In a busy week for Cameroon’s footballers, Samuel Eto’o in Spain, Albert Meyong in Portugal and Pierre Wome in Italy scored this weekend. Geremi started as Chelsea won the English Premier League title. During the week Rudolph Douala in the UEFA Cup semifinals and Pierre Webo in Spanish league play scored. In addition Samuel Inogue and Dorge Kouemaha helped lead their team Aris Salonika to the Greek Cup Final.
Spain
Samuel Eto’o grabbed the headlines in Spain this weekend by scoring Barcelona’s opening goal in their 2-0 win over Albacete which allows the club to maintain it’s 6 point lead over Real Madrid with 4 matches to play. Barcelona was having trouble breaking through Albacete’s defense and it’s inspired goalkeeper until the 66th minute when Eto’o, who was lively throughout the match, latched on to a ball just outside and to the left of the semi circle at the top of the penalty box and curled it into the net at the far post. The goal was Eto’o’s 22nd of the season in Spain which keeps him 2 goals ahead of Diego Forlan of Villarreal and 4 ahead of Ronaldo of Real Madrid who each scored twice over the weekend. With the score 1-0 in Barcelona’s favor, in the 88th minute Frank Rijkaard decided to sub Eto’o out of the match but the Cameroonian forward was not happy about that and headed directly to the club’s changing room rather than go to the bench.
Carlos Kameni started at goalkeeper as Espanyol were surrpised 3-2 by relegation threatened Mallorca. Kameni, however, made several good stops during the game to hold Mallorca to the 3 goals. With the loss, Espanyol dropped down to 6th place in the league standings but are only 2 points out of the final Champions League spot. Daniel Ngom Kome entered as a sub in midfield for Getafe in the 62nd minute of their 4-0 loss to Villarreal. Kome’s liveliness was the only bright spot in what otherwise was a forgettable match for Getafe. After playing midweek and with the 2nd leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal coming up, Pierre Webo, and several other Osasuna starters, were rested this weekend.
Midweek, however, Webo did start at forward for Osasuna in their 3-2 victory over Villarreal. In the 40th minute Webo scored as, inside the penalty area, he deftly controlled a deep cross from the right wing, his first touch allowed him to escape the marking of 2 Villarreal defenders and near the penalty spot he fired the ball into the net for the goal. In the 2nd half, a long kick from Osasuna’s goalie was headed on by another Osasuna player and Webo ran onto the ball on the left side of the penalty area, cut the ball back to his right foot and fired a hard low shot to the far post, Villarreal’s goalie got his finger tips to the ball but the rebound was knocked in by an Osasuna attacker for the team’s 2nd goal of the match.
Portugal
Rudolph Douala sat out Sporting Lisbon’s win over Sporting Braga which allowed Sporting Lisbon to cut Benfica’s lead atop the standings to 3 points with 3 matches to play. Midweek Douala started at right wing for Sporting in the 1st leg of the UEFA Cup semifinal against Holland’s AZ Alkmaar. Douala scored Sporting’s first goal in their 2-1 victory as he reacted first to a rebound and while on the left side of the penalty area fired a hard low shot past Alkmaar’s goalkeeper. Douala primarily played on the right wing but also found occasion to switch to the left and even would move centrally from time to time. His speed, mobility and ability to turn with the ball at his feet caused many problems for Alkmaar’s defense.
England
Geremi received a rare start at right back in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Bolton. The win allowed Chelsea to claim their first English league title in 50 years. Despite one poor headed clearance, Geremi overall played a solid match as Chelsea’s right back further emphasizing how valuable his versatility can be. Also playing right back but for Arsenal, the 2nd place team in England’s Premier League was Lauren who gave his usual steady performance in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over West Bromwich. Midfielder Valery Mezague came on as a sub in the 85th minute of Portsmouth’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City. In the Championship (2nd Division) centerback Matthias Doumbe started for Plymouth in his club’s 2-0 loss to Burnley. While in League One (3rd Division) Michel Pensee Bilong started at centerback as Milton Keynes Dons defeated Peterborough 3-0. With one match left in league play, however, Pensee Bilong’s team is 1 point behind the last team which will escape relegation.
Scotland
In the Scottish Premier League, Livingston defeated bottom club Dunfermline 2-0 as Gustave Bahoken started at left back.
Italy
In Italy’s Serie A, Pierre Wome scored his 3rd goal in his last 4 matches as Brescia drew 2-2 with Roma. In the 48th minute, left wing back Wome fired a hard and low shot from 25 meters into the back of the net. In Serie B, winger Thomas Job Iyock came on as a sub in the 65th minute of Pescara’s 1-1 draw with Cesena.
Turkey
In Turkey, Galatasaray maintained 2nd place in the league with a 1-0 victory over Malatyaspor. Starting at centerback for Galatasaray was Rigobert Song while playing central midfield for Malatyaspor was Alioum Saidou. Herve Zengue started at left back for Ankaragucu in his club’s 4-1 win over Diyarbakirspor.
