World Cup 2014; Cameroon's Future

Another World Cup has come and gone and once again with a solitary goal and no point to show for all the blood, sweat and millions of Francs CFA spent on this World Cup undertaking, Cameroon’s foot soldiers have returned home empty handed.

It has been a sorry return. The imaginary indomitable lions were brought to their knees and once again they have ended a major competition pleading for forgiveness, with no blessings to count. The Lions’ men came back from the World Club Cup with their tail between their legs. It is true that matches are wonderful to win and horrible to lose, but the manner of their exit is excruciating.

This World Cup was a good opportunity for the team to obliterate the memory of the 2010 operation when on African soil the lions returned home without a single point and fresh arguments were then made about the need to reconsider the philosophy and identity of our national team. The competition ended for our team even before the start of real business.

Even till this moment, the air is filled with an unbearable heaviness of accusation and counter accusation. There is now a confusion of approval and insecure hesitation as no one knows certainly the future of Coach Volker Finke, now sixty-six years old. The unsettled restlessness mixed with impossible dreams only come to ascertain the fact that football in Cameroon is still experiencing the passage of unwelcomed days.

The major Achilles heel of the team stemmed from the fact that Volker Finker pinned his faith on players who were ailing for a high level competition. Samuel Eto’o, Jean Makoun and Aurelien Chedjou were still recovering from injuries and hence they were not thoroughly competent to be absorbed into the team. We needed Samuel Eto’o, but unclear things had to be made clear that he was not healthy to be included in the squad.

Someone has said that another issue that is raising dust in the Lions’ den is the gross lack of patriotism. Today, players have relegated the love for their country and the game, putting money before everything else. Shortly before the 20th World Cup opened in Brazil, a row over payments erupted.

These same issues come up year after year and it has become clear that no adequate treatment has ever been made and it is like we always move on from a frying pan into fire. How can we do well when many of the players dislike each other with a growing dislike?

In the midst of all these setbacks, the most painful reality is that no pattern seems to have been set for the future. The troubles and constant disagreements bring back reminiscent memories of the Soviet era gesticulations and frustration, a time when progress always had a boomerang effect.

There is now no hiding place for the players and supporters of the Lions who for many years will still be looking back remorsefully on this unwanted addition to our football annals especially as the events of group A at this 2014 football’s World Cup leaves much to be desired. But Cameroon at least made history, appearing at the World Cup for an African record seventh time.

For many years to come, we shall feel the heart-break in the heart of things as many are now asking whether this is the promised end of the Indomitable Lions, a team that was beginning to attain total perfection. Can there be a new beginning for the Cameroon national team as we bear the weight of this sad time and speak what we feel?

In the future, the Indomitable Lions must face the world with considerable aplomb. The team’s coach has the tough task of separating the chaffs from the fine grains. If the team intends to regain its historical greatness, order and discipline must flourish within and without and the technical staff of the team must move into the country’s hinterlands to identify and unearth young and vibrant talents.

Mr. Joseph Owona and his colleagues who are presently heading the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT must also think about a possibility of having a national league with not more than twelve teams, so that only the best players mount the podium.

We must also discourage the capitalist tendency of always disposing players even before they make important contributions to boost the quality of our local football. How shall Cameroonians look again happily on the sun or feel the rain, without remembering how they were humiliated in Brazil?