Feyenoord and Eerste Divisie Born in
Amsterdam of
Surinamese descent, Esajas made his debut in professional football in
1993–94 with
Feyenoord, after spending his youth years in the football schools of
Anderlecht and
Ajax. Prior to the start of the season, he was the key factor in the
Helderse affaire: Feyenoord played a
friendly match with an amateur side, the
Helderse Selectie, and during the game he knocked down opponent
Ronald Schouten, breaking his
jaw but not being eventually suspended for his actions. Esajas made his
Eredivisie debut on 24 October 1993 against Ajax, and managed to score in one of the
most prestigious clash in the Netherlands, in a 2–2 away draw. Despite this promising start he did not make it as a regular in Feyenoord's first team, and only played in five games; during his first season at
De Kuip the team
won the
Dutch Cup and,
the following campaign, he only appeared three times, while he was not used at all in
1995–96. In February 1996, he moved to
Cambuur in the
Eerste Divisie, signing until the end of the season, with the option of a further season. Upon leaving
Rotterdam, Esajas signed with
Groningen. There, he was played rarely. In the
1998–99 season, he appeared in seven matches for
Dordrecht'90, also in the second level.
Retirement and return Esajas decided to move abroad and was able to have trials at
Fiorentina and
Torino in Italy, but neither offered him a contract. He then tried to find a club in Spain, spending some time at
Mostoles,
Real Madrid Castilla and
Zamora, but did not succeed at any, thus deciding to end his career and find a regular job as a travel agent. Esajas disappeared out of the world of football for a long time, until 2004 (during this time, he also worked as a
dish washer). Upon a visit to his close friend
Clarence Seedorf, who played at
AC Milan, he spoke of his wish to return to professional football – at that time his weight was over 100 kg and he had not touched a ball in three years time. Seedorf went to club coach
Carlo Ancelotti and told him as a joke he could have a defender
for free. The manager's reaction was skeptical, but he accepted the challenge and gave Esajas the opportunity to train at
Milanello for a while; in three months time, the player lost 15 kg and in June 2004 was in footballing shape again, thus being offered a contract. When
2004–05 Serie A began, Esajas was one of Milan's last options on the bench but, in January 2005, he was given a few minutes of play for his hard work. He came on as a
substitute three minutes before time in the
Italian Cup match against
Palermo for
Massimo Ambrosini, and was even able to create a scoring opportunity for
Jon Dahl Tomasson, whose shot was saved in an eventual
2–0 home win. Subsequently, Esajas was part of the Milan squad in
Istanbul when they played and lost on
penalties to
Liverpool in the
2005 Champions League final. He did not play any more matches for the
Rossoneri, but moved to
Serie C team
Legnano instead, also representing
Lecco in that same season, before ending his career for the second and definitive time. Esajas himself described the story of his career as follows: "The incredible story of the man who made the impossible thing possible." ==Career statistics==