AFCON 2023: Eto'o, Onana, his future… Rigobert Song under pressure

A year after Cameroon's national football team crashed out in the first round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Rigobert Song is getting ready to take charge once more. This time, the Cameroon coach must find the right formula to help the Indomitable Lions win a sixth continental star. But let's be clear: the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which runs from 13 January to 11 February 2024 in Ivory Coast, looks anything but straightforward for a coach whose future is under serious threat.

The sports minister turns up the heat

Rigobert Song was appointed Cameroon head coach after a tug-of-war between Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi and Fecafoot president Samuel Eto'o. The coach officially signed a two-year contract on 23 March 2022, with obligations that included winning AFCON 2023. In other words, his fate is tied to the future performances of Vincent Aboubakar and his team-mates. The Lions are under pressure. So is Song. A flop at the Ivory Coast tournament is simply not what the Cameroonian government has in mind.

“I have instructed Fecafoot (Cameroonian Football Federation, editor's note) to do everything possible so that the national team shines through its fighting spirit and its ability to dazzle the sporting public, showing once again that impossible is not Cameroonian”, warns minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi. The problem is that Song's abilities are constantly being questioned. With little experience when he took over the Cameroon dugout, the former Galatasaray defender does not appear to have progressed much.

With a record of 5 wins, 6 draws and 7 defeats in 18 matches, it is not the quality of the players that has often been lacking, but the way Song uses them. Examples? At the Qatar World Cup, the Cameroon coach fielded a different starting XI in each of his three group games. It was the same story in the team's last two outings. After a resounding win over Mauritius (3-0) on 17 November 2023, Song reshuffled his starting XI four days later in Libya, with Bryan Mbeumo, Yvan Neyou and Moumbagna, all excellent in the previous match, on the bench this time. The result: a dull 1-1 draw.

The “rift” between Eto'o and Onana

Yet consistency and stability could be the keys to success, especially in a tournament as competitive as AFCON. Can we hope, then, that Song has learned enough from his mistakes? He had better have! Third place finishers at the previous edition of AFCON, the five-time African champions simply have to do better, or risk undermining the policy of appointing Cameroonian coaches. Song fully understands the importance and the stakes of the challenge. However, he must also deal with another source of pressure: the “rift” between André Onana and Samuel Eto'o. Rumours suggest that the Manchester United goalkeeper has still not patched things up with the Fecafoot president since the end of the 2022 World Cup.

“The relationship between the two men has been at a standstill since André was sidelined at the World Cup in Qatar. His return to the national team came from an instruction by the Cameroonian government authorities, as Fecafoot never took any initiative in that direction. Everything is being done to keep up appearances within the squad. But everyone has seen that since his return, André and Eto'o ignore and avoid each other completely. They are two men with strong personalities, and each has a certain influence within the national team. Their relationship is broken, and it could affect the atmosphere within the team”, says a source who requested anonymity.

The AFCON 2023 is therefore a crucial test for Rigobert Song, who must not only prove his worth as a tactician but also manage the delicate dynamics within the Cameroon squad. For him, the stakes go well beyond the football pitch.

Arthur Wandji