While Aboudi Onguene, the captain of the Indomitable Lionesses A, agrees with the technicians that “we do not come to teach the national team”, Rigobert Song Bahanag did not hide his weaknesses: “I am in the process of learn. I told you earlier, there were a lot of errors, a lot of lack of vigilance on certain points,” admitted the manager and selector of the Indomitable Lions at a press conference on November 7, 2023. The boss of the The technical supervision of the five-time African champions delivered the elite of the players he selected for the regrouping of this month of November 2023. The man whose tactical choices are increasingly criticized, including by his peers, refuses to play the scientist. The results do not always speak in its favor. In 16 matches with the Indomitable Lions, Antonio Conceiçao’s successor has 4 victories, five draws and 7 defeats. He who had nevertheless succeeded where his predecessor no longer seemed to be the man of confidence: the qualification of Cameroon for the 2022 World Cup. By qualifying Cameroon at the last minute against Algeria, on Algerian soil. In the very last seconds. “ I achieved my goals which were to qualify Cameroon for the World Cup», he recalls.
Assurance
If the man inherited a team out of breath, he led the qualifiers for the 2023 African Cup of Nations (CAN), to qualify Cameroon under the same conditions. And the friendly matches that Cameroon has just played are not the most reassuring, as defeat remains the fate best shared among the Indomitable Lions. “ I know you focused a lot on defeats, but I wasn’t asked to win friendlies “, he defends himself. “ I know that on a moral level it’s good, but it’s part of the preparation. I know what I’m looking for», he tries to reassure.
The man who does not always justify his choices was emphatically questioned about the lack of a backbone of the team. The press did not fail to remind the former defender of the Indomitable Lions that at the time of his glory, at the beginning of the 2000s, any observer could try, with a small margin of error, at making a eleven incoming from the Indomitable Lions. “ We can’t go back. The conditions are no longer the same and they are no longer the same people. They are no longer the same profiles », insisted the man. Specifically, “ we can no longer have full-backs like back then. I don’t know whether to mention the names. We had the Njitap“, he cited as an example. “ We are always… », he hesitated, before finding the right words. “ I used a lot of players. And then, there may be injuries, there may be players suspended too “, he staggered. “ We adapt to the players we have and we work with them», he was content.
Junior Tchamadeu
For the chief technician of the Indomitable Lions A, “ the most important thing since I joined this team is to create a competitive team “. Repeating, as he had already indicated during one of his last outings, to always be “ looking for solutions to your problem ». More ” I think that in the 24 players that I selected, you will see that each compartment corresponds to what we were looking for», he optimizes. Mainly referring to Junior Tchamadeu who plays as a right back. A position in Cameroon has struggled to find a stable element since the exit of Gérémie Njitap, more than ten years ago. “I have been following these young people that I have selected for some time,” he says. Speaking both of the Stoke city defender and of the two other blues that are Moubagna et Léon Bell Bell.
Assurance
Man is aware that the most important thing in a match is to win“. It seems that to date, the boss of the bench of the Indomitable Lions is doing this essential, but leaving a lot of doubts, with last minute qualifications. “Today, I will no longer be allowed to make mistakes. These two matches will no longer be in the last seconds, the last minutes as you said,” he promises. “ I would like to reassure the Cameroonians: you will see a competitive team that will be capable of making a difference at any time. I am convinced of my squad and I know that we no longer have room for error,” he insists. “Let Cameroonians not stress! », Launched the former defender whose rigor has remained legendary.
The now coach is expected on the field. The 24 players Rigo has called up will play matches against Mauritius in Douala on November 17 and Libya in Benghazi in eastern Libya on November 21. Matches counting towards the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
