What happened to the heroes of World 90?

When Captain Stephen Tataw and teammates trample the Giuseppe Meazza stadium lawn in Milan, on June 8, 1990, they did not think it was the course that will take their destiny.

As fate would have it, Cameroon opens the festivities of the Italian World Cup against Argentina. The defending champion, which has in its ranks the best player in the world, a certain Diego Armando Maradona. The latter, for the record, offers a tour of the locker room before the game, to win the trophy again.

Clearly, it was a similar duel in the confrontation between David and Goliath. Nobody also believed the Indomitable Lions, undermined by some dissension after a chaotic preparation, and an African Cup of Nations where they have not passed the first round.

"Before the game, the Indomitable Lions sang a song to galvanize us and we sang with such fervor in the dressing room as confidence has changed sides. The Argentine players were all intimidated in front of us and then we knew that we could move mountains, "says André Kana-Biyik, one of the most committed midfielders.

Suffice to twenty minutes for the Lions driven by Russian Valeri Nepomniachi, they begun to live up to their opponents. Their defensive solidity and tactical prowess allows them to hold Maradona and his teammates.

Better, Louis-Paul Mfede and François Omam-Biyik will show bold attitudes in front of the public (over 70 000 spectators), delighted to see the African underdog standing up to the South American giants.

Meanwhile, André Kana-Biyik is excluded but until then nobody imagines that goal, which leaves the entire world silent for a few seconds. At 67th minute: François Omam-Biyik headed in to pass Nery Pumpido, goalkeeper of Celestes. This goal was followed by a thunderclap under the gaze of the Head of State, Paul Biya, who had made the trip.

The turning point of the game takes place in the 88th minute when Claudio Caniggia gets the ball in his penalty area. The Argentine striker did not ask questions and began a wild ride of nearly 70 m. After eliminating several opponents, he stumbles on Benjamin Massing who tackled the Argentine violently that the Argentine had a glide.

Massing’s shoe came out as a result of this tackling. This gesture is so far one of the most violent in football while in Cameroon, Massing is seen as the hero who certainly prevented the equalizer. He was showed a red card for this action by referee Michel Vautrot. Cameroon won 1-0 against Argentina. The rest we know.

Lions finished first in the group ahead of Argentina, after a success against Romania (2-1) and a defeat against Russia (0-4) which enabled them to enter 1/8 finals and were equally historic against Colombia (2-1).

It's not that defeat in the quarter-final against England which will change anything to the beautiful epic of the Indomitable Lions. This was an epic that will change forever the fate of football in Cameroon, Africa and even globally.