Furious Eto'o and Cameroon coach Marc Brys have heated exchange

Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) president Samuel Eto'o had a fierce argument in Yaounde on Tuesday with the country's national team coach, Belgian Marc Brys, after the former Barcelona player tried to expel representatives of the Cameroonian government from a meeting. "You are coach because I appointed you. You have made a lot of mistakes. Please stay in this meeting," Eto'o told Brys in front of the journalists’ cameras, visibly angry, after the coach tried to leave the meeting with the government delegates.

"I am the president of the Federation. And what you do is my responsibility. And don't talk to me like that, Mr. coach. Don't forget that," the ex-footballer told him. "The only person who does politics in Cameroon is the President (Paul) Biya. You don't decide. I am the president of the federation," the former striker shouted back. The coach replied: "You have never been a coach. Eto'o replied: "I have been a coach.

"For three weeks," Brys replied, referring to the brief time the ex-footballer sat on the bench at Turkish side Antalyaspor. "Yes, and I was a great player, a great player," Eto'o added. "Very good, very good. Congratulations," said the coach, who shook the president's hand in farewell and headed for the exit door.

"If he goes through (the door), he will never come back," Eto'o finally said. The controversy arose after Eto'o ordered the departure of a delegate from Cameroon's sports ministry, Cyrille Tollo, amid a dispute between the ex-footballer and sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi. Brys had been invited to a working session by Eto'o as Cameroon prepares for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Several of the coach's assistants, also appointed by the sports ministry, were however denied entry to the FECAFOOT building in the capital, Yaounde. Tensions between the two grew last April when Kombi allegedly hired Brys without FECAFOOT's approval. The Cameroon national team, known as the ‘indomitable lions’, has won the African Cup five times and qualified for the World Cup eight times.

 

May 28, 2024