Greece
Belgium
It was a fairly quiet week for Cameroon’s Belgium based players. Standard Liege defeated St. Trond 4-1. Matthieu Assou Ekotto was given a rare spot on the bench but came on as a defensive sub in midfield in the 88th minute for Standard. Starting at forward for St. Trond was Samuel Ipoua before he was subbed out at the start of the 2nd half. Eric Matoukou started and played 79 minutes at centerback for Racing Genk in their 2-2 draw with lowly Ostende. Sitting the match out due to suspension was Genk’s midfielder Justice Wamfor. Patrice Noukeu started in midfield for Mouscron in their 1-0 loss to league leaders FC Bruges. Coming on as a sub at forward after 66 minutes for Mons was Jeremie Njock. His club, however, lost 2-0 to Germinal Beerschot.
Germany
In Germany’s Bundesliga Lucien Mettomo had a disastrous day at centerback as Kaiserslautern lost 4-0 to Bayern Munich allowing Bayern to clinch the German Bundesliga championship. Bill Tchato entered as a left sided defensive sub after 45 minutes for Kaiserslautern but he too had a poor showing. In Bundesliga 2, Francis Kioyo started at forward and gave a workmanlike performance as Rot Weiss Essen drew 0-0 with 1860 Munich, the club who has loaned Kioyo to Essen. Daniel Wansi entered as a sub at forward for Dynamo Dresden in the 69th minute of their 1-0 loss to Unterhaching.
France
Because of the French League Cup Final there were not any regularly scheduled matches played in France this weekend. Two matches involving Cameroonian players were played making up games which had previously been postponed. Benoit Angbwa started at right back for Lille as the 2nd place team in France lost 2-0 to the league’s 3rd place club Monaco. Angbwa had occasional problems marking Monaco’s left sided midfielder Plasil but overall had a pretty solid match despite Lille’s defeat. Jean Makoun also started for Lille in that match and gave a quiet, but steady, display in midfield. Achille Emana started at central midfield for Toulouse in their 3-2 loss to Auxerre but gave away many balls before being subbed out at the start of the 2nd half.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, central defender Jean Pierre Tchetchoua started and played a solid match as Aarau defeated St. Gallen 3-2. Fellow centerback Armand Deumi was less fortunate as neither he nor his teammates played well as his club FC Thun were beaten 5-2 by Grasshoppers Zurich.
Russia
Although we unfortunately won’t be able to keep track of these players’ weekly performances, we thought our readers would be interested in knowing which Cameroonians are playing in the 2nd Division of Russia. These are those players, their position and the club they are with: Luc Owona Zoa, centerback (Anzhi Makhachkala); Samuel Didier Biang, forward (Dynamo Makhachkala), Patrice Tonga, fullback (Dynamo Makhachkala) and Jean Blaise Bouli, midfielder (Dynamo Bryansk).
Elsewhere in Eastern Europe, Patrick Ebanda started at defensive midfield as Arsenal Kyiv defeated Kryvbas 3-0 in Ukraine. In Serbia & Montenegro, Pierre Boya started at forward for Partizan Belgrade as his club maintained their league lead with a 3-2 victory over cross town rivals OFK Belgrade. In Czech Republic, Patrice Abanda entered as a sub at defensive midfield in the 89th minute of Teplice’s 2-0 loss to Slavia Prague. In Latvia, Jean Paul Ndjoumeck started at centerback as FK Venta and Liepajas Metalurg drew 0-0. Aaron Nguimbat also started at centerback as his club Skonto Riga were surprised by their neighbors FK Riga 2-0. Claude Parfait Ngon also came on as a halftime sub at forward for Skonto Riga in the loss.
In Scandinavia, Somen A. Tchoyi started in midfield, but had a less than stellar game, as Odd Grenland tied 1-1 with Fredrikstad in the Norwegian league. In Denmark, Patrice Kwedi started in midfield and played 58 minutes as AGF Aarhus lost 1-0 to Esbjerg. In Israel both centerback Ernest Etchi and forward Kalle Sone started and played 90 minutes as their club Bnei Sakhnin lost 1-0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv. Late in the match Sone had an opportunity to tie the game but could not convert a golden opportunity. With the loss Bnei Sakhnin dropped into the relegation zone in Israel. Emile Mbamba sat out Maccabi Tel Aviv’s league match this weekend with Maccabi Petah Tikva as his club rested some starters for this week’s Cup semifinal against the same opponent where Mbamba is expected to start.
In the Americas, Alain Nkong started at withdrawn forward for Colorado as they lost 3-1 to Metrostars in the United States. A pass from Nkong set up Colorado’s only goal of the match in the 90th minute and Nkong had several shots at goal which missed their target. In Uruguay, Plaza Colonia and Paysandu played a scoreless draw. Centerback Mustafa and forward Antoine Helha played for Plaza Colonia.
