Eto’o Scores Twice As Anzhi Keep European Dream Alive

Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o scored twice for his Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in a 3-1 defeat of Lokomotiv Moscow which takes Anzhi to fifth place in the league with 66 points and keeps their dreams of playing in European club tournaments next season.

The fifth spot gives Anzhi the right to play the UEFA Europa league next season but the club could, mathematically, still qualify for the UEFA Champions League, as only 3 points separate them from Dinamo Moscow that is second on the standings with 69 points, with three games left to play  this season.

Anzhi, currently managed by Dutch tactician Guus Hiddink, struggled in the beginning of the final phase of the Russian league and were unable to directly compete for the title that was clinched this weekend by Zenit Petersburg.

Hiddink said his team had been fine-tuning their attacking actions for weeks and Saturday’s victory was the outcome of their homework, Fifa.com reported.

Anzhi’s captain, Eto’o, seems to have benefitted from all that training as he was involved in all of Anzhi’s three goals (Click here to watch goals) described below by Fifa.com:

“Anzhi clinched the lead in the 25th minute, when Lokomotiv defender Taras Burlak sent the ball into his own net in an attempt to clear Samuel Eto’o's right-handed cross. Six minutes later Lokomotiv captain Denis Glushakov levelled firing home from just inside the area after an Anzhi mix-up in defence.

But Eto’o netted Anzhi’s winning goal in the 64th minute, sending the ball into the net with a sharp-angled shot despite the physical presence of two Lokomotiv defenders. The Cameroonian star rounded off the scoring in injury time with his 11th goal this season, with a close-range shot.”

Cameroon’s Song Praised after Arsenal beat Manchester City

English pundits have been full of praise for Cameroon’s Alex Song for his commanding performance in midfield when Arsenal beat Manchester City 1-0 in a crunch English Premier League duel on Sunday.

Here is what David Pleat, a former Tottenham Hotspur manager, wrote in his column for The Guardian:

“A feature of Arsenal’s improvement has been the combination play of the three midfield men and here Alex Song, the most powerful of midfield bases, led the charge.”

Pleat added:

“When Song drives forward he invariably seeks his side’s goalscorer, Robin van Persie, curving lofted passes into his path. There was a time when he was considered purely a “Makelele type”, sitting in front of his centre-backs, cutting out danger. He began his career at Arsenal as a centre-back, where few staff members considered him first-team material. Arsène Wenger had faith and he is seeing the fruits of his outstanding judgment.”

Pleat concluded that:

“Song, one of the Premier League’s most underrated players, hit all the right notes while his team-mates have proved conclusively to City that money cannot buy you love. There is a feeling about Arsenal that translates into tenacious harmony.”

Victory takes Arsenal to third in the league, two points clear of Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s Tottenham Hotspur. If Arsenal hold on to that spot, they’d automatically qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

However, the contest between the London rivals that feature two of Cameroon’s best acts of the European season (Song and Assou-Ekotto), still has some way to go with six games left.

Read David Pleat’s full match analysis here.

Ten Points about Assou-Ekotto’s Saga with Cameroon

British TV pundits praised Benoit Assou-Ekotto for his consistency at Tottenham Hotspur after the Cameroonian contributed to his club’s  2-0 defeat of Aston Villa on Monday.

Assou-Ekotto (with a new hairdo) didn’t look perturbed by news that the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) had summoned him to appear at a disciplinary hearing this week, for failing to join Cameroon’s national team at a camp in Morocco.

Has he ditched playing for Cameroon since February as a Douala-based TV station, Equinoxe TV, said on Monday? That story seems to be making the rounds in the  media.

But the facts of the story don’t match reality. If Assou-Ekotto ditched the Indomitable Lions since February (!!?), was it his clone that I saw playing at leftback  against Senegal on 26 March 2011?

Assou-Ekotto is second from left among players crouching as Cameroon players pose before playing Senegal in Dakar on 26 March 2011. Or was it his clone?

Who knows? The administrative hassles and unprofessional organisation surrounding the Lions could push the player into early retirement like Lauren Etame did in 2002. But it would seem (for now) that it was  Javier Clemente who sidelined the player for months. Here’s a timeline of events:

1. In February, Javier Clemente (then Cameroon head coach) does not pick Assou-Ekotto for a friendly against Macedonia. After some players fail to turn-up, the Spaniard hastily recalls the leftback. Assou-Ekotto does not respond to the call.

