On Sunday, they defied the odds.
Cameroon-The Indomitable Lions of Africa– became the toast of town after beating the ably stubborn Egypt-Pharaos- 2-1 to lift the much sought after Gold Cup, for the fifth time.
Still, given expectations and the buildup, this is a remarkable achievement. Eight players – Liverpool’s Joël Matip, West Brom’s Alan Nyom, Schalke’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Nancy’s Guy N’Dy Assembé, Bordeaux’s Maxime Poundjé, Ajax’s Andre Onana, Marseille’s André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Lille’s Ibrahim Amadou – made themselves unavailable for selection before the tournament.
Their Belgian coach, Hugo Broos, is 64 and had never managed an international side before. He had been successful in Belgian club football, winning three league titles in stints with Club Brugge and Anderlecht, but for the last decade his has been an itinerant career that has taken him to Greece, Turkey, Abu Dhabi and Algeria.
He applied for the Cameroon job only after seeing it advertised online, having been out of work for a year after leaving the Algerian side NA Hussein Dey, and reportedly was not even on the Cameroonian federation’s initial five-man shortlist.
Far from being weakened by the withdrawals, though, Broos has been gifted an inexperienced, dynamic and seemingly biddable squad devoid of any of the clashing egos that have so often undermined Cameroon in the past (although there have been murmurings about bonus payments).
He had to rebuild the team with youngsters, took 14 players that had never been to a big event before to Gabon, and focused on team spirit
“When I arrived,” Broos said, “I brought in some new players as 10 had just left the squad. I set some internal rules and disciplinary guidelines. We changed the mentality – the players are now highly motivated and proud to represent this country. We now have a solid group that works and acts as a team, and that’s had a positive impact on our results.”
The players all put on shirts with No. 17 on the back after the game. It was a reference to the year, they said, but also a tribute to Marc-Vivien Foe, the popular Cameroon player and two-time African champion who collapsed on a field in France in 2003 while playing for his country and died.
No. 17 was Foe’s number. It was worn at this tournament by midfielder Arnaud Djoum.
“You win big tournaments as a group, not as individuals,” Djoum said. “It was our togetherness.”
Now, this is a good story to tell and we hope other teams, including SA will learn a great deal from such situations.
“Champions forever” read the words on their winning jersey’s.
