Celebrating Cameroon’s 0-1 Loss against Togo

By Innocent Chia (Originally published on The Chia Report)

After losing 0-1 against Egypt at the African Championship Cup finals in Ghana last year (February 2008), fanatics and connoisseurs of Cameroon’s football alike joined in asking that Song Bahanack be ejected from the squad. He was invisible in his position as the last defender before the keeper.

The back stopper and team captain of the Lions was seen more times playing an offensive role than anyone with soccer acumen would have cared for. It is this indiscipline that has left Song Bahanack wondering from club to club and never settling anywhere for more than two seasons. Yet, he has succeeded in making himself irreplaceable as a teammate and captain of the Indomitable Lions, in a country that has plenty to offer at the local and international level.

Dubbed the “King of Arsenal” at the close of the 2007/2008 English Premier League Season, Emmanuel Adebayor resurrected himself from Arsenal’s injured list to defend the colors of his native Togo against star-studded Cameroon in the Group A World Cup elimination match. And the King, an only star of The Togo Hawks, lived up to the hype by scoring the lone goal of the encounter barely 11 minutes into play. In spite his fragile state , Adebayor provided the kind of presence the team coach, 62-year-old former Belgian International Jean Thissen, was hoping for in a home match that was played away from home.

The Hawks were playing hosts to the Indomitable Lions at the Ohene Djan Sports complex in Accra, Ghana where the Lions lost to the Pharaohs of Egypt last February. There is little doubt that the Ghanaians were in favor of Togo, especially given that the Lions shattered their dreams of favorite to play against Egypt at last year’s African Cup finals in Ghana. Togo are on a four-match home ban after violence broke out at the end of their 2008 African nations Cup qualifying campaign where angry supporters attacked players from opponents Mali for knocking out Togo.

In the meantime, I could not help but lift my glass in celebration as the Lions lost to the Hawks. As a Cameroonian, an amateur soccer player and former Sports reporter at the Cameroon radio Television (CRTV), I have raised and lost my voice protesting the fielding of Rigobert Song Bahanack and other fossils that won’t leave. Rigobert Song started playing with the Indomitable Lions in 1990…That is 19 years today!

Look around in any active sport and tell me how many surviving athletes are still actively playing the game some 20 years later. It begs for some questions to be asked and for some observations to be made. How old was Song when he joined the Indomitable Lions? Was he 18, which is the minimum age at which a player can play International soccer? If he was 18 years old then, is he 37 today? No! Rigobert Song is listed by the Indomitable Lions as born on July 1, 1976! That makes him 32 years of age. So, was he lying in 1990 or is he lying today?

Falsifying the age of athletes is nothing new in sports. The Chinese Olympics just ended and one remembers all the brouhaha about some Chinese female gymnasts. Such cases are replete the World over. It is magnified in several-fold in Cameroon. Song’s case in just one in a national team that has been aging for a very long time now and nobody seems to be interested in doing something about it. There is also no way you can cheat age. And age is what is catching up with Rigobert Song. He was solely responsible for the victory goal that Egypt scored against Cameroon at last year’s African Nations cup finals. He could not keep up with the extremely agile offensive lineup of the Pharaohs.

So I rejoice because when Cameroon loses to qualify for the once-in-a-life-time 2012 World Cup in South Africa, the wrath of the people will come full circle. Cameroonians already have nothing to look forward to in the world of politics. One man, President Paul Biya and his party have hijacked power for the last 27 years and turned Cameroon into a nation of mendicants. Without any leaders that they can count on, the people have invested their energies into the national past time – soccer. Even King Biya has often basked in the political capital afforded him by the victory of the Lions. He has also exploited the calendar of the team to pass unpopular Decrees.

It is possible that the 2012 World Cup campaign of the Indomitable Lions can be an immeasurable distraction to the political calendar in Cameroon. The 2011 upcoming Presidential elections are seen by some as a possible game changer in Cameroon. I personally do not think so. Pundits are all banking on “hear-say” admonitions of Pope Benedict VI to President Biya, asking that he not seek another term. President Biya was handed over power in 1982 by Cameroon’s first President, the late Ahmadou Ahidjo. He organized the first multi-party elections in 1992 and stole the victory of opposition leader, John Fru Ndi. After the five year mandate ended in 1997 he changed the constitution to a seven year mandate that was renewable once. He renewed it in 2004. That term comes to an end in 2011. But the rubber stamp parliament of President Biya’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), handily amended the constitution to eliminate the terms and to make Biya President for life. 

