ACTUALITE |
20.01.2002
Cameroon coach warns his players ahead of showdown with the Lions
SIKASSO
Cameroon versus the Democratic Republic of Congo seems about as even a contest as Mike Tyson against a blindfolded amateur.
While the `Indomitable Lions` are defending the African Nations Cup title won in Nigeria two years ago, `Simba` (The Lions) are in the doldrums having last lifted the cup 28 years ago.
But new Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer was taking nothing for granted in this southern Mali town Saturday just 24 hours before the countries clash in the opening Group C match.
"The fact that DR Congo qualified for the Nations Cup means they have as much chance as us of lifting the trophy. We are the team to beat in Mali. Everyone loves to floor a champion," he warned.
Schafer is mindful, but not fearful, of the fact that the `Lions` never roar when the Nations Cup and World Cup are held in the same year with a quarter-finals place four years ago their best African placing.
"I have told my boys that the Nations Cup is as important as the World Cup. Previously, when the competitions fell in the same year, priority was given to the latter."
German Schafer, the latest in a long line of Cameroon coaches often hired and fired without any logical explanation, has the backing of a very significant figure - 1990 World Cup legend Roger Milla.
"I don`t know what it is about Germans, but they know how to organise things," said the man who came out of semi-retirement on an Indian Ocean island to set the 1990 World Cup in Italy alight with his goals and corner-flag celebrations.
However formidable the Cameroon line-up may appear, Congolese coach Louis Watunda has no reason to fear Rigobert Song, Marc Vivien Foe, Patrick Mboma, Samuel Eto`o and company.
He was coach when DR Congo upset Cameroon 1-0 in the 1998 quarter-finals and went on to finish third, a rare upward curve in a generally depressing Nations Cup graph.
Watunda views the match at the 15,000-seat Babemba Traore Stadium as much more than another contest between old rivals - the three previous meetings produced a win for each side and a draw.
"My country has been ravaged by a brutal war and the economy is a shambles. Football is the only thing that unites our people and I consider it an honour to be given a chance to contribute towards a crucial aspect of our lives."
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