New Cameroon Sport Minister Ready for the Challenge

Cameroon has a new minister of sport and physical education. He is Adoum Garoua, a former athlete who played for the national volley-ball team and also defended Cameroon colours in high jump.

Adoum Garoua was Minister of Youth Affairs until his appointment on Friday 9 Dec by President Paul Biya.

He served in the Ministry of Youth and Sport as head of human resources.  He would need all the tact and expertise of an HR manager to deal with the sports sector in Cameroon, especially football.

He replaces Michel Zoa whose last act was to supervise the final rehearsal of the parade that will precede the Cup of Cameroon final between Cotonsport Garoua and Unisport du Haut Nkam (Bafang).

Adoum Garoua was also present at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium on Friday for the rehearsal but claims he wasn’t aware at the time that he would be named Minister of Sport.

He is the fourth Minister of Sport since Bidoung Mpkatt was dropped in 2004. Interestingly, Bidoung Mkpatt now returns as Adoum Garoua ‘s successor  in the Ministry of Youth.

Assou-Ekotto Speaks of Advocacy for the U.N. Millennium Campaign

Does an African football star’s job end at running after a ball and scoring goals? Cameroon’s Benoît Assou-Ekotto doesn’t think so.  The Indomitable Lions defender  believes African athletes who are lucky to become famous need to use their fame to help less privileged members of their communities beat poverty.

Assou-Ekotto is a special advocate for the U.N. Millennium Campaign which seeks to end extreme poverty by 2015. He plans to work with youths in his country, and elsewhere in Africa, with his key message being the importance of education.

The Tottenham Hotspur left-back talks about this in the following video (in French).

Of Cameroon’s additional squad list versus Senegal and Politics in Football

Cameroon has added three players – Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Joel Matip and George Elokobi – to its initial squad called to camp ahead of an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Senegal on 26 March and a friendly against Gabon three days later, a statement issued by the country’s football federation (FECAFOOT) said late on Friday.

These players are among Cameroon’smost in-form internationals and it was surprising to many that they were left out of the by the coaches. It remains to be seen if all of them respond positively to this late call-up.

However, their inclusion in the squad suggests that the coaching staff have been cowed by popular outrage and/or they (staff) have crumbled under the weight of intervention from officials and the political management of football in that west-central African country.

Javier Clemente, the Spain-born, head coach of Cameroon is known in international football circles as  being  direct to a fault, telling his players his mind and ready to pick a fight with anyone who thinks they are too big to toe the line. In keeping with that character trait he  felt he had to assert his authority by leaving out players he deemed had slighted him.

Sadly, it seems Clemente didn’t get the memo about the country he signed up to train. Football in Cameroon is more than a game for the ruling elites. It is a political tool.

The national team’s success is usually branded (in presidential speeches) as an achievement of the government in power and the team is used as an example of national unity, courage and determination as well as  a model of what can be achieved if the nation worked for a common purpose.

A political tool

When socio-political turbulence looms, the authorities play up  the greater national cause – focusing on a match, tournament, or qualification campaign – thus letting off the steam that could have exploded in the form of protests and riots against bad governance in a country where the economy has stagnated, and unemployment and inequality have risen, according to Crisis Group.

Curiously Clemente’s assistant, Francois Omam Biyick who is a former national captain and hero, may have failed to warn the Spaniard that in delicate political times as is the case now – with revolutions in the north of Africa and people tempted to replicate them in sub-Saharan Africa – sports authorities in Cameroon would not take chances on issues that could unleash discontent.

Deliberately omitting players that fans regard as vital to the squad for a must-win game is one of such issues.  The thinking in Yaounde is that there could be anger that might mutate into political protests should the team lose and/or fail to qualify for the Africa Cup as a result of such a decison.  Such a scenario happened in  the February 2008  riots that started-off as a taxi-drivers’ strike over fuel prices and veered into full scale unrest.

Political intervention in team selection is not new.