2. In March, Clemente does not select the leftback for the crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Senegal in Dakar.There is  criticism from the media, the fans, Fecafoot and Ministry of Sports officials. Reports say the coach feels undermined by the player’s refusal to come as a back-up in February. When it appears that Clemente’s preferred leftback Gaetan Bong is injured, the coach is seemingly pressured to recall Assou-Ekotto.

3. The player joins the Lions’ camp in Portugal and eventually plays against Senegal. The media in Senegal describe him as Ca meroon’s man of the match alongside midfielders Landry N’Geumo and Enoh Eyong.

4. In May Assou-Ekotto is picked by the national team trainer for the return-leg game against Senegal but he does not travel to Yaounde. N.B: The player was recovering from an injury sustained days before the game.

5. After the 0-0 draw that basically knocked Cameroon out of the race to qualify for the Africa Cup in 2012, Fecafoot summons Assou-Ekotto to a disciplinary hearing for not appearing for that game. The player does not physically appear for the hearing but reportedly forwards documents explaining he was injured.  The committee issues a warning.  The rule book says injured players must have their injuries confirmed/examined by the national team doctor.

6. In August, ahead of a supposed friendly against Salvador, Clemente does not name Assou-Ekotto in his squad. The match fails to hold, though.

7. In September, Clemente names the squad for the qualifier against Mauritius in Yaounde and a friendly (that did not hold) against Mexico in Paris but Assou-Ekotto is not selected. When pressed on local TV, Francois Omam-Biyick the then deputy head coach says Clemente is still angry about Assou-Ekotto’s failure to appear for the game against Senegal in June. Omam says, the head coach views such behaviour as  indiscipline.

8. In October,  Clemente selects the squad for the final Africa Cup qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo and a friendly against Equatorial Guinea but does not pick Assou-Ekotto.

9. With Clemente and his whole backroom staff sacked after the game against Equatorial Guinea, his successor Denis Lavagne names Assou-Ekotto in a team of 28 players for a series of friendlies in North Africa (versus Sudan, Morocco and Algeria).

10. Assou-Ekotto and several other players fail to make it to the camp in Marrakech in early November. The head coach Lavagne says Assou-Ekotto was injured.

“He (Assou-Ekotto) called that he was injured and that’s a shame because it is the third left-back who is injured,” Lavagne told Camfoot.com

Why then is Assou-Ekotto being dragged to the disciplinary council? Did the coach lie to the journalists? Is Assou-Ekotto charged for not showing up to have the team doctor to confirm his injury as Aurelien Chedjou and Nicolas Nkoulou did?

Why have Fecafoot not summoned Somen Tchoyi and Benjamin Moukandjo who were also reportedly injured but did not travel to Marrakesh?

Eto’o Fires Anzhi into Russian League Play-offs

Eto'o is said to earn €20 million a year to play for Anzhi

Samuel Eto’o scored the winner in Anzhi Makhachkala’s 2-1 defeat of Amkar Perm in the Russian Premier League on Saturday. The win means Anzhi will finish among the top eight teams of the league with an opportunity to compete in the play-offs that will decide the Champions of Russia.

The Russian top flight is organised in two phases – a regular season involving 16 teams and play-offs involving the teams that finish in the top eight positions during the regular season.

The Cameroonian scored barely nine minutes before the end of the game in which Yuri Zhirkov had obtained the curtain-raiser for Anzhi. Amkar’s forward, Ilya Mikhalev scored in injury time but it was too late.

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Cameroon Weekend Review: Matip Scores, Eto’o off to Russia

Cameroon’s Joel Matip scored on Sunday (21 August) for his club in the German Bundesliga but that hasn’t made headlines in a weekend where the name Cameroon has mainly been associated to Samuel Eto’o's big money move to Russia’s Anzhi Makhachkal.

Eto’o will certainly keep making the headlines in the coming week, as he finally signs the contract that would see him earn 20 million euros and become the world’s best-paid footballer. But we prefer to focus on the Cameroon internationals who have been in action across Europe.

