Kameni, set to replace Mbia as Lions’ Captain

It is now almost certain that there will be a new captain to lead the Indomitable Lions when they face Mauritania in their 5th 2017 Africa cup of nations qualifier game on June 4th.

The Cameroon Journal has reliably been told that current captain, Stéphane Mbia Etoundi, who has served in that capacity for only two years, is on the verge of losing his place to veteran keeper, Idriss Carlos Kameni.

Kameni has been a long serving member of the current generation of players of the national team and is in superlative form in his Spanish club, Malaga.

Just like was the case with former captain, Samuel Eto’o, Mbia has been tagged by many as “stubborn” and recent reports have placed responsibility for fresh troubles emerging in the Lions’ den squarely at his door steps.

The Cameroon Journal gathered that Mbia’s arrogance came to the fore last month during the second leg of the double header with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa, in Durban, as the defender virtually put himself on collision course with new head coach, Hugo Broos.

An inside source, told us that Mbia further compounded his fate as Lions skipper, when he scolded at Broos in the dressing room after one of their training sessions, questioning why the coach preferred to settle on younger players for the March 29 game while the “big boys” were left on the bench.

Broos is said not to have spoken back at Mbia. But Sports and Physical Education Minister, Bidoung Mkpatt, as well as FECAFOOT president, Tombi a Roko, are said to have taken turns in an emergency meeting in Durban to chastise Mbia for his attitude.

“This match is about the image of Cameroon, and not Mbia,” Bidoung, known for his tough talk, reportedly thundered at the 29-year.

Cameroon plays Mauritania on June 4th and it is strongly held within football circles that the Yaounde-born player may not be the one to lead the squad because of his poor conduct in the last outing.

“I am certain that Mbia will be replaced any time soon…a captain must be exemplary and must not be the one to talk at the coach,” a FECAFOOT official who feared being named, told The Cameroon Journal, when quizzed on the matter.

It would be recalled that Mbia was appointed Lions’ captain just weeks after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in which Cameroon put up a disastrous performance.

The appointment by the then Sports Minister, Adoum Garoua, was part of plans to flush out trouble makers from the squad.

Eric Choupo-Moting and Vincent Aboubakar were named as his 1st and 2nd deputies, respectively.

Less than six months later, the first “scandal” occurred. Mbia was first accused of imposing his brother, Frank Etoundi, to the national team, at the expense of more performing players at the time.

During the 2015 Africa cup of nations, Mbia was again in the press for another controversy. This time, the former Marseille defender was alleged to have convinced Volker Finke to keep the young sensation, Clinton Njie, on the sidelines – a move that provoked outrage from Lions’ fans.

Such claims later turned out to be true, as Njie himself was reported to have told close friends that he was left out of play because he had a fracas with Mbia who vowed to punish him.

Mbia’s troubles would not end there. In August 2015, while he just signed with Trabzonspor, he immersed himself in controversy when he evacuated his family to Turkey, claiming that they were not safe in Yaounde, citing the Boko Haram insurgency.

This portrayed Cameroon’s anti-terrorism efforts in very bad light and he was heavily-criticised by many for such claims.