Lions of Cameroon: Indomitable or Vulnerable?

By Innocent Chia

It was a jostle, but a jostle all the same, by the Togolese flying Hawks led by Arsenal star Adebayor that brought the Lions of Cameroon to bended knee. The defeat put the team on an official losing streak, including the 0-1 loss to Egyptian Pharaohs at the African Cup of Nations in February of 2008. Among several disturbing facts about the collection of stars that is yet to jell as a team, consider this fact: It has gone scoreless in both games, in spite fielding Europe’s top scorer in the person of Eto’o Fils.

Will the foursome that has been charged with coaching the team turn a new leaf or, is this all old wine in new wine skin? Will there be any air left to breathe in the room after it is filled up by their respective egos? How about the players? Will the coaches work with what they have and use it as leverage to blame Otto Pfister who had had enough of Cameroon’s baloney?

The easy thing to do is get up on Monday morning and play the blame game on what the coach and players could have and should have done to secure a W. But I elect to take the route least traveled by my peers. I will put myself on your crucible and have you crucify me for making outrageous statements about your beloved Indomitable Lions. And I hope to your better judgment that you suck up the truth and face this reality: 

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are not going to qualify for the 2010 World Cup games in South Africa, just like they were absent in 2006. 

Take my word to the bank and cash it or call me a sorcerer. The demise of the Lions has been long in the making. It is a team that has been operating on the cuff. It has had the nation and fans across the world sitting on the edge of the seat with fingers crossed and not knowing whether the team will come to play or to be played.

With countdown to the next World Cup qualifier against Morocco at less than 48 hours, the team is yet to play any friendly game that will ascertain player readiness. It may be argued by fanatics and other optimists that these are all professionals and need not go through all that…I will call your attention to one of the best run leagues, the NBA and how it worked hard to put together the Redeem team that handily won the Gold medal at the August 2008 China Olympics. It took a lot of camping and training. 

To add injury to a festering wound, Otto Pfister abandoned ship at Sea with a selection in training in Belgium. Many Cameroonians are jubilating over the fact that he got the clear signal that he was no longer wanted when, without consulting him, other officials were added to his technical staff. Let us skip the disrespect. What leverage has a local national coach ever had in Cameroon? 

Thomas Nkono, the interim coach now tasked with the tall order of qualifying the team for the World Cup in 2010 and the African Cup of nations the same year, has been bringing his world class goalkeeping experience to Kameni and the rest of the keepers. He is a specialist who has been called upon to be a generalist. Have his years on the bench, listening to and watching other coaches, taught him the lessons that he needs at this juncture?

Some memories are fresh of the arrest of Thomas Nkono on allegations of carrying the gri-gri bag of the Lions several years ago in 2002 at the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations with Mali. If true, he may need his own black magic carrier to help him with his new challenge. If his selection is based on his cool, the press has witnessed his wrath as he seized the cell phones of some journalists that were filming Eto’o head butting another reporter in 2008. While Eto,o later apologized, some have claimed that the reaction of Thomas Nkono was like that of a chicken guarding their chicks against vultures. Jean Paul Akono is definitely a hotheaded one. Of all the local coaches he has the most to show for: Cameroon’s first ever Olympic Gold medal that he brought back home in 2000, following Cameroon’s shootout victory against Spain in Australia. It is however to be noted that Akono, in a bid to taste international waters, was also fired by a Chadian squad that is not particularly known for its soccer prowess. Michel Kaham has not coached the national team prior to this call. But the stoic ex defender, who was never short handed at the midfield, has coached the local Division one clubs, albeit with mixed results, in Cameroon’s Littoral and West Provinces. There is very little that I have been able to gather about Martin Ndtoungou, another one of the assistant coaches. But his soccer roots go a long way, including coaching assignments back in the day at the University of Yaounde. But I am left to wonder what he will be responsible for. Will he be the offensive guru or who will harness a lethal offensive strategy for the Lions? There is no doubt, for all the backdoor negotiations that define the scenic view of Cameroon, that the foursome is a compromise decision. It then begs the question who is pulling the strings behind? Also, who will pay allegiance to whom for their appointment to the foursome? What effect will this have on the field and on the players? It will be a wonderful thing for these personalities to set aside their egos and work for the common good. That, however, is a tall order in the world of Cameroon soccer. It is a World where the Government and the Federation have no defined barriers. FIFA has had to step in to referee the slash throat politics between both parties. The Government of Cameroon has no problem meddling in the business of FECEFOOT, the Cameroon Football Authority. FECAFOOT wants independence but has shown no ability to handle the responsibilities and obligations that ride along with their rights and privileges. All it is ever interested in is managing the money. Local soccer fields look like land mines with hills and valleys separating goal posts. The green is brown red dust or seasonal mud. Teams drive away from the play ground at halftime because there are no dressing rooms or restrooms. There are no facilities. It is a blame game as to who is responsible for what. FECAFOOT has its fingers pointed at the Government and accusing it of not letting FECAFOOT do its work independently. The Government accuses FECAFOOT of wanting to highjack the national team for personal profiteering. The truth is that both are guilty of the same crime. It is all about who gets to keep the dough. No one cares about the national team. If they did, there would be infrastructure to show it. If they did, the players would not always threaten boycotts due to unpaid per diems. If they did, Otto Pfister, a fourth division coach in Germany, would not have been selected to coach the team in the first place. If they did, Rigobert Song may have retired as a player to train as a coach with a good facility in Europe. But because they do not, they are picking INJS graduates, who are like General Practitioners in the field of Medicine, to carry out a brain surgery. Let it be said again: Good is the enemy of better. Yesterday, I had an illuminating facebook conversation with a former Indomitable Lion who asked not to be quoted. He favors “Cameroon, just like in 1981-1988!” I have disabused myself of the grand-illusion that so many Cameroonians are afflicted with – Cameroon cannot just turn it on and off at will.

Comments

[Mark Dillon]

Innocent,

Wonderful piece of journalism! You article about the state of the Lions is insightful and provides perspective on a sad state of affairs. In May of 2007, against the backdrop of Cameroon failing to quality for the previous year's World Cup, Cameroon squandered (SYFODA) an opportunity to embrace a program of reform that would build stability and create lasting quality. Even more concerning than the Lions failure to qualify for the WC in Germany was the fact the the U-17's, U-20's also failed to qualify for their FIFA world championships. What does this say about the future? Add to this the failure of the Women to qualify and we have a total systemic failure top to bottom. Sadly, Cameroon did not or were not able to heed the warning. Pity those who can see but have no vision.

Mark Dillon
Florida USA