Eto'o (9), Bedimo (12), Chedjou (14) are mentioned in this week's review

German Bundesliga:

Joel Matip contributed to Shalke 04′s fantastic come-back from two goals down to beat Mainz 4-2 on Sunday. Matip started as one of the two central midfielders in Shalke’s 4-2-3-1 formation. He scored the third goal for Shalke at the 81st minute of play. Cameroon’s head coach Javier Clemente who has consistently refused to select Matip says the youngster is not mobile enough and is more for the future than the present.

Eric Maxim Choupo Moting came on as a second half substitute for Mainz but he was not able to repeat last week’s performance where he scored for his new club. However, Cameroon national team coaches should be happy to see him having regular game time.

Marcel Ndjeng started and played 83 minutes for Augusburg in their 2-0 defeat to Hoffenheim. Ndjeng has not been called up for the Lions since the 1-1 draw with the DRC in October 2010.

France: 

Nicolas Nkoulou played the full 90 minutes at the heart of Olympic Marseille’s defence in their goalless draw with AS St.Etienne. He was calm and assured and made some good long passes to his strike partners.

Henri Bedimo started at leftback for Montpellier when they beat Rennes 4-0 to go top of the French Ligue 1 standings. Georges Mandjeck started in central midfield for Rennes and played the whole game. Mandjeck last featured for the Lions as a second-half substitute against Senegal in Dakar last March.

Moukandjo Bile started his first game for Nancy this weekend after a move from Monaco at the start of the week. Nancy lost 1-2 to Sochaux and Moukandjo was substituted after an hour. He was replaced by another Cameroonian – Alo’o Efoulou who has not been selected for the Lions for about 18 months.

Lille beat Caen 2-1 with Aurelien Chedjou playing at right-back for the French Champions. Chedjou has been playing in central midfield for Cameroon since the World Cup in South Africa but normally plays as a central defender for Lille. For how long would he be deployed at right-back and how would that affect his game?

Landry Nguemo started as the sole holding midfielder in Bordeaux’s diamond formation as they drew 1-1 with Auxerre. Gaetan Bong played at left-back for Valencienne in their 1-2 defeat away to Paris St. Germain.

Switzerland: 

Henri Bienvenue Tsama came on at half-time but could not save his Young Boys Berne side from a 2-0 defeat in the hands of FC Thun. Chris Mbondi, U-20 international, came on as a 49th minute substitute for FC Sion as they beat Lausanne Sport 2-0.

England: 

Somen Tchoyi started again as a second striker for West Bromwich Albion against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday. The Cameroonian worked very hard but his team were beaten 2-1 by their West London hosts. Tchoyi was substituted after 75 minutes.

George Elokobi came on as a very late substitute (90th minute) for Wolverhampton Wanderers as they beat Fulham 2-0.

Aston Villa defeated Blackburn Rovers 3-1 but Cameroon’s Jean Makoun watched from the bench throughout the game. Alex Song started his 3 match ban after stamping on Joey Barton last week and was thus absent from Arsenal’s 0-2 defeat to Liverpool.

This Monday Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastien Bassong’s Tottenham Hotspur travel to Manchester to face the Premier League Champions. (We’ll update once the game is over).

[An audio review of Cameroonian performances in Europe is available of you click here]

Samuel Eto’o “Should Go” to Anzhi Makhachkala – ESPN Pundit

Samuel Eto'o has to choose between €20 million in Dagestan and Inter Milan

Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o should accept a big-money offer by Dagestan-based club Anzhi Makhachkala and leave Inter Milan (Italy),  a football (soccer) pundit at U.S.-based TV channel ESPN has said.

“I think he should go if that money is true,” Janusz Michallik said on ESPN Soccernet Press Pass.

Anzhi Makhachkala is offering to pay Eto’o 20 million euros net (i.e after tax) yearly for three years if he accepts to join the club that is owned by billionaire, Suleyman Kerimov, and  plays in the Russian Premier League.

Michallik said nobody would begrudge the three times winner of the European Champions League, four times African Player of the Year, Olympic Gold Medal and twice Africa Cup winner with Cameroon, for leaving if such money is on offer.

“He’s been a great servant of the game, he’s won just about everything there is to be won,” he said.