In 1990, with Cameroon struggling to build a convincing team for the World Cup in Italy  in a political context of growing discontent against the regime and calls for multi-party politics, a presidential decree got Roger Milla out of retirement and imposed him on the coaches and players of the national team.

His exploits – scoring four goals at the age of 38 – which contributed to Cameroon becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals gave the regime a two-month breather during which it tried to regroup and unleash a media campaign. The government stuffed the people with patriotic songs of unity exemplifying “the brave Lions” on State radio and TV (which were monopolies then).

Eventually, international and local pressure led the authorities to legalise multi-party politics and issue several laws on freedom of association and expression

Political manipulation doesn’t end at squad selection.

In 1993, a lacklustre Cameroon team struggled its way through the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.A. The final qualifying game was against Zimbabwe on 10 October with close to 100,000 people (according to State media), including president Paul Biya,  crammed in the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium whose official capacity is about 35,000.

Biya had been re-elected in controversial circumstances in the country’s first multi-party elections in 1992. The opposition had called for a “ghost-town” (civil disobedience –no work, not business activity, etc) on 11 October which was the anniversary of the proclamation of Biya’s victory by the Supreme Court. The operation was meant to be a protest at what the opposition considered as a “stolen electoral victory”.

Omam Biyick scored twice, and Maboang Kessack (if my memory hasn’t failed me) scored a third and Cameroon beat Zimbabwe 3-1. As the stadium and the country exploded in joyous frenzy, Biya declared 11 October a public holiday in honour of the great victory. Technically, there could be no ghost-town again since it was effectively a holiday.

More than a game

But Cameroon is not alone when it comes to using football for political gains.  From Kwame Nkrumah’s and Jerry Rawlings’ Ghana, through Mobutu Sese Seko’s Zaire to  Muammar Khadafi’s Libya, Abdoulaye Wade’s Senegal and Goodluck Johnathan’s Nigeria, football is a vital tool to those in power in Africa.

Authorities in Senegal have been using the recent run of good form by the Lions of the Teranga to shift people’s focus from a myriad of challenges rocking the country including excessive power outages, high cost of consumer goods and increased poverty,  local media have said.

The WalfAdjiri newspaper reported that Senegalese authorities are so wary of an explosion of discontent should their national team lose to Cameroon, that they promised to provide everything requested by the team coach who complained of poor lodging and logistics for the team during a recent friendly against Guinea.

This 19 March, however, civil society groups have called for a mass demonstration on the streets of Dakar to raise these issues and ask for government to tackle them. The government has authorized the protest but has warned that it would not accept any vandalism. Some youth groups are suggesting that these demonstrations would run until next Saturday’s game but that remains to be seen.

It is evident that when the national football teams of Cameroon and Senegal lock horns on the pitch of Dakar’s Leopold Sedar Senghor stadium next Saturday, the ruling elites in both countries won’t consider the encounter as a leisurely contest of 22 athletes seeking to qualify for an African Cup of Nations.

*Cameroon’s Benoît Assou-Ekotto proud to help ease plight of poor

Benoît Assou-Ekotto had a rough Tuesday night at the Stade de Suisse where he was substituted within 30 minutes of play in a Champions League play-off *game between Tottenham Hotspur (England) and  Young Boys Bernes (Switzerland). The Cameroonian wasn’t at his best but fans could at least find a place in the hearts for a multi-million footballer who is willing to donate to the less fortunate, as reported byPeter Dominiczak in the London Evening Standard.

**Today Tottenham Hotspur star Benoît Assou-Ekotto said he was moved to donate to the Dispossessed Fund after picking up a copy of the Evening Standard on the Underground and reading about the “shocking” plight of the capital’s poorest people.

The Cameroon international, who was born in Arras in the north of France, is making a significant donation to the Standard’s campaign after reading about the practice of interring bodies in communal paupers’ graves.

Speaking near his home in Canary Wharf, the Tottenham left-back hailed the £1 million fund as doing “something very special for London” and called for more to be done to help the capital’s poor. He said: “I’m proud to support the Standard’s Dispossessed campaign. It is doing something very special for London. When I picked up the newspaper and read about the kind of poverty still going on in this city, it was shocking.

