Innocent Mbunwe
7 January 2008
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Barely 14 days to the Ghana 2008 African Cup of Nations, which kicks-off on January 20, the Indomitable Lions are presently camping in Burkina Faso not Kenya as earlier planned, due to unrest after the country's presidential elections.
Head Coach, Otto Pfister, made public a provisional list of 27 players at the end of a training camp that started January 4. A final list of 23 players will be selected for the jamboree.
Pfister's list is made up of 4 goalkeepers, 9 defenders, 10 midfielders and 5 attackers.
Amongst the 28-man list, 13 players took part in the just ended friendly encounter between the Lions and a Galice selection that ended 1-1.Amognst the list three Olympic Lions players have featured and the surprise is that the Coach called up the Arsenal lad, Alexandre Song and Valery Mezague.
The million-dollar question now is which criteria did the technical bench use in selecting these players? But according to some soccer pundits, the selection is the best, because according to them most of the players called up are regulars in their clubs.
The squad has been spiced with some young and energetic players who will replace the old players that are ageing. Will Cameroon win its 5th Nations cup Title? Pfister with about three decades of African soccer experience is doing everything in Burkina Faso to right the wrongs of the team.
In spite of the Lions past glories, priding itself with four Nations Cup titles, fears are rife that they may not perform well at the competition. On the other hand, some posit that the team that has many unknown names and recent mediocre record may surprise many. Already, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali and Ghana have been tipped favourites.
Below is a profile of the 27 pre-selected players.
Rigobert Song
Rigobert Bahanack Song is Lions skipper and defender for Turkish club side Galatasaray. Born in Nkanglicock, Cameroon, in 1976, Song is the oldest Lion in the squad. Song has registered 108 appearances with the Lions and becomes the most capped player in Cameroon history.
Also, in the 2006 African Cup of Nations, Rigobert broke the record for the greatest number of matches played at the CAF African Cup of Nations. Exuding a strong sense of patriotism, he has hardly declined defending the national colours.
The 32-year-old is a robust and aggressive player who has checked some of the best attackers in the world. He has played in most of the top clubs in Europe. He is prone to bookings and is also ageing. Song is also the uncle of fellow footballer Alexandre Song who plays for Arsenal F.C.
Geremi Njitap
Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso, who was born in Bafoussam some 30 years ago, currently captains Newcastle United of the Premier League after joining from Chelsea in a three-year contract. His father, Samuel, was a former footballer and played internationally and with the Indomitable Lions in the 1970s.
Due to his exploits in the national team, his father was allowed to marry as many times as he wanted and consequently he has five wives. Geremi himself has nineteen siblings. Prior to joining Chelsea in 2003, Geremi played with Real Madrid and Middlesbrough. He is devoted and his free kick knack is an advantage for the Lions. He played for Racing Bafoussam before going international.
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils is striker for Spanish club, Barcelona. Born in 1981 in Nkon, in the Littoral Province of Cameroon, he has won so many awards in his career. His darting prowess makes him a goal merchant. He is a good dribbler too. He is a versatile player who, in addition to being a prolific scorer, is also known for his playmaking and defence.
The striker is good at inter-positional passes and commands the attack line from both flanks. A fidgety striker, Eto'o's presence in the 18-metre box attracts a battery of defence men, creating openings for other attackers to score for the Lions. Just recovering from another surgery he is already scoring goals for his club.
Idriss Carlos Kameni
Carlos Idriss Kameni was born on February 18, 1984 in Douala and plays for RCD Espanyol, Spain. Kameni is known to be an excellent penalty-stopper with great reactions. Not only that, he reads the ball tremendously with very few mistakes being made which is hard to come across in a goalkeeper.
At the age of just sixteen, he became the youngest footballer to win an Olympic gold medal. Kameni is first choice goalkeeper for his club, Espanyol. He is highly rated in Europe and he earned the award of the best African Goalkeeper of 2006/07.
Jean Makoun
Jean II Makoun, 22, is a daring midfielder who plays for Lille, France. His ball control and juggling ability makes him a regular in his club. Makoun scores once in a while for Lille, but is still to engrave his name on the Lions' goal chart. Makoun has been likened to some big clubs like Manchester.
Souleymanou Hamidou
Souleymanou Hamidou, is keeper for Turkish side Denizlispor. Born in 1973, Souleymanou's 1.82m height gives him an edge over undersized attackers. His composure and good sense of judgment makes him a sound keeper. His ability to control his defence men is an advantage.
Idriss Carlos Kameni
Carlos Idriss Kameni was born on February 18, 1984 in Douala and plays for RCD Espanyol, Spain. Kameni is known to be an excellent penalty-stopper with great reactions. Not only that, he reads the ball tremendously with very few mistakes being made which is hard to come across in a goalkeeper. At the age of just sixteen, he became the youngest footballer to win an Olympic gold medal. Kameni is first choice goalkeeper for his club, Espanyol. He is highly rated in Europe and he earned the award of the best African Goalkeeper of 2006/07.
Alain Nkong
Alain Nkong born April 6, 1979 in Yaounde is a midfielder who plays for Atlante in Mexico. Early in his career, Nkong played all over the world, including Las Palmas in Spain, Nacional in Uruguay, and FC Paços de Ferreira in Portugal. He has represented Cameroon on various youth levels and appeared with the full national team in qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Nkong is the first African player to win a league title in Mexico in Apertura 2007 with Atlante. He is a good dribbler and makes superb long-range passes.
Mohammadou Idrissou
Mohammadou Idrissou, 28, currently plays for MSV Duisburg in the German Bundesliga. Idrissou, who was very instrumental for the Lions qualification to Ghana 2008, is a striker. The soaring and dawdling attacker is a torn in the flesh of defenders when it comes to running. He played for Racing Bafoussam and Cotonsport of Garoua before going international.
Modeste Mbami
Modeste Mbami Mbami, plays for French club Marseille. Born in 1982, the midfielder is one of former coach, Schafer's extraordinary players, but he was not eye-catching to Artur Jorge and Arie Haan, but has been called by Otto Pfister. Mbami who is seen by many Mbami is a physically strong player with good technical skills. He started his career with Dynamo Douala, but was quickly spotted by French club, Sedan.
Pierre Ebede
Pierre Romain Owono Ebéde, 28, is a goalkeeper who plays for FC Metz. Ebede went to Greece during the 1998 summer transfer window. He stayed there until January 2002, when his services were hired. He is known for his very good reflexes. During his first season in Greece, he saw all 30 games from the bench, behind starting goalkeeper. Ebede was dismissed from Panathinaikos on 31st May 2007 and later joined Metz. Since joining Metz he has played in several matches including a UEFA appearance, in which his team won, and 2 league matches resulting in a draw and a win for the club.
Gilles Augustin Binya
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don't worry you'll get to see the line up today .....the o'l heads are song, kala,wome, lauren ....the young guns are eto, doula, geremi, kameni song jr....cameroon will win egypt 3-1
Is barely 14 days to the ghana 2008 africa cup of nation. We have not yet got cameroon line up, please i need to know the line up also, And more information about the team.