It’s reasonable to assume that Andre Onana has had a strained relationship with Cameroon manager Rigobert Song, and being benched for their final AFCON group encounter against Gambia may have exacerbated matters.
Onana arrived late to the tournament as his country agreed for the custodian to play in Manchester United’s tie against Tottenham the day before Cameroon’s first encounter. He quickly left Old Trafford to travel to the Ivory Coast, where he was shockingly left on the bench for his country’s first encounter against Guinea.
The former Ajax and Inter shot-stopper was named to the starting lineup against Senegal, but he failed to make a save in a 3-1 defeat, with Sadio Mane scoring. Scrutiny was placed on his performance, but his coach refused to assign blame in the aftermath.
“I’m not going to blame anyone, I’m going to take responsibility,” Song said. “My players fought. We must accept that Senegal outperformed us. “We will win our next match and advance to the next round.”
Perhaps Onana was not exonerated of all guilt, as he was merely named as a replacement for the match against Gambia, which was a must-win for progression in the competition. The Indomitable Lions squeezed through group C after rallying from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in stoppage time, and it remains to be seen whether Onana can restore his position.
Song previously suspended United’s custodian for disciplinary concerns during the 2022 World Cup. The Cameroon manager claimed that the custodian asked not to playOn that time, they played in the second group match. According to reports at the time, the two fought about Onana’s penchant to leave his box, which contradicted the coach’s methods.
Soon after the event, Onana announced his international retirement, but he plans to return in September 2023. Following his return, the Red Devils player stated that he had ‘been confronted with ordeals defined by unfairness and deception’.
Song’s former teammate, Patrick Suffo, did not believe the concerns were resolved at the time. He told BBC World Service’s Sport Today: “I am not sure about becoming pals.
“I’m curious to see what happens when they resume working together. When the player came out and denied there was a [discipline] issue, many Cameroonians concluded that there were other issues.
“I believe [Onana] claimed he didn’t want to play while these individuals were in command of the team—Rigobert and The rest of the staff. I believe he’s coming to play for Cameroon, not the management or anyone else. That can be an issue at times because you need to share the same perspective on football in order to perform at your best.
Cameroon’s next match is against Nigeria on Saturday, and the custodian choice will be scrutinised once again.
Leave a Reply