“The campaign showed how some people are living in London. It was a big surprise. You don’t expect that in a city with so much. It made me so happy that Londoners want to do something about it.”

Despite his millions and a fleet of performance cars, the 26-year-old has shunned aspects of the typical Premier League footballer’s lifestyle since arriving at Tottenham in 2006.

He takes the Tube everywhere he goes in central London and is unlikely to be spotted stumbling out of a nightspot at 3am. “I love London and consider myself to be a Londoner. I take the Tube. It allows me to feel like a normal person,” he said. “I’ve always got my Oyster card with me. I live an anti-football life. I want to live like a normal person. My mother didn’t teach me to live like a star. I know how difficult it is to make money.

“It’s strange to walk around the city and see people sleeping in the streets. You shouldn’t be able to see something like that and then just go home and carry on with your life as normal. You have to do something about it.”

Assou-Ekotto’s father, David, moved to France from Cameroon as a 16-year-old boy. Although he was born in France and has a French mother, Assou-Ekotto has always considered himself to be from Cameroon and played for the national team at the World Cup. He said his background has made him acutely aware of just how important it is to help those in need.

“I’m a footballer and I earn a lot of money, but when I go back to Cameroon I see the real problems that people are facing. It made me re-evaluate my life. The Dispossessed has shown that the same type of problems still exist in London. In 2010, everybody in London should be able to live a normal life. Everybody should have a roof over their head and should be able to eat every day. It’s not happening here and that is wrong.”

Assou-Ekotto said he was astonished by the “community spirit” of Londoners who donated to the fund. “London has a very special place in my heart. When I give up football, I want to stay here,” he said. “What is most important about the campaign is the feeling of Londoners coming together to help people. I’ve never known anything like the Dispossessed happening in France. Londoners care a lot about their city and the people in it.”

Assou-Ekotto called on Londoners to continue to support the campaign. He said: “It’s important for the whole of London to support the Dispossessed. In a city that has so much, it is good that we can do something to help people with so little.”

*By the way, the game between Spurs and Young Boys finished on a 3-2 scoreline. Two Cameroonian scored in the game: Bienvenue Tsama for the Swiss team and Sebastien Bassong for the English outfit.

**This original title of this piece is:The Dispossessed: Spurs star Benoît Assou-Ekotto proud to help ease plight of poor

10 Learning points from Cameroon’s last Game in South Africa

The Lions of Cameroon have packed-out of the World Cup in South Africa after 3 defeats in a row. They are the only African team at “Africa’s World Cup” that was not able to record a single point.  Their 1-2 defeat to Holland in the last group game confirmed their inability to beat a European team in a competitive match since a 2-1 victory over Rumania in June 1990. Their only victory at a World Cup since 1990 was against Saudi Arabia in 2002 (see video below).