I wonder whether it is in the DNA of the country to never know the right time to quit and to pass on the relay baton. We admire American politics but fail to take actionable steps that will guarantee a respected system of governance befitting of the people, their heritage and their potential. Our kids look up to NBA stars and what the NBA is doing, but we do not ask ourselves why Jordan did not play till he was forced out of the game. It is about giving others an opprtunity to shine. It is recognising the fact that our value is seen at best in those that we train to be better than us or to be as good as ourselves.  Rigobert Song and his age mates need to know that it is time to go. They do not have to wait a day more. We do not need for them to qualify the team for the World Cup. Let us see the young group fight on their own and get eliminated.

Dubbed the “King of Arsenal” at the close of the 2007/2008 English Premier League Season, Emmanuel Adebayor resurrected himself from Arsenal’s injured list to defend the colors of his native Togo against star-studded Cameroon in the Group A World Cup elimination match. And the King, an only star of The Togo Hawks, lived up to the hype by scoring the lone goal of the encounter barely 11 minutes into play. In spite his fragile state , Adebayor provided the kind of presence the team coach, 62-year-old former Belgian International Jean Thissen, was hoping for in a home match that was played away from home.

The Hawks were playing hosts to the Indomitable Lions at the Ohene Djan Sports complex in Accra, Ghana where the Lions lost to the Pharaohs of Egypt last February. There is little doubt that the Ghanaians were in favor of Togo, especially given that the Lions shattered their dreams of favorite to play against Egypt at last year’s African Cup finals in Ghana. Togo are on a four-match home ban after violence broke out at the end of their 2008 African nations Cup qualifying campaign where angry supporters attacked players from opponents Mali for knocking out Togo.

In the meantime, I could not help but lift my glass in celebration as the Lions lost to the Hawks. As a Cameroonian, an amateur soccer player and former Sports reporter at the Cameroon radio Television (CRTV), I have raised and lost my voice protesting the fielding of Rigobert Song Bahanack and other fossils that won’t leave. Rigobert Song started playing with the Indomitable Lions in 1990…That is 19 years today!

Look around in any active sport and tell me how many surviving athletes are still actively playing the game some 20 years later. It begs for some questions to be asked and for some observations to be made. How old was Song when he joined the Indomitable Lions? Was he 18, which is the minimum age at which a player can play International soccer? If he was 18 years old then, is he 37 today? No! Rigobert Song is listed by the Indomitable Lions as born on July 1, 1976! That makes him 32 years of age. So, was he lying in 1990 or is he lying today?

Falsifying the age of athletes is nothing new in sports. The Chinese Olympics just ended and one remembers all the brouhaha about some Chinese female gymnasts. Such cases are replete the World over. It is magnified in several-fold in Cameroon. Song’s case in just one in a national team that has been aging for a very long time now and nobody seems to be interested in doing something about it. There is also no way you can cheat age. And age is what is catching up with Rigobert Song. He was solely responsible for the victory goal that Egypt scored against Cameroon at last year’s African Nations cup finals. He could not keep up with the extremely agile offensive lineup of the Pharaohs.

So I rejoice because when Cameroon loses to qualify for the once-in-a-life-time 2012 World Cup in South Africa, the wrath of the people will come full circle. Cameroonians already have nothing to look forward to in the world of politics. One man, President Paul Biya and his party have hijacked power for the last 27 years and turned Cameroon into a nation of mendicants. Without any leaders that they can count on, the people have invested their energies into the national past time – soccer. Even King Biya has often basked in the political capital afforded him by the victory of the Lions. He has also exploited the calendar of the team to pass unpopular Decrees.

It is possible that the 2012 World Cup campaign of the Indomitable Lions can be an immeasurable distraction to the political calendar in Cameroon. The 2011 upcoming Presidential elections are seen by some as a possible game changer in Cameroon. I personally do not think so. Pundits are all banking on “hear-say” admonitions of Pope Benedict VI to President Biya, asking that he not seek another term. President Biya was handed over power in 1982 by Cameroon’s first President, the late Ahmadou Ahidjo. He organized the first multi-party elections in 1992 and stole the victory of opposition leader, John Fru Ndi. After the five year mandate ended in 1997 he changed the constitution to a seven year mandate that was renewable once. He renewed it in 2004. That term comes to an end in 2011. But the rubber stamp parliament of President Biya’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), handily amended the constitution to eliminate the terms and to make Biya President for life. 

I wonder whether it is in the DNA of the country to never know the right time to quit and to pass on the relay baton. We admire American politics but fail to take actionable steps that will guarantee a respected system of governance befitting of the people, their heritage and their potential. Our kids look up to NBA stars and what the NBA is doing, but we do not ask ourselves why Jordan did not play till he was forced out of the game. It is about giving others an opprtunity to shine. It is recognising the fact that our value is seen at best in those that we train to be better than us or to be as good as ourselves.  Rigobert Song and his age mates need to know that it is time to go. They do not have to wait a day more. We do not need for them to qualify the team for the World Cup. Let us see the young group fight on their own and get eliminated.

