EIGHT technicians from Equatorial Guinea met their nation's football hero while on a 25 week training course in Middlesbrough.

Emilio Nsue, Middlesbrough FC and Equatorial Guinea international footballer, dropped in to the TTE Technical Training Group head-quarters to help them celebrate their countries independence day.

The technicians from The Atlantic Methanol Production Company (AMPCO), were only days from finishing their training when the TTE canteen team created their traditional dishes such as Peanut Butter Chunky Chicken with Rice and Marinated Sea Bass with Avocado Sauce, to remind them of home.

Emilio Nsue made his debut in 2013 for his country and went on to captain the side during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, which took place in Equatorial Guinea. He scored the first goal of the tournament and was instrumental in helping the team finish fourth.

The Boro man, who was accompanied by teammates Carlos De Pena and Tomas Mejias, joined the group to celebrate and also presented the technicians with their ETCAL Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Processing Industry Operations, which they achieved at TTE.

He said: "I am very proud of them. I’ve never seen people from my country here on Teesside so it was a pleasure for me to see all of them, I’m very happy.

"I think they have enjoyed their time here and learnt a lot. I’m happy to be here with them on what’s a special day for us in Equatorial Guinea and that’s the main thing."

The trainees travelled more than 3,700 miles to Middlesbrough to use TTE’s specialist process pilot plant.

Steve Grant, managing director, said: "We had a great day sharing in the Independence Day celebrations and it was the icing on the cake when Emilio agreed to join us, which is testament to the importance that Middlesbrough FC places on community involvement.

"The AMPCO technicians have an impressive work ethic and have been determined to learn at every given opportunity during their stay with TTE. Our trainers speak very highly of them and they will take away a great deal of new skills and capabilities, which will benefit AMPCO significantly."

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