And did you realise that …

1. By scoring his country’s lone goal against Holland, Samuel Eto’o has been involved in all of Cameroon’s World Cup goals in 8 years. He made the assist for Patrick Mboma to score Cameroon’s goal in the 1-1 tie with Ireland in 2002 and scored the winner in the 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in that same tournament. He then scored for the Lions in the 2-1 defeats to Denmark and Holland in 2010. Simply put, without Eto’o Cameroon would have zero (0) goals in six World Cup games…
2. Aurelien Chedjou is a good midfielder and not the average central defender or laughable right full-back that his coaches at club level and the national team want him to be. He was probably the best Cameroonian on the field in Cape Town on Thursday. He recuperated the ball with punch, without useless fouls and always sought to take the game forward with short, carefully weighted passes. Though his long distance shots were not good, he clearly made everyone forget that Arsenal’s Alex Song was not on the pitch.
3. Chedjou, Stephane Mbia, Alex Song and Georges Mandjeck who were all part of World Cup squad, made up the midfield of the under 23 squad that reached the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games in 2008. Imagine those four in midfield at the same time…Add Maxim Choupo-Moting who shone in the second half of the Holland game (but was surprisingly withdrawn in favour of Idrissou) and the likes of Vincent Aboubakar, Joel Matip, Eyong Enoh, Gaetan Bong, Sebastien Bassong and Nicolas Nkoulou into the mix and one has a good foundation for Cameroon to build a strong squad in future.
4. Cameroon’s  future could be bright as seen in the glimpses of brilliant play against Holland, with short-passes, technique and movement that Patrick Mboma (now a TV pundit) compared it to football played by FC Barcelona. Mboma, however, said on French TV channel Canal+ that it takes time to build a team to successfully play in that manner especially when it is not their traditional style of play. Clearly, Cameroon cannot succeed  with short-term, quick-fix coaches and management. Maybe Le Guen could have succeeded if this was a long-term project not hinged on immediate success for socio-political reasons. Are Cameroonians (fans and politicians) ready for patient, long-haul development that might involve the absence of trophies?  Do the football officials have such vision?
5. Rigobert Song became the first African to appear at four FIFA World Cup tournaments when he came on as a late substitute versus Holland. But what image shall remain in our minds? A charismatic captain who fought to the last for his country? That of a defender who took 2 red cards in successive World Cup tournaments? Or is it that of a man struggling for pace against Arjen Robben in the action that led to the 2nd goal for the Dutch side? Le Guen showed kindness by giving him a chance to play but the Frenchman could have proceeded otherwise…Maybe he should have withdrawn Makoun instead of Nkoulou, and pushed Mbia to midfield. This would have left Rigobert Song at centre-back with Nkoulou who is used to covering the old Lion’s lack of pace. Well, that’s the past…
6. The future (at centre-back) is in the hands of Bassong and Nkoulou and it is surprising that the coach did not stick to this duo. There were many lapses in the Mbia/Nkoulou and Mbia/Rigobert Song centre-back partnerships against Holland.  The Lions were lucky that the referee didn’t give a penalty against them after Mbia clearly fouled a Dutch player towards the end of the game. He has the fighting spirit but Bassong has the positional sense of a good centre-back. All the Tottenham Hotspur man needs is confidence from managers and the public as well as time for his duo with Nkoulou to gel.
7. If the candidates to replace Rigobert Song are many, it seems harder to find a replacement for Geremi Njitap on the right flank (both offensively and defensively). Once he came on as a substitute against Japan, the pre-tournament view that Cameroon’s weakest link was the right-flank  was turned around. The weak link became the left-flank which was the entry point for all the goals conceded by the team.
8. Cameroon versus Holland was Paul Le Guen’s last game in-charge of Cameroon and he stayed true to his tradition of chopping and changing players. There were 5 players who did not start the game against Denmark. Le Guen used nearly his whole 23 man-squad in 3 matches. Only the injured Georges Mandjeck did not have the opportunity to taste the World Cup among the outfield players. Similarly, all 20 outfield players appeared for Cameroon under Le Guen at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. There was at least one different player in all 20 matches he managed from August 2009 to June 2010 (never repeating the same sqaud). In 2010 alone, he had 10 different centre-back partnerships in 13 games – Cameroon conceded 22 goals in the process.
9. Goalkeeper Souleymanou Hamidou was beaten 5 times in this competition. This simply maintained a cameroon tradition of letting-in 5 goals in the group stages of the World Cup  which they only failed to achieve in 1982 (1 goal) and 2002 (4 goals).  In 1990 they created history by being the first team with a negative goal difference (-2) to top its pool and qualify for the second round. They had been beaten 4-0 by the USSR and they won 2-1 over Rumania. In 1994, they conceded 11 (eleven) goals in 3 matches: a 2-2 draw with Sweden; 0-3 defeat to Brazil; and 1-6 thrashing in the hands of Russia. In 1998, they were beaten 3-0 by Italy and obtained two 1-1 draws with Austria and Chile.
10. In the first World Cup hosted by an African country, Cameroon, the continent’s highest ranked team at the start of the tournament, were only better than the Democratic People’s Republic of  Korea (North Korea) that conceded 12 goals and scored only 1 in 3 games.

