannover for a long time and Kaiserslautern. Those are top clubs. You represented Cameroon at World Cup tournaments and played at Africa Cups, and so on.
From Cameroon to the Bundesliga
Reza Mehman:
The first question I asked myself was this. I did a little research about you, of course, and you said on another podcast that you were discovered as a footballer in Cameroon. Could you briefly tell us about that? How old were you, and when did you start playing football? I think you were not even allowed to play football at your school, if I understood correctly.
Mo Idrissou:
Hello, and thank you. Back then, things were a little difficult for our family. I am Muslim, and at the time there were Christian and Muslim schools. We were only allowed to attend the Muslim schools, and at those schools people did not play football. You were not allowed to play football at the Islamic school. The children asked why: they are playing football, and we are all at school, but they get to play and we do not. That sounds unfair. Children do not understand it. I was already eight years old. Every little child, as you can see here, runs after a ball. But we were not allowed to do that. It was so difficult for me to see other children playing football.
Football as a combat sport and a mindset
Mo Idrissou:
At that time, I always had to remember where I came from and how I got there. My own mother did not want me to play football, but she did not know what would come of it in the end. I hate it when I fail to achieve my goal. I have a goal, and I have to see it through to the end. There were clubs I turned down. Why should I go there when I had not achieved my goal in Freiburg? I had promised them: I am here, and I will get this done.
Mo Idrissou:
Football is a combat sport: either you can do it or you can’t. Everyone wants to win. No team comes here simply to lose and go home. If you are a footballer, you lose and it does not bother you, then you have not loved football.
Fear is an excuse
Reza Mehman:
What was actually the biggest challenge for you in going from footballer to entrepreneur? What was the hardest part?
Mo Idrissou:
The way I see it, it is not difficult. Nothing in life is difficult. If you keep saying things are difficult, I have to look at how many people have achieved it before me. Why not me? Difficulty is just a matter of mindset. Everything is simple. Fear is just an excuse. Fear is just an excuse. I have courage. If others can do it, why can’t you? Then you have to work on yourself. That is why I cannot say I am afraid. You are happy to be healthy. If you are healthy, you can achieve anything. Everything others achieve, you can achieve, too.
Keywords
Tags: Mo Idrissou, football, Bundesliga, Cameroon, World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, Karl Lagerfeld, fashion, Paris, entrepreneurship, Freiburg, Hannover, Gladbach, Kaiserslautern, Reza Mehman
Names and terms
Mo Idrissou, Reza Mehman, Bundesliga, Cameroon, World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, Karl Lagerfeld, fashion, Paris, store, entrepreneurship, SC Freiburg, Hannover 96, Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, MSV Duisburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, Schalke 04, Felix Magath, Robin Dutt, Ralf Rangnick
Passage for quotation
Mo Idrissou: Bundesliga professional, World Cup participant, Karl Lagerfeld protégé and entrepreneur.
From an Islamic school in Cameroon where he was not allowed to play football to the Bundesliga.
“Football is a combat sport: either you can do it or you can’t.”
“Fear is just an excuse. If others can do it, why can’t you?”
“If you are healthy, you can achieve anything.”
Find more conversations about performance and personal development on the Reza Mehman Podcast page.
[…] For another conversation about sport and entrepreneurship, read episode 154 with Mo Idrissou. […]