Many of us are foggy on details about what occasioned the departure of Cameroon\u2019s erstwhile No.1 from the ongoing Fifa World Cup in Qatar. If there was one player that was a shoo-in for a starting place in the Indomitable Lions\u2019 second group fixture against Serbia, it was Andre Onana.<\/p>\n
Surprise was therefore the appropriate reaction when Cameroon\u2019s FA\u2014Fecafoot\u2014cut the Inter Milan net-minder loose before publicly offering unstinting support to Indomitable Lions coach Rigobert Song. The development and Fecafoot\u2019s attempt to dull its effect was as shocking as anything anyone could ever encounter.<\/p>\n
There has since been no shortage of definitive takedowns of Fecafoot\u2019s narrative that Onana\u2014or at least his approach to goalkeeping\u2014was deemed entirely joyless by Song. Surely, this was not the first time Song was discovering that Onana has a proclivity for having multiple touches of the ball outside the box.<\/p>\n
Song, who has been in the Indomitable Lions\u2019 dugout since February 28, 2022, had neither tinkered nor fussed obsessively with the goalkeeping position. Onana discharged his duties between the sticks with an air of competence even in the losing cause against Switzerland when\u2014supposedly to the chagrin of Song\u201426 of his 61 touches of the ball came outside the box.<\/p>\n
All of this makes Song\u2019s epiphany in Qatar and Onana\u2019s inability to talk his way back into his national coach\u2019s graces quite questionable. In fact, it increasingly looks like the crime(s) cannot carry weight in any court. African football fans have\u2014with increasing urgency and agitation\u2014come to learn that this is a classic case of shooting oneself in the foot.<\/p>\n
The unilateral decision taken hours after a crucial match confronts us with a simple question: Would you break ranks with your No.1 goalkeeper at the eleventh hour? Emotional intelligence is the centrepiece to success in pretty much all walks of life. Yet sports administrators in Africa have a ravenous appetite for the animal that goes by the name ego trip.<\/p>\n
Whilst this column expects quick and fierce suppression of player power, your columnist is mindful of the fact that the modern day player is not seized by an unconquerable timidity. Such is the sheer force of their voice that\u2014time after time\u2014they are expected to fire off complaints.<\/p>\n
Administrators\u2014coaches inclusive\u2014that handle interpersonal relationships with their subordinates judiciously and empathetically barely wreak intolerable damage. They are perfectly capable of performing optimally. Those that choose to lord it over people entrusted to their care often\u2014on account of their egos\u2014find themselves running into a brick wall as Fecafoot did before Devis Epassy shipped three goals against Serbia.<\/p>\n
While a second half cameo from Vincent Aboubakar helped the Indomitable Lions share the spoils with their European adversaries, their fans couldn\u2019t help but wonder what might have been had the Onana episode been handled differently\u2014judiciously and empathetically. Football management ought not to be a zero-sum game especially since a growing body of evidence shows that superiors and subordinates learn from each other.<\/p>\n
Since this column was written well before Cameroon faced Brazil in a final group game on Friday night, the impact of the shenanigans that took centre stage before the 3-3 draw with Serbia cannot adequately be sized up. It is, however, safe to say that one of the worst prospects a team can be faced with in a World Cup is having to beat Brazil to stay alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The unilateral decision taken hours after a crucial match confronts us with a simple question: Would you break ranks with your No.1 goalkeeper at the eleventh hour? Emotional intelligence is the centrepiece to success in pretty much all walks of life. Yet sports administrators in Africa have a ravenous appetite for the animal that goes by the name ego trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":23130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4],"tags":[7,14,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-23133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-sports","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n