The African Champion
In the build up to this year’s AFCON competition, not many people (perhaps with exception of patriots thought that Cameroun will be crowned the Champions of Africa as we witnessed yesterday. It wasn’t that they could not win the trophy. After all; they had done that on four different occasions in the past. The sentiments of most was that the Indomitable Lions had declined in quality, presence and influence on the African continent.
The metrics available also validate the facts that they hadn’t done much since they won the trophy in 2002 against then Africa’s new revelations; Senegal. They managed to reach three quarter finals, one finals and failed to qualify in quick successions 2012 and 2013. Their consistency was undoubted but the impact left much to be desired and no longer was the Indomitable Lions feared – at least in Africa!
Grouped with host nation, Gabon, they struggled in their games but managed not to lose any and got five points which was enough to take them to the quarter finals. And boy was there a change?
Tournament’s favourites, Senegal nicknamed the Lions of Teranga was the opponent. I remember writing about which specie of the King of the Jungle would triumph. Was it to be the ones from Dakar or Yaounde? At the end of the day, Cameroun did the unthinkable and knocked out a far better team through the dreaded penalty shootouts. One of the stars of that encounter was Fabrice Ondoa; who had managed to keep his team in the tournament with some daredevil saves against Gabon in the last group game.
Ochoa conceding the first goal
Faced with the tournament’s best player (up-till that moment), Ondoa saved the penalty kick from Senegal’s mercurial midfielder and Africa’s most expensive player, Sadio Mane to cut short the stay of the Teranga Lions while extending that of the Indomitable Lions. It was an outstanding achievement and Twitter was up in a frenzy. Everything was about how the best nation and arguably best player won’t be in the tournament anymore. And it was all due to a youthful and unfancied Camerounian side!
As that was sinking in; next was the test of the Black Stars of Ghana who had a few top notch players in their squad. Unlike the Lions; they were in the finals of the last edition and looking good to get one better. Unfortunately, that seemed irrelevant to Hugo Broos and his troop.
With Ghana showboating all over the pitch and playing as if their name had already been written on the trophy; the young and aggressive Indomitable Lions struck late into the game and scored two devastating goals to end the Black Stars aspirations. Not even the belated and sacrificial introduction of inspirational Asamoah Gyan could bend the resolve of the Lions – they had long set their sight on the finals.
The rest is history as Cameroun came from a goal behind to first of all equalize with a thundering head before an inspired Vincent Aboubakar killed off the game late into regulation time to win the game for the Indomitable Lions.
This was supposed to be the most uninspiring Cameroun side in a long while but they ended up cementing a place in history as perhaps the best ever to have come out from Paul Biya’s country.
So what happened?
Coach Hugo Broos celebrating
Self-belief, discipline, cohesion, respect, confidence and desire all happened to create the type of team that the whole of Africa is now celebrating. Roger Milla, Samuel Etoo and Issa Hayatou couldn’t have been prouder watching the game as it unfolded. I am sure that would have been equally surprised at what they were witnessing based on the quality job Hugo Broos had done since his appointment in 2016.
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