- Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Journal du Cameroun
Published on 2024-02-29 15:29:19
In his two years at the helm of the national team, he never showed mastery of his squad, especially when it comes to managing players.
The failure of managing the men. This is not the title of a novel. But it is one of the things that stands out from Rigobert Song’s time as the manager of the Lions as the head coach of the Indomitable Lions.
History remembers that it was under Rigobert Song that a player left the Lions’ den during a competition for the first time. And the reason had nothing to do with an injury or anything of the sort. It was the case of André Onana during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Even though there are different versions given by the Cameroonian Football Federation and the player, there were indeed strong tensions in the den.
The mishandling of these crises led to the international retirement of the current Manchester United goalkeeper. However, he reversed his decision after government intervention.
Even in 2024, during the Africa Cup of Nations, tension was still felt. This was evident when he was benched in the third match and the round of 16. The press believed that this decision did not come from Song as he was being influenced. Others pointed to the players, while some mentioned the president of the Fécafoot.
Even before this case, there was already controversy surrounding the non-selection of Michael Ngadeu for the 2022 World Cup. At this point as well, there was already a poor handling of the situation by Song. Journalist Jean Lambert Nang mentioned a fight between Ngadeu and Zambo Anguissa. Later, journalist Jean Bruno Tagne suggested that Ngadeu fell victim to speaking his mind. However, Rigobert Song could not explain this situation. A lack of explanation that became somewhat of a signature for Song.
For example, in press conferences, Rigobert Song rarely justified his choices. On the contrary, there always seemed to be inconsistency. The case of Choupo Moting is a prime example. Song said on the eve of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations that he is a good player and important for the team but still did not select him.
This led Aurelien Chedjou to conclude that he was not called up for extra-sporting reasons… Could this perhaps be the defining feature of Song’s management over the past two years: choices and reasons beyond the sport.
Read the original article(French) on Journal du Cameroun