Comments

[Igwacho Peter PhD]

Song should go very fast. If he was seeking glory he should have made it and probably facing a down turn by staying on.If seeking money, I am a little bit afraid instead of making money he might be making us loss money.
Thanks anyway for your services. Try politics like some of your friends.Most retiring stars of his caliber do engage in community efforts to immortalize their legacy. But I am afraid there might exist a behavioral issues here too.

Igwacho Peter PhD

[Bakari]

Greatest suprised to me .Never thought Togo could defeat the indomitable Lions 1-0 and go free .I see this defeat should be put onto the aging defenders.I need some new blood injected into the team.Song and his age group should leave with the minimum delay.We need to qualify for the the world cup.I do not want to have the last experience.I see the game of football is like cameroon politics where old people do not want to give room for young cameroonians.Song and Biya should go.

[Lionel]

If cameroon had won that game, all these stupid statements would never have surfaced. Why do we always have to wait for a lose to start spilling our guts about the negative side of the lions. We have known abnout all these for years and not a single finger had gone up. So shut up today and let the boys play. Loosing a game doesnot mean we have lost the tournament or chance to move forward.

[Atem]

Let Togo wear a red feather for a day! They deserved a win. The Lions are champs and will bite their way back.

[Facter]

What a waste of time. People do not face their problems and watch football, drink beer, chop suya, screw each other.

[Dr Brown]

Whoever wrote this should first of all correct himself by knowing that the world cup is not in 2012 but 2010. You don't even know when the game is played so you should not comment about the game. It is true Song is ageing, but looking at the 2008 Nations Cup, he took the team to the final even though he made a mistake that cost us the trophy. It is true he needs to retire, but I won't blame him if he is called up to play. Talk to the team management and not a player. If you were good as you claim you were, you would have been in that team also. Jealousy na witch.

[motabenama]

This team does not represent me as a Cameroonian for two reasons
1-The whole team is made of francophones as if there is no good anglophone player from that country. This marginalization has been very conspiscious since the days of Ndip Aken. Tataw Stepen and Agbor Hans.
2-Secondly men in their mid 40's like Song Rogobert and Geremi Njitap should be honest with their ages and allow the young players with Energy and talent to come in. Though i thank them for their copntribution to the national team i do feel its time they go because Song cost us the African Nations Cup in Ghana and will cost us the world cup qualificaation if care is not taken. If changes do not take place we will not qualify for South Africa 2010 for which i will never bother because in my opinion we are not good enough.
3-Again the management of the national team is a sham as well. An old Man sacked by Togo a minimal footballing Nation in Africa is brought to coach Africa's number one footballing nation in the Global scene. What a shame his inability to take the team forward is very clear in his inability to deliver good results. I am sure the Government knows fully well that they are joking with the peoples only passion in Cameroon. If Care is not taken the consequences will be very disastrous. Let something be done for its still too early to rectify the errors.

[Christian]

This article seems to be a personal attack on Rigobert Song. I watched the entire match and the goal was due to a mistake by Andre Bikey who is a far much younger player. I agree with you that younger talents should replace the older ones but no one has proven himself capable of replacing Song. The position being played by Rigobert needs a player who is talented and with experience.
Mr. Chia, if you want to write a report like this attacking people, you should check your facts. Song first played in the national team in 1994 and he was listed as 17 yrs old. From then till now is 15 yrs meaning he is 32 yrs old which is correct. Age is not much of a problem so long as the player is still fit and performing well.
Sylvio Mendes Campos Junior commonly known as Sylvinio is now 35 yrs old and is a very vital player for FC Barcelona. There are also players who played for their national side and were even older than Song like Baresi, Maldini, Nyamoro, Julio Cesar and many more.
If you blamed Song after the finals of CAN, it would have been okay but blaming him after the match on Saturday is unfair. It is true that he is not the Song we used to know but he is still good untill there is a replacement. Also as Dr. Brown said, don't blame the player for trying to defend his country when he is called but blame the coach for selecting him.

[njala]

Cameroonians seemed to have forgotten that during the 2000 Nations Cup hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, and which Cameroon won, this same Togo beat us in this same stadium by the same score - 1-0. Many of these players were still around then and were 9 years younger. So age has very little to do with it.