U.S. Radio Show Speaks to Gef on Cameroon’s ouster

(click here to listen) The People’s Game – Radio Show for Saturday June 19, 2010

Today’s (Saturday’s)  show was live-to-air on our home station, KPFK Radio Los Angeles. We open with a roundtable (Alan, Jennifer, Pablo, and Fernando) that takes the temperature of the tournament then shifts to Jennifer’s commentary in today’s Guardian, which calls on FIFA to use this World Cup to combat sexual violence as it has done with racism. Then we focus on Cameroon, the first team exiled from the tournament after a 2-1 loss to Denmark. We’re joined by two bloggers, both passionate supporters of the (In)dominable Lions, to learn what went wrong for this highly-talented side: Cameroon native George Fominyen; and American Liz Hottel. Then we’re joined by the filmmakers behind a great new film, Pelada, about pick-up soccer games around the world. Luke Boughen and Gwendolyn Oxenham, accomplished players themselves, literally traveled the entire globe – and their film captures the intense joy that people from all nations spontaneously find in the game.

Indomitable Lions: Farewell day

Cameroon’s national football team will this Tuesday play an exhibition game to bid farewell to their fans before jetting-off to South Africa for the World Cup. It is a traditional game played between the 23 players selected for a tournament amidst song, drums and dance.

Many Cameroonian fans are so attached to this ceremony that they believe the team would ultimately have a poor showing if it does not play that game at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaounde. The current manager, Paul Le Guen, came under a barrage of criticism for scrapping this aspect of preparations ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Whether or not this had an effect on the Indomitable Lions’ poor showing last January is a matter for diviners and religious people to tell. Now, Paul Le Guen has been “educated” to include this tradition in his programme for the World Cup.

“We were told that it is customary for the Lions to always play an exhibition match at the stadium in Yaounde,” Le Guen told a press conference in Yaounde on Monday.

“I’ve talked to the Cameroonian members of the staff who told me it is a good thing. I also spoke with the Minister of Sport and the president of FECAFOOT (Cameroon football federation) and I acceded to their request (for this customary stop),” the Frenchman added.

HISTORY

Whereas the tradition of leaving the players of the national team to meet family and friends 2 or 3 days before departure for a tournament dates back to the early ’80s, the exhibition match became a feature only in 1998 ahead of the World Cup in France.

The then coach, Claude Le Roy, had made wholesale changes in the squad and many of the players like Samuel Ipoua, Angibeaud Nguidjol, and Lauren Etame Mayer were unknown to the fans. The idea was to play a game in which the people could identify and commune with their team.

I remember that the fans barely knew Lauren’s name but were impressed by his display – and thus referred to him as “le sept” (the N°7 – his shirt number in that game).

The match has become a tradition especially as the bulk of Cameroon’s internationals play their club football in Europe.

With at good number of players of  Le Guen’s 23 - Joel Matip, Ndy Assembe, Vincent Aboubakar –  barely joining the team and some only obtaining clearance to play for Cameroon only a week or so ago – Maxim Choupo Moting and Gael Bong; it would be an opportunity for the very demanding crowd to judge and bless them.

The team captain, Samuel Eto’o has already warned the “new” Lions, particularly Choupo-Moting his young colleague of the attack line, about the importance and pressure of this ceremon.

“I told him that the most difficult match will be played tomorrow (today) at Mfandena (the neighbourhood of the stadium) during the farewell to the public…It is at Mfandena that all happens. Here at home we are all coaches,” Eto’o said in Cameroon Tribune, the state run daily.

HISTORIC

This year’s “blessings” match, by design or coincidence, falls on 8 June – a date which has remained forever in Cameroon football history. It was on that day, 20 years ago, that the Lions  defeated Diego Maradona’s Argentina in the opening game of the FIFA World Cup in Italy and put Cameroon on the world map.

