Thanks to Carlos Kameni’s heroics Espanyol earned a draw on 1 March in their visit to cross town rivals Barcelona. Over the weekend freezing weather throughout Europe caused Cameroon’s goalscorers to be frozen off the scoresheet except for Albert Meyong who scored in Portugal.
Spain
In midweek action in Spain this week, goalkeeper Carlos Kameni was the hero as Espanyol held crosstown rivals, and Spanish league leaders, Barcelona to a 0-0 draw. Kameni made numerous saves, several of them spectacular to keep Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and company off the scoresheet. Kameni began in the opening minute making a good save off a Ronaldinho shot. Early in the 2nd half he made a great left handed reaction save from a point blank shot by Andres Iniesta. Later in the game he denied countryman Samuel Eto’o with another fine save. Even after Espanyol were reduced to 10 men for the final 25 minutes of the match they held firm due to Kameni’s fine stops. A truly memorable performance from the young goalkeeper who is turning into the buy of the season for Espanyol.
Over the weekend Kameni again was in the nets for Espanyol as they defeated Albacete 2-1. Again he put on a good display to hold Albacete to a lone goal. Samuel Eto’o was at forward for Barcelona as they played at bottom of the table Numancia and could only manage a 1-1 tie on a field covered with snow and ice. Eto’o and Ronaldinho managed a few nice combinations between them but had trouble breaking through Numancia’s defense on the frozen pitch.
Portugal
France
The most interesting match this past week in France was between Lille and Rennes. Although it ended in a scoreless draw it matched up two leading contenders for the Indomitable Lions’ starting right back position as Benoit Angbwa started there for Lille and Jean Joel Perrier Doumbe played there for Rennes. Both players defended well in this match but Angbwa, as expected, showed more ability to move forward and generally had more impact on the game.
Benoit Assou Ekotto also had a good game but at left back for Lens in their 0-0 tie with Ajaccio. He too showed an ability to not only defend but also to move forward into attack. Salomon Olembe gave a standard performance at left back for Marseille this past weekend as they could only manage a 1-1 draw with unfashionable neighbors Istres. Youngster Alexandre Song continues to show the strains of making the jump from youth football to Ligue 1 play as his play is not as solid now as it was earlier in the season.. He played adequately at centerback for Bastia but his club slumped further down the table after losing 1-0 against PSG. Several matches involving Cameroonians were postponed this weekend in France due to bad weather. They included Toulouse v Auxerre and Metz v Sochaux.
In Ligue 2, forward Stephane Biakolo played 75 minutes as his club LeHavre defeated Grenoble 2-1. Neither Gilbert Bayiha nor Bertin Tokene played this week for Grenoble. Gueugnon defeated Brest 1-0 as Alexis Ngambi helped anchor the winner’s defense from his centerback position. Sedan were surprisingly beaten 3-0 by Le Mans. Pierre Njanka started at centerback for Sedan while Marcus Mokake came on as an attacking substitute in the 71st minute. Creteil’s match with Montpellier was postponed.
Germany
It was a disastrous week for Cameroon’s Germany based players. Raymond Kalla started at centerback for Bochum but had trouble turning on the frozen pitch as Bochum were routed 4-0 by Werder Bremen. Kalla was caught chasing shadows all game long and was outrun by Paraguayan forward Nelson Valdez for Bremen’s 3rd goal and beaten off the dribble by another Bremen attacker who set up the fourth. All in all a forgettable weekend for Raymond Kalla who was Cameroon’s hero in Europe the previous week.
In Bundesliga 2, forward Francis Kioyo also had a game he’d like to forget as Rot Weiss Essen were beaten 2-1 by Burghausen. Fellow forward Cyrille Florent Bella also struggled as he started for LR Ahlen in their 3-2 loss to Erfurt.
England
With Lauren rested after Arsenal’s Champions League match last week and Timothee Atouba nursing a slight knee injury, the remainder of Cameroon’s contingent of English based players had a pretty discreet weekend. Eric Djemba Djemba started at defensive midfield for Aston Villa as his club were beaten 3-1 by Everton. Djemba Djemba was subbed out after 56 minutes as his club looked for more offensive output. Coming on as a sub for Portsmouth in the 54th minute of their 2-1 loss to Manchester United was midfielder Valery Mezague. Joseph Desire Job also entered as a sub but in the final 4 minutes of Middlesbrough’s 2-2 draw with Charlton. In the Scottish FA Cup, Gustave Bahoken started at centerback for Livingston but was sacrificed at the half as his club went looking for goals in their 2-1 loss to Hearts.
Italy
In Italy’s Serie A, Pierre Wome had a pretty non descript match at left wing back as Brescia dropepd further into the relegation zone after losing 1-0 to Sampdoria.
Greece
In the Salonika derby, Samuel Inogue at left side midfield and Dorge Kouemaha at forward started for Aris against PAOK. After Aris had a player sent off early in the match, Kouemaha was sacrificed for more defenders and was subbed out after 39 minutes. Inogue also was subbed out after 54 minutes. But Aris’ 3rd Cameroonian Eugene Fomumbob entered as a sub at defense in the 57th minute. Playing with a man advantage, PAOK emerged victorious 3-1. Guy Feutchine of PAOK is finally expected to return from injury next week. Goalkeeper Pierre Ebede of Chalkidona was helpless to prevent Olympiakos from scoring in their 3-0 victory over the Cameroonian’s team. Midfielder Jean Denis Ouanga started as Kallithea were betaen 2-1 by AEK Athens.
Turkey
Galatasaray were surprisingly beaten 2-1 over the weekend in Turkey despite Rigobert Song’s presence at centerback. Souleymanou Hamidou was in goal for Denizlispor as his club also were beaten 3-0 by Trabzonspor. With the victory Trabzonspor jumped over Galatasaray into second place in the league. Ankaragucu beat Malatyaspor 3-0. Jean Emmanuel Effa Owono at forward in the 79th minute and Herve Zengue at fullback in the 84th came on as subs for Ankaragucu. Alioum Saidou started in midfield for Malatyaspor but was red carded in the 72nd minute after receiving his second yellow of the match.
Belgium
Bad weather also effected play in Belgium but Standard Liege were able to play Racing Genk in a battle of teams with Cameroonian players. Matthieu Assou Ekotto started in defensive midfield for Standard while Eric Matoukou at centerback and Justice Wamfor at defensive midfield started for Genk. Wamfor was subbed out after 77 minutes as Standard won 1-0 on a frozen field. Samuel Ipoua entered as a sub at forward for St. Trond in the 67th minute of his club’s 2-0 loss to La Gantoise.
Elsewhere in Europe, play resumed in Ukraine following the winter break. Patrick Ebanda started in defensive midfield for Arsenal Kyiv but his club were beaten 1-0 by Metallurg Donetsk. In Russia the quarterfinals of the Russian Cup were played and Jerry Christian Tchuisse started at centerback for FK Moscow as his club lost 3-1 to CSKA Moscow. In Israel, Ernest Etchi started at centerback for Bnei Sakhnin against Nazrath Illit but was red carded. Kalle Sone also started at forward for Bnei Sakhnin but was subbed out at the start of the second half. Patrice Abanda has left Drnovice in the Czech Republic and is currently on trial with FC Dallas of the United States. Abanda entered as a sub at centerback for Dallas in their 2-1 friendly win over Molde of Norway.
