Indomitable Lions: Andre Onana, spoiled brat walking in steps of Samuel Eto’o

By Wilson Musa

On Monday, November 28, 2022, on day two of Cameroon’s second match against Serbia in Group G at the 2022 world cup, Cameroonians were shocked to learn that first-choice goalkeeper, Andre Onana had been replaced with the second-choice, Epassy Devis.

News from Lion’s den in Qatar had it that the Inter Milan goalkeeper, Onana was sanctioned for indiscipline. ‘But why not keep him at the den and sanction him later,’ this was the wish of millions of Cameroonians who could not believe that such a great keeper was being sidelined at a crucial moment of the game.

One thing is certain, Andre Onana is the football son of the federation’s president and former captain, Samuel Eto’o Fils, and such a sanction could not have originated from his “father in football”

The genesis of the matter

After losing against one-nil Switzerland on November 24, 2022, the head coach of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Rigobert Song Bahanag, who is also a former captain, reviewed the match and urge goalkeeper, Andre Onana not to consistently leave the goalpost because that could cost them a fortune, plus Cameroon is not used to that style. Between the first day of action and the second, their temper began to flare with Onana having confidence that he plays such style at the club level hence that should not be the problem.

According to Onana, the problem is not his style, but the defense mechanism put in place by coach Rigobert Song. Sources from the den said there was a heated argument between Onana and Song when the former criticized the latter’s lineup for the game against Serbia, especially maintaining defender Nicolas Nkoulou and not playing two strikers.

As commander of the team, the head coach fumed with anger and decided to sideline Andre Onana until he apologized for challenging and disrespecting him in front of the other teammates. Someone who had knowledge of the incident told CNA that mediation efforts to reconcile the two ended in a deadlock.

Andre Onana refused to apologize to his head coach even when the trainer said in a press conference that, his return lies in his hands.

The country’s football governing body, Fecafoot had no choice but to support the head coach, maintaining the sanctions.

In May 2016, Onana was sent home after arriving one day late in Nantes, despite being at the training session in Yaounde. The den head coach Hugo Bross replaced him with Kameni Carlos.

“It is important for a player to remain disciplined if he wants to perform,” Bross said in a statement. 

Onana’s ‘empty’ outing

A day after Cameroon drew against Serbia, Andre Onana made a statement reiterating that he was sanctioned by the country’s football federation. “I always behaved in a way to lead the team to success in a good manner,” Onana said in a statement on Tuesday, November 29, 2022.

His statement also revealed that “there had been no will on the other side” to solve the issues at hand.

Such statements go contrary to what Rigobert Song said, that the solution lies in his hands. Why did Onana refuse to tender an apology to his coach?

As a reader said on CNA’s comment section on Facebook, “Benjamin Moukandjo vs Assou Ekotto, Alex song’s elbow on Mario Mandzukic during the 2014 WC in Brazil are examples of unresolved conflicts in the dressing room that were transferred to the pitch. Let’s appreciate Song for being bold. It’s only in Cameroon, let Onana try that in Milan.”

This case shows that though many years have gone by, several unresolved conflicts have continued to haunt Cameroon. In 2010 during the World Cup in South Africa, then coach Paul Marie Le Guen, replaced captain Song Bahanag with Samuel Eto’o to the surprise of Cameroonians. This brought a rift between the two and even extended to the nephew of Rigobert Song, former Arsenal midfielder, Alexandre Song

In June 2014, Samuel Eto’o refused to collect the Cameroon flag from administrators due to unpaid match bonuses. While this was their right, many think that Eto’os leadership as captain led to the refusal and humiliation of officials at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaoundé. That year, Eto’o was heading to his fourth World Cup participation, becoming the third African player to participate in four tournaments after his compatriots Rigobert Song and Jacques Songo’o.

That same year Eto’o Fils was plunged into a sex scandal with nudes of his former girlfriend, Nathalie Nkoah, flooding social media. Samuel Eto’o was accused of releasing the sex tapes but in 2017 a French Police report said that at the time of the release, Eto’o was in the UK while the IP address of the person who was released with pictures was in France.

In all, there is a general agreement that Rigobert Song did the right thing to have sanctioned a recalcitrant player no matter his importance to the team as this will send a strong message to others. In June 2010, French player, Nicolas Anelka was kicked out of the world cup in South Africa for abusing his coach, Raymond Domenech. Like Onana, Anelka was asked to tender a public apology which he refused. The French Football Federation said after Anelka’s substitution in the match against Mexico, he said some unacceptable words against his coach.