Will the current pride of Lions be inspired by the exploits of their predecessors? Will they shine line Omam Biyick whose header gave Cameroon that famous victory? Cameroon has never crossed the group stages of the World Cup since 1990 – could Samuel Eto’o and team-mates do it this time?

Eto’o threatens to abandon World Cup over row with Milla

Samuel Eto'o in green

Cameroon’s national football team captain and star player, Samuel Eto’o, says he has had to re-think if he must participate in the World Cup after former Indomitable Lions striker, Roger Milla ,said Eto’o had yet to prove his worth for his country and lacks discipline.

Roger Milla, who scored 4 goals in Cameroon’s run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1990, said in an interview on Thursday that Eto’o had given much to his clubs Barcelona and Inter Milan but had never achieved anything with Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions.

” What did he (Milla) achieve? ” Eto’o is quoted by the French news agency as saying in an interview on French TV channel Canal+Sport on Friday.  ”Finally you wonder whether these are really my countrymen. Are these really my people? Is it worth it to go to the World Cup?”, Eto’o added in a series of rhetorical questions.

It is not the first time that Milla is harsh towards Eto’o in particular and the new generation of players in general before a crucial competition. Weeks before Cameroon’s decisive qualifying game against Morocco, Milla had accused Eto’o of being a nuisance in the national squad.

“He did not win the World Cup, they played quarter-finals and what a team it was! They had one the best teams with great players in each compartment.  The fact that they (Milla) enjoyed glory at the age 40 does not gives them right to talk (like that),” Eto’o said.

Many fans expressed fear that Milla’s comments could dent Cameroon’s preparation for the World Cup and Eto’o's threats have proved that this might be the case in a context where the team’s stability and cohesion is uncertain.

The Inter Milan player had been given 8 days of holiday by the coach, Paul Le Guen, after a long season which saw him win a second treble – national league, national cup and European Champions League trophy – with Inter Milan.

CRISIS

The Indomitable Lions are supposed to play against Slovakia in a warm up match on Saturday (29 May) in Klagenfurt, Austria after which the coach plans to name the 23-man squad to travel to South Africa for the World Cup.

Confusion from Milla’s statements which another Cameroonian football legend, Joseph Antoine Bell, described as “inelegant” only add to a series of set-backs to the team’s preparations.

In fact, the team played a slack and scoreless friendly training match against Georgia on Tuesday and the coach is still unsure about the eligibility of two players, Maxim Choupo-Moting and Gaetan Bong, that he hopes to the take to the soccer tournament in June.

The players had represented Germany and France respectively at youth team level and need a FIFA waiver to compete for the homeland of the fathers. Media reports have suggested that Cameroon’s football federation (FECAFOOT) was late to start the administrative procedure to obtain the waiver.

Choupo Moting’s father (who is also a football agent) clearly explains (in French) in this audio clip how the federation officials fumbled with the procedure and reveals that the football’s world body will decide on the matter next week and expects the outcome to be favourable for Cameroon.

The FECAFOOT boss, Iya Mohamed, who promised that there would be a decision on the matter this Friday, would need to improve his association’s skills in negotiating complex issues. They have a test of their diplomatic skills  in the form of convincing Eto’o to down his boycott threats, get back to the fold and focus on success for Cameroon on African soil.

Milla attacks Eto’o again

Cameroon football legend Roger Milla has said three-time African player of the year Samuel Eto’o has not lived up to expectation for his country.

“He has given a lot to Barcelona and Inter Milan but has never proved anything with the national team,” Milla said in a story run by the French news agency (AFP).

It is the latest onslaught by the star of Cameroon’s 1990 World Cup campaign in Italy on the man widely seen to be his successor on the country’s football stage.  Last year, Milla blamed Eto’o for the confusion that reigned within the Indomitable Lions under former head coach, Otto Pfister.

He has now attributed the team’s current poor run of form on the captain – - -Samuel Eto’o.

“He maltreated the other members of the squad; something that has never happened in the national team,” Milla said in reference to rumours that Eto’o was rude to some of his team-mates in the dressing room at January’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Angola. “Cameroon is still waiting to see him act,” he added.