[Wanle Yuri]

Who cares? How many an or better still, Southern Cameroonian issues have been solved by any former wins.
All nonesense

[Wanle Yuri]

Who cares? How many Cameroonians or better still, Southern Cameroonian issues have been solved by any former wins.
All nonsense

[Bobor]

Na distraction ma broda Wanle Yuri. Who give a s_h_i_t

[Tchanya Luc N. phd reseach student uni-Kiel]

Football they say is round in shape. Therefore it has no fomular. If our great cameroonian nation is graded the number one African football nation, then it is due to the enormous performance of our talented players on the pitch of football. Better be late than never. Now that we ahve been able to identify some of the ailing problems that could prevent our participation at the 2010 world cup challenge in South Africa, we should all pretend to act as one people and rally all the mometum behind the Lion for a kind of get-fit against the next encounter. This is not the time for blame game, for we all no so well that criticism in Cameroon on the contrary is errenously interpreted as support for the old order. Capt. Song is aged no question, but what alternative measures could be implimented aim at better results, that is what payens should be
pre-occupied with now.
Long Live Lions
Long Live Cameroon

[damike]

The world cup is scheduled for june 2010. I do not know of any 2012 world cup to who so ever that wrote this article. The management of the national team, the ageing players the politics in the game, a senile Paul Biya,Otto, Song , Geremi and many more. No English speaking cameroonian soccer player in the squad. These are some of the ills to start of with. Not that there are not good english speaking soccer player example Enoh in Ajax of Armsterdam, for that reason this is not a representation of the cameroon national team. In Cameroonian soccer there is no regional balance but when it comes to a competitive entrance examination into the School of Medicine at the University of Buea a list of Francophones who did not even sat for the entrance examination is sent by the Minster of Higher education from Yaounde for inclusion. The Government claims Regional balance. What a mess, I do not care . Biya and his disciples should lead Sudddom and Gomorah. Dem don really curse cameroon.

[Diboue Black]

Mr Chia,you need to investigate your facts.I thought you were a journalist.Your article was incoherent.Did you proofread your article ?

[Louis]

What has football got to do with politics and Mr Biya? Why are we Cameroonians running away from the fact. We should think of how the Team should work and progress. Even Argentina got beaten by Columbia who is not even known in Football today. Age also has nothing to do with this team. Roger Milla scored at the World Cup when he was 42years and still holds the record for the oldest player to score a goal at the world cup, Henrique Larson still playing for Sweden at the age of 35, and you name the rest.
After reading this article from a "trained and qualified" journalist, I am ashamed to say I am from Cameroon. I would rather chose Zimbabwe as it will be easy to say because of crisis we have little time to proof read our articles or even to study english. Shame on you Mr Chia. You are a disgrace to Journalism in that our Fatherland and by the way who made you a sport journalist. Anyway, I won't blame you for your article, but the post news paper for posting a useless article written by a drunk. Thanks so much

[UnitedstatesofAfrica]

La Republique continues to disgrace itself. Still wrapped up in the colonial mentality, La Republique decided to hire an egocentric white European coach who has been sacked several times by other African teams. Truly shameful. I hope they don't make it to the world cup; with continuous failures like this, maybe Anglophones will wake up from their slumber and realize that they have been colonized and denied basic human rights.

GO GHANA! GO NIGERIA!

FUCK LA REPUBLIQUE!!

[Ginola]

I am from Bamenda Cameroon and i do not think this is a political issue. We should watch what we say sometimes. Can anyone name any anglophone player that is better than the guys that line up against Togo?I know people will say Enoh but who can he replace,Etoo,Makoun,Solmen,Mbia? Common guys those Francophones deserve to play than anyone else. There is no one at this time that can replace Song except Omam Biyik Junior who is a full back but has no experience yet.The goal against Togo was a Fault by Adebayor who pull down Bikey and the referee did not blow it. Song should be discipline and stay at the back and also clear his zone than trying to control. We need Epale from Bochum in Germany and Emana. For me Mbami is very lazy and JembaJemba should leave the team. In all Cameroon will humiliate Togo in Cameroon and will win against Gabon and Morocco home and away.

[Louis]

Ginola, you have said a lot of things that make sense to me. I like the fact that you have analyzed the team and the country to see that Song hasn't got a proper replacement yet. The writer of this article decided to launch an attack to Song and then bringing it to politics. It is so sad to see that someone who has been so patriotic will receive such critisms from the same country he wants to defend. If we look at what most the players go through and without pay sometimes then we will learn to appreciate. I don't know if anyone remembers the comment "l'argent est entre Paris et New York" when the same Song was playing for the national team and they were never payed. Because of this same critism we lost Etame and now it is coming up again. Watch out and think. Allez les Lions

[oakley outlet]

(-)he needed to give her a raise cuz she worked good and cuz he was posed to. Needless to say, myself or the home inspector located a box that the *_*

dggf

[Halloween]

I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess.

[Louis Vuitton Outlet]

The number of reports of U.S. citizens being drugged in bars [in Roppongi] has increased significantly in recent weeks. Typically, the victim unknowingly drinks a beverage that has been secretly mixed with a drug that renders the victim unconscious for several hours, during which time large sums of money are charged to the victim's credit card or the card is stolen outright. Victims sometimes regain consciousness in the bar or club, while at other times the victim awakens on the street.

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People usually talk about gender when they discuss the metero male, but I like how you link it with a historical context to class and divisions between men.

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