CAMEROON TEAM

World Cup Homepage | View Group Tables | Week 1 | Week 2



Goalkeepers
1-Boukar Alioum (Samsunspor) Born: 3.1.72

Ever-improving goalkeeper who has been the backbone of the Cameroon side that has won the last two editions of the African Nations Cup. Moved to Turkish league football six years ago from Prevoyance Yaounde.

22-Idriss Carlos Kameni (Le Havre) Born: 18.12.84.
Hero of the Cameroon under-23 team's success at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, saving a penalty in the final against Spain. Has recently been on trials at Juventus in Italy but is still under contract to Le Havre in France's second division.

16-Jacques Songo'o (Metz) Born: 17.03.64
Veteran goalkeeper in the twilight of his career but seen as a solid back up to Alioum to the squad. Made his international debut in 1984 but never held on to Cameroon's number one jersey for any extended length of time. Had league success in Spain with previous employers Deportivo Coruna.

Defenders
8-Geremi Njitap (Real Madrid) Born: 20.12.78

Captain of the gold medal winning side at the Sydney Olympics and a Champions League winner with Real Madrid too, although he sat on the bench for the final win against Valencia in 2000. Tough left back, sometimes seemingly lethargic but with a quick burst of pace and plenty of strength.

5-Raymond Kalla (Extremadura) Born: 22.4.75
Imposing defender whose club career has mainly been in the unspectacular confines of the Spanish second division but who has played at the last two World Cup finals and also won two African Nations Cup medals. Made his debut for Cameroon just before the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.

13-Lucien Mettomo (Manchester City) Born: 19.4.77
Made the move to the English first division from French club St Etienne last year. Had been out of the Cameroon set-up for a considerable time until his recall last November and scored a goal for his country in the recent Nations Cup tournament in Mali.

7-Joseph Ndo (Al Khaleej) Born: 28.4.76
Discovered by former coach Claude LeRoy at Cotonsport Garoua on the eve of the 1998 World Cup finals and taken in the squad to France. After the tournament he played at Strasbourg in France
and Swiss club Neuchatel Xamax but is now earning petrodollars in the United Arab Emirates.

6-Pierre Njanka (Strasbourg) Born: 15.3.75
Injury ruled out his participation in the recent Nations Cup finals and also scuttled a loan deal with Portsmouth in the English first division. But he has fought his way back to full fitness. First choice defender at the last World Cup finals, having made his debut for the Indomitable Lions just weeks before.

4-Rigobert Song (Cologne) Born: 1.7.76
Flamboyant captain of the team who is now rumoured to be in the sights of German champions Bayern Munich, having moved to Bundesliga strugglers Cologne last November on loan from West Ham United. Previously played at Liverpool, in Italy's Serie A and for Metz in France, who signed him after the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.

2-Bill Tchato (Montpellier) Born: 15.5.75.
Was a long-standing professional in the second division in France at Caen and Nice before coming to the attention of Cameroon, who called him up for a debut in late 2000. Played in all the matches in Mali as the Lions won a second successive African Nations Cup in February.

3-Pierre Wome (Bologna) Born: 26.3.79
Was just 16 when he made his debut for Cameroon and has played at the last four successive Nations Cup finals plus the World Cup in France. Also a member of the under-23 team that won Olympic gold in Sydney. His career in Italy has taken him from Vicenza to Lucchese, AS Roma and now Bologna.

Midfielders
15-Nicolas Alnoudji (Caykur Rizespor) Born: 9.12.79

Another member of the gold medal winning under-23 side at the last Olympics and also in the squad at the recent Nations Cup finals in Mali, although he did not get any playing time. Lanky midfielder who debuted for Cameroon four years ago but did not make the final squad for the last World Cup finals.

19-Eric Djemba Djemba (Nantes) Born: 4.5.81.
Exciting teenage prospect who debuted for French champions Nantes this season and played regularly in their Champions League campaign. His debut for Cameroon came in January in a friendly against Tunisia and earned a Nations Cup winners' medal in Mali a month later.

14-Joel Epalle (Aris Salonika) Born 20.12.78
Tough and diminutive player who was a regular at the Sydney Olympics where Cameroon won the gold medal. His national team appearances have been sporadic since his debut in 1995 at the age
of 17, when he scored twice in his first match against Gabon.

12-Lauren (Arsenal) Born: 19.10.77
Raised in Spain but invited to play for his native country on the eve of the 1998 World Cup finals. Signed by Arsenal last year after helping Cameroon win the 2000 Nations Cup in Nigeria, where he was named as the best player of the tournament. Won league and cup double with Arsenal at the end of the English season.

17-Marc-Vivien Foe (Olympique Lyon) Born: 1.5.75
Missed the last World Cup finals because of a broken leg but was just 19 when he played at the 1994 finals in the United States. Midfield engine room of the Cameroon side, who won the French league with RC Lens before a 18-month spell in the English premier league with West Ham United. Returned to France to help Lyon win this season's championship.

23-Daniel Ngom Kome (Numancia) Born: 19.5.80
Squad member at Mali 2002, where he played in four of the matches, three of them as a substitute. Has played in Spain since 1998 after leaving Cotonsport to join Atletico Madrid. Since been loaned to Levante and now Numancia. Debut for Cameroon was in the World Cup qualifying campaign against Angola in 2000.

20-Salomon Olembe (Olympique Marseille) Born: 8.12.80
Joint top goalscorer at the recent African Nations Cup finals. Moved on loan in December to Marseille from Nantes, with whom he won the French championship last season and where he came through their junior ranks. Played at the last World Cup finals in France and a double African champion with Cameroon in 2000 and earlier this year.

Forwards
9-Samuel Eto'o (Real Mallorca) Born: 10.3.81

Confident striker, who was on the books at Real Madrid as a teenager before being loaned first and then sold to Real Mallorca. Finished third in the polling for the 2001 African Footballer of the Year award. A product of Cameroon's acclaimed Kadji Sport Academy.

21-Joseph-Desire Job (Metz) Born: 1.12.77
French-born forward who moved to Metz from English club Middlesbrough last December with the aim of getting more regular club action so he could make the World Cup squad. Was left out of Cameroon's squad for the Nations Cup in Mali but did play in the 2000 side that won the African title in Nigeria
 
10-Patrick Mboma (Sunderland) Born: 15.11.70
Prolific scorer for his country since his debut in late 1995. Came to prominence in the J-League in Japan, where he won the Most Valuable Player award with Gamba Osaka in 1997. Voted African Footballer of the Year in 2000 and has just joined Sunderland on loan from Italian club Parma.

11-Pius Ndiefi (Sedan) Born: 5.7.75
Speedy player, who is most effective on the right side of attack. Played in February's Nations Cup final against Senegal in place of the injured Mboma. Has been a star in France with his modest club Sedan, whom he helped to gain promotion in 2000.

18-Patrick Suffo (Numancia) Born: 17.1.78
Bustling striker who came through the junior ranks at Nantes but was dumped through indiscipline. Spent time at Barcelona's second team in the Spanish second division and at Sheffield United, before being loaned to Spain after an on-field bust-up. Won a gold medal in Sydney in 2000 and a Nations Cup winners' gong too.