By Mark Gleeson
SALVADOR Brazil (Reuters) – Cameroon showed glimpses of the right kind of fighting spirit as they departed the World Cup on Monday but for a second successive tournament the overriding image they leave behind is one of ill-discipline, conflict and greed.
Already out of contention and without injured talisman Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon had hosts Brazil on the back foot for periods of the first half of their last Group A game on Monday.
Joel Matip cancelled out the five-time world champions’ first goal before Cameroon conceded a second before half-time, then the game got away from them and they were handsomely beaten.
“The first half wasn’t so bad but we need to have focus during the 90 minutes,” said crestfallen coach Volker Finke. “It’s not the first time we haven’t focused for the whole 90 minutes, we need to find the reason for this; three times we had control of the ball and we lost it and those goals (we gave up) were unnecessary.
“The first half was fine, we were doing well, but also Brazil deserved this win, it’s clear they created more chances and that is why they deserved to win.”
But the 1-4 defeat in Brasilia was strangely one of the few highlights of another World Cup trip beset by the sort of shenanigans that have brought Cameroon infamy. Their trip seemed doomed from the start when they delayed their departure from home in a strike action to force more money out of their federation.
The controversy had them on the back foot as they lost first to Mexico and then Croatia, becoming the first country mathematically eliminated from the tournament. HEAD-BUTT The disappointment was exacerbated by the on-field head butt by Benoit Assou Ekotto on his teammate Benjamin Mounkandjo near the end of the second game, adding another episode to several player disputes of the past.
There was an unnecessary red card for key midfielder Alex Song, the seventh Cameroonian sent off in 19 games at the finals. But in the end, coach Finke suggested the Indomitable Lions, whose seven World Cup finals appearances are more than any other African country, just were not good enough for the Brazilian stage.
“There were certain things that were quite positive but it wasn’t enough for the World Cup. We need to look at reality and as we are, it’s not enough for this competition,” the experienced former Bundesliga coach said. Cameroon rarely follow footballing convention. In 1990, the country’s president, Paul Biya, demanded 38-year-old Roger Milla be included in the squad for the finals. Milla became a world star with his exploits in Italy and went on to play again four years later in the United States. He is now at the helm of a bid to remove Finke from his post although the German wants to stay as coach. And with the African Nations Cup qualifiers starting in less than three months, Cameroon might buck a trend again and keep him on.