Although negotiations are underway between Eto’o's current employers Inter Milan and the Russian club, the striker mentioned a possible move to England at a press conference over the weekend in his native Cameroon.

The local media have been quick to interpret that as a suggestion that Eto’o could be involved in a move to Manchester City which would see Carlos Tevez moving in the other direction.

Eto’o's home fan-base is split over the issue. There are those who think the Russioan proposal is too good to be dropped given that the striker has already had as much success as he would want (apart from the World Cup).

Others would like to see their national team captain stay in western Europe playing in a more competitive league such as the English Premier League.

However, England-based journalist Gabrielle Marcotti thinks Eto’o only has two choices now – either go to Russia or stay with Inter in Italy. He argued that a move to Manchester City was unlikely as the English club (though extremely rich) would struggle to match the wages promised by the Russian club given the high tax rates in the U.K.

“The money is 20 million euros net. Now if Manchester City wanted to pay him that much…with the 50 percent tax rate here in England they’d have to offer 40 million euros which is £37 million which is about $55 million and that would be for 3 years,” Marcotti explained on ESPN Soccernet Press Pass.

“Samuel Eto’o would become the highest paid athlete in the world bar none,” Marcotti added.

Until a deal is settled in the days ahead, speculation would continue over the future of the 30-year-old Cameroonian who still hopes to feature at the 2014 World Cup  in Brazil.

[Click here to watch the 15 August Edition of ESPN Soccernet Press Pass on which the issue was discussed. You would have to wait (or fast-forward) until 44 mins 52 secs for discussion on Eto'o to start.]

Cameroon’s Tchoyi Commended but Manchester United beat West Brom

Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson has praised the Cameroon international Somen Tchoyi for giving the reigning English Champions a tough test in their 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion (WBA) on Sunday.

“The lad Tchoyi gave us a bit of trouble,” Ferguson said after the match.

The 1.90m Tchoyi, playing as a support striker, worked the United defence for long spells in the game as he tussled with central defenders Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand and imposed himself physically.

Somen on the right of this photo warms-up before a Cameroon game

He started the move that led to WBA’s equaliser by overpowering United’s young Brazilian fullback Fabio to recover lost possession at the edge of the Champions’ 18-yard. His strike partner Shane Long then finished the move with a shot that should have been stopped on another day by United’s keeper, David De Gea.

Tchoyi also impressed with his good –short and long range – passing and his willingness to take on defenders using speed and tricky dribbles.

The tactics used by Roy Hodgson, the WBA manager, allowed the Cameroonian to drop into his natural central midfield position and come from deep to occupy the space between the lone striker and the other midfielders in order to dictate play. He was also free to go wide to whip in crosses.

The former Liverpool manager praised both his attackers for putting pressure on United and regretted that they lost the game.

“I thought his (Long’s) performance in general was very good as was Tchoyi’s,” Hodgson said after the game.

It’s unfortunate that most Indomitable Lions managers have hardly thought of playing Tchoyi as an attacking central midfielder or a second striker which are (in my opinion) the positions where he is most effective. He is often used as a winger or wide attacker (in a front three).

Song Stamps Reputation

The former Union Douala player’s performance certainly paints a better picture of Cameroonian footballers than the temperamental display from Alex Song for Arsenal in their goalless draw with Newcastle United on Saturday.

Song played admirably well as a midfield sweeper in-front of Arsenal’s back-four but for some reason decided to stamp on Joey Barton after a challenge. Barton may not be most people’s best friend  (as confirmed by his role in the confrontation that led to Ivory Coast’s Gervinho being sent-off) but there was absolutely no excuse for Song to stamp on the Englishman’s leg.

The defensive midfielder who hasn’t played for Cameroon since the 2010 World Cup may be suspended if the English Football Association decides to use video evidence against him.

Meanwhile, George Elokobi came on as a late substitute for Wolverhampton Wanderers in their 2-1 away win over Blackburn Rovers.

The other Cameroonians operating in the English Premier League were absent on the first day of the new season. Sebastien Bassong and Benoit Assou-Ekotto could not play because Tottenham’s fixture against Everton was postponed following rioting in London.  Jean Makoun was left on the bench by Aston Villa in the Birmigham club’s goalless draw with Fulham.

