Patrick Mboma criticizes Cameroon gov’t

In an interview with football magazine So Foot, Patrick Mboma (33 goals in 56 games) came back on his encounters with Samuel Eto’o on the attempt to boycott the final of the Olympic Games and on his famous goal with the Lions at the Stade de France. Below are some selected pieces:

On his understanding with Samuel Eto’o.

“We have been at the forefront of the attack for more than four years. During this period, he was equally prolific as me. Samuel was the leading partner with who I understood best on the field.

I was the point of attachment; he turned around me. With these two different templates and our strong feet, we were complementary. We did not have to search; we understood ourselves easily. It was a very good period for Cameroon and I acknowledge that his early talent allowed me to achieve success with the Lions. “

About the 2000 Olympic Games

“We almost boycotted the final, but it turned into a motivator for the team. I remember being yelled during the Cameroon anthem, with the pride of being the first to give a gold medal to our country. Ronaldinho of Brazil was beaten with 9 against 11.

I also swapped my shirt with him. Leaving the Olympic Village with a medal was unthinkable 15 days earlier. You had to be crazy to believe it; we finally achieved the feat as our Nigerian cousins, four years earlier. “

On the threat to boycott the final.

“The boycott was decided at midnight, while the final was at noon. It turned out that Cameroon with her magic was able to tell us at midnight that there was no money and at 8 am, money fell from the sky. The truth is that I was on a bluff with our leaders.

There were a lot of players who were close to boycotting the final to give them a lesson. It would have been very serious for the Cameroonian football, since we would’ve been sentenced to exemplary punishment, leading to a damaging image of African football.

Today we wouldn’t be talking about this feat but the scandal we would have caused. I was 29 at the time; the others were almost all under 23. They could’ve committed a big mistake in their youthful age. Fortunately, our leaders managed to calm things down, even though they are wrong and that they are thieves. “

On his goal at the Stade de France.

“Long throw of Pierre Wome. Marco (Foe) was in front of me. I understood that the ball was not going to be diverted, it was going to bounce into the surface. I found myself between the ball and the poles, I did not have 36 solutions, I had to try the scissors to rectify the ball’s trajectory. By the time I felt the impact of my foot on the ball, I had understood that I hit it well and that it was going to the pole. “