CONFLICT OF GENERATIONS

Eto’o, three time winner of the UEFA Champions League trophy, has not yet responded to what seems to have become a battle of generations on who is the Cameroon’s most successful footballer.

After Milla’s severe criticism of the Inter Milan player at the end of 2009, Eto’o is understood to have caused the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) to bar his boyhood hero (Milla) from the Indomitable Lions’ entourage. Milla who is an honorary chairman of FECAFOOT was not even included in the association’s delegation to the AFCON.

Roger Milla, twice African Player of the Year (1976 & 1990), won two AFCON trophies in 1984 and 1988 endeared himself with the Cameroon’s fans for his goals in key matches and most especially for his contribution at the age of 38 to the Lions’ run to the quarter-finals of the  World Cup in 1990, which remains their best performance to date in this competition.

He, however, seems to be oblivious of the fact that Eto’o has won two AFCONs in 2000 (where he scored 4 goals) and in 2002 with the Indomitable Lions; was part of the Cameroon’s  team  Olympic Gold medal winning crop in 2000 (scored a vital goal against Spain in the final and his penalty in the shoot-out that led to victory); was also decisive at the Confederations Cup in 2003 where he scored the winning goal against Brazil in a tournament where Cameroon only faltered at the final (the best African performance in a FIFA senior teams competition).

Milla, who was named Africa’s player of the past 50 years, is undoubtedly a legend who is not afraid to speak his mind. Still, to say that Cameroon’s all time highest goal scorer (43 goals in 92 appearances) who contributed 9 out of 20 goals scored by the country to qualify the team to the 2010 World Cup, has done nothing for his national team is stretching things a bit.

Eto’o's supporters say the 29-year-old has already achieved what Milla did in 42 years with the national team (bar a World Cup quarter-final).

“Milla’s first tournament victory with the national team was at the age of 32, which means if we have to strictly compare what each offered Cameroon by the age of 30 Milla cannot compare with Eto’o.  Milla was great and he should please, respect himself,” an Eto’o fan said on a Cameroon internet forum.

WORLD CUP DOUBTS

The 58-year-old Roving Ambassador also reserved a few scathing remarks for the current head coach of his darling national team, saying the Africa Cup of Nations was a disaster which does not inspire confidence for the coming World Cup.

“I didn’t agree with Paul Le Guen’s list of 30 [players short-listed for the World Cup]…  People are bitter and they doubt Le Guen,” he said.

He was more graceful about his past and how he brought some joy to Cameroonians when he scored a goal at the age of 42 when Russia trounced Cameroon 6-1 in the 1994 World Cup in the USA.

Milla also believes, his dancing by the post on every goal he scored at the World Cup (see video above) was the first and best of all time.

“It was spontaneous, I hadn’t prepared it. Now, people hop around, imitate robots, it’s all prepared stuff and nothing to do with dance.”

Cameroon’s Assou-Ekotto could be in trouble

Benoit Assou-Ekotto

Police in the United Kingdom (UK) say they are investigating an incident involving Cameroon’s  Benoit Assou-Ekotto and a supporter of his professional club ,Tottenham Hotspur.

Assou-Ekotto confronted the supporter next to the tunnel at White Hart Lane moments after the final whistle of his team’s defeat to Wolverhampton, the Guradian newspaper reported on Sunday. He had to be pulled away by the Spurs assistant manager Joe Jordan, who led him down the tunnel.

It is not clear what the supporter may have said to the 25-year-old who is expected to be  first choice left-back for the Indomitable Lions at the African Cup of Nations in Angola come January and at the World Cup in South Africa next June.

“The police are investigating an allegation of assault following yesterday’s Spurs v Wolves Premier League match at White Hart Lane. There have been no arrests,” a Police spokesman said.

It is understood that the allegation came from the supporter, who gave his version of events to security officials after the incident, as did Jordan, the Guardian reported.  Spurs are also investigating the matter and may look at CCTV footage, as the clash was not caught on camera by broadcasters covering the match, the paper said.