Matip Scores as Shalke Trounces Eto’o's Inter in Champions League

Joel Matip is the only Cameroon international who came out smiling after Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League quarter-finals as his German Bundesliga team thrashed reigning European Champions, Inter Milan, 5-2, with the teenager scoring.

Matip played in central defence for Shalke 04 (as Gef’s Football Club had said) and not only contributed to prevent Samuel Eto’o from scoring, but also pushed up front to score an equaliser from a corner-kick in the 17th minute of play. Inter Milan had snatched the curtain-raiser through a Dejan Stankovic master-stroke barely 30 seconds into play.

Diego Milito took the Italian and European Champions ahead (2-1) but Matip and Shalke 04 did not give up. They equalised and managed to score three more goals.

Eto’o and his Inter Milan team-mates would have to score 4 goals without conceding any in Germany in a fortnight to bar Shalke from reaching the semi-final. The Cameroon captain who shot blanks in this encounter would have to produce the magic he displayed in Munich last month against Bayern to dig his club out of this one.

In the meantime, it is still bewildering that Cameroon’s Spanish-born coach thinks Matip is not worth a call-up given the boy’s versatility and competitiveness. Nurtured as a central midfielder, Matip has played this season as a centre-back (that was the case on Tuesday), right-back and even right-winger. He may not be full of muscle but he is calm, clean, good with the ball and effective.

In the other first-leg quarter final game, Benoît Assou-Ekotto, another player who seemed to be overlooked by the Cameroon manager until authorities intervened, was also defending his club colours on Tuesday. Sadly his team, Tottenham  Hotspur, were handed a soand whipping in Spain where they lost 4-0 to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid were better in most of the sectors and though Assou-Ekotto showed few moments of brilliance, the overall Spurs display was dismal and they deserved to lose. They need to beat Real by a five goal margin on the return-leg  to go through.

Sebastien Bassong, the other Cameroon international who plays for the north London team, came in at the 80th minute of play. The manager had preferred Frenchman Gallas in the centre of defence from the start. He may be regretting that decision after watching Real’s Togolese striker, Emmanuel Adebayor out-jump Gallas to score his brace.

Not a night of greatness for Cameroon’s representatives in the UEFA Champions league then – except for Joel Matip, of course.

Eto’o v Matip in European Champions League Quarter-finals

Football fans in Cameroon enjoy Europe’s elite club competition, the Champions League, but they will have particular interest in next month’s quarter-finals as Samuel Eto’o's Inter Milan (Italy)  have been drawn against Joel Matip’s Shalke 04 (Germany).

Many are expecting Eto’o, Cameroon’s captain, to continue firing on all cylinders as was the case in the eigth final game against FC Bayern Munich (Germany) when he scored once and made two assists to qualify his club. He is the joint leading scorer in the tournament.

However, the young Matip (not called up for Cameroon v Senegal) has been improving in his role as a midfield defensive maestro. He also plays as a central defender which means he may end up being the one to hold his national team captain in check.

Hopefully, Javier Clemente, the Indomitable Lions’ manager and his assistant Omam Biyick will be watching that game to note that Matip is as good as (if not better than) some of the players regularly selected for Cameroon these days.

The first-leg takes place in Italy on 5 April and the second leg in Germany on 13 April.

Another fixture of interest to Cameroonians following Friday’s draw will be the Tottenham Hotspur (England) versus Real Madrid (Spain) games.

Two Indomitable Lions play for Spurs: Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastien Bassong. Whereas the left-back (Assou-Ekotto) starts every game for the north Londoners (except he’s injured or suspended), the centre-back (Bassong) has had  tough competition from several world class defenders playing in his position.

It will surely be exciting to see Assou-Ekotto sprinting and dribbling down that left flank as has been most often the case this season. The first leg- will be at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on 5 April and the return leg on 13 April at White Hart Lane, London.

The other fixtures include a spectacular clash between FC Barcelona (Spain) and Shaktar Doniesk (Ukraine). Both teams are stylish, prefer an attacking  game and score lots of goals.

The all-English contest between Manchester United and Chelsea FC is already providing several blogs from the country’s football observers. Both teams met in the 2008 final of the competition won by United after post-match penalty kicks.