André Onana made his decision. Supported by Manchester United, the goalkeeper will only join the Cameroonian selection after the start of the competition to favor the Premier League. He will miss the first game of the CAN…
The African Cup of Nations has not yet begun that Cameroon is already facing a major problem. For a few days, Fecafoot (the Cameroonian federation) and Manchester United have been in discussions to release André Onana for continental competition. Initially, the doorman should have joined his teammates at the same time as everyone else except that things did not go as planned. The delays are accumulating to the point of missing the first match of CAN 2023 against Guinea (January 15).
The fault of the main interested party who delays as much as possible his arrival in Côte d’Ivoire, the host country of the competition. The day before, on January 14, he will be on the lawn of Old Trafford to face Tottenham on the 21st day of the Premier League. For a time, the idea of playing two consecutive meetings in 24 hours was mentioned, then
forgotten. Onana, on the other hand, will be present for the next two games of Pool C, including the shock against Senegal (January 19), then against The Gambia (January 23). However, the discomfort is settling in.
Onana still gives priority to Manchester United
In this African Cup alone, it is already the second false leap of the 27-year-old goalkeeper. He had indeed delayed his arrival in the selection for the first time to play the 3rd round of the FA Cup last Monday against Wigan (2-0 victory). Inesitably, his situation is starting to annoy.” It’s disrespectful on both sides, reacted Sébastien Bassong on the BBC. It’s disrespectful on the part of Manchester United to ask Onana to do such a thing and it’s really low on Onana’s part to consider it.”
“This sends a very bad message not only for Cameroon, but also for the respect people will have for the CAN and the way they should treat us. If we can’t even respect ourselves, how can we expect others to treat us differently, “wonders the former Tottenham defender and Cameroonian international (18 selections). This is all the more frustrating for the Indomitable Lions because it is yet another foot of the nose on the part of the Mancunian.
The 2022 World Cup had already given rise to problems. Rigobert Song, the coach, had dismissed his goalkeeper for disciplinary reasons in the second match of the group phase against Serbia. André Onana announced his international retirement a few weeks later, before being recalled for the international games of the September school year. Samuel Eto’o managed to bring the two men closer together, who had been cold for a long time, in view of this CAN 2023 but the incident in Qatar left traces.
It is probably no coincidence that Rigobert Song called 4 goalkeepers in his list. He knows the now legendary reliability of his number one. Recall that for the 2017 CAN, he had already declined the selection to focus on Ajax. “I was just starting to play. I had so much pressure that if I moved, I lost my place, he explained last year. If I came to CAN 2017 I would lose everything, I wouldn’t have had the same career. This decision was important. It was difficult but if it had to be done again, I would do the same thing again because it determined my future.” In club as well as in selection.
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