2021 AFRICA UPOFNATIONSHowpleasingwas it to seegoalkeeper
Andre Onana back from suspension,
andhow much of adifferencecan
hemake at thetournament?
Andre couldn’tjoinupwiththesquadfor
theninemonthsofhissuspensionandthat
wasarealpityforus.Not only because
ofhisindisputablefootballingqualitybut
fundamentallybecauseof hischaracter.
Hewas greatlymissedbythesquadand,
assoon as we could,weput himstraight
backinto theteam.Immediatelyhebrought
hissportingqualityandanenhancement
tothe spiritindressingroom,whichis
veryimportanttohave.
KarlTokoEkambihasalso overcome
a barrenscoringrunandhasbeenthe
leadingscorer in theearlystagesof
theEuropaLeague...
Healsoscoreda decisivegoalforusthatnot
onlyhighlightedhisimportancetothe team,
butalso thatheisa very intelligentplayer
whoknowshow to readthe gamewell.
Heknowshow to operateintheboxand
I wouldsaythatheisa player we needto
teach a lot. He is very importanttous.
Howdidyou gettheCameroonjob?
Itwas a process thatstartedtwoanda
halfyearsago.I have a long-timefriend,
connectedtothe Cameroonfederation,
whorecommendedme. I hadmeetingswith
peoplefromthe federationandtheMinistryof
Sport,and thingsdevelopedonemeetingafter
thenext.Theywerefeelingme outbecause
I know they hadotheroptions.
I wasverygladthattheychoseme.I’m
satisfied.I have a verygoodworkinggroup
froma humanpoint of viewandnow we are
goingtogivetheCameroonianswhatthey
want: workandresults.
Thisisyourfirst jobinAfrica. How
haveyoufoundthat,a lotdifferent
toworkinginEurope?
Howmuchtimehaveyougot?I couldspend
hourstalkingaboutit!Itiscertainly, by far,
themostdifficultexperienceI’vehadin
my 30 yearsofcoaching.
Whatabout theWorldCupin Qatar?
AreCameroongoingtoqualify?
I expect us to dieforit.Itwouldbethe
highlightof my careeranditwouldbe
exceptionalforthecountry. It will alsobe
exceptionalformanyof theplayerswho
willhavean only,and last,chanceto
appearata WorldCup.There is no
higherlevelin yourcareer.
InterviewbyMarkGleeson
WSCC 39