Ruben Amorim’s situation at Manchester United is far from benign, but Brian Mbeumo, who joins his team-mates in Cameroon, might think of it that way. The summer signing has just begun to settle into life at Old Trafford when he is set to depart to represent Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
However, the situation at the Indomitable Lions is in turmoil, with Mbeumo receiving call-ups from two different managers. His former United teammate and national team captain Andre Onana is in a similar predicament, having been selected for one Cameroon team but not the other.
Cameroon’s former manager Mark Bliss, who was sacked by Cameroon FA president Samuel Eto’o, insists he remains in the job despite being replaced by David Pagou earlier this month.
Two separate squad lists for Cameroon AFCON have emerged as the tournament, which begins on December 21st, approaches. Fortunately for Mbeumo, he played in both games as one of his country’s standout players.
The same cannot be said for Onana, who left United on loan to Trabzonspor after a disappointing start to the season. Bliss was shown the door by the Cameroon FA shortly after legendary former Barcelona and Inter Milan star Eto’o was re-elected as Cameroon FA president with 97% of the votes.
He and Bliss endured a rocky relationship, which stemmed from the Cameroonian Ministry of Sports’ decision to appoint him as coach rather than Eto’o. When Eto’o secured re-election, he interpreted his majority as approval to dismiss the Belgian.
ESPN claims that a heated meeting between Eto’o and the committee ended with him accusing Bryce of “11 violations” ranging from “disrespectful” and “biased” comments, “professional misconduct” and “manipulation” of players, specifically accusing Eto’o of trying to turn players against the FA.
Despite this, Bliss claims that he has not received any formal communication from the Cameroon Football Association regarding Pagou’s dismissal, even though he currently holds the position. This situation could not be more unusual, but he continues to work as usual.
He submitted his own team list to the competition, which included Onana along with other veteran Cameroon stars Vincent Abubakar, Eric Shup-Moting and Michael Ngadou-Gadjui. On the same day, Pag announced his team for the tournament, excluding the aforementioned quartet.
Last week there was uncertainty as to whether Onana, Abubaker, Chope-Moting and Ngadou-Gadjui, who were absent, would actually play in North Africa. Cameroon officials confirmed in the same source that players who are on Blis’s list but not Pagou’s will not take part.
The former Cameroon manager insisted he was still in charge and expressed his anger at the current situation. He specifically targeted Eto’o, claiming he was forced out because the experienced quartet challenged the former Chelsea striker’s authority.
In an interview with Afric Foot, he said: “Eto’o has left out important players and leaders because obviously he is on this list. How can we play in a tournament like this without a world-class goalkeeper and without Aboubakar? Because these are players with personalities who stand up to the president.”
Cameroon’s tournament begins with a match against Gabon on Christmas Eve, followed by matches against Ivory Coast on December 28 and Mozambique on New Year’s Eve.
