Rigobert Song: The coach who does not know how to pronounce his players’ names ⁰

The Cameroon national team announced its list of 26 players for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, in which it will compete in Group G alongside of Serbia, Brazil and Switzerland.

Local and international media were offended by what happened at the squad announcement, and there are concerns about their coach, the legendary Rigobert Song, a former Cameroonian footballer who played in four World Cups.

The suspicions are because when Song was sitting in the press conference to announce the 26 names, something surprising and unexpected happened.

The coach was repeatedly stumped when pronouncing the names of some players and, on some occasions, did not know how to pronounce some surnames so it was the journalists who came to his rescue to which Song responded with a “thank you, thank you”.

It didn’t end there, because Song was frozen when he saw the notebook where those names were written. He had to consult the advisor who was next to him. This did not sit well in the country’s confidence in his team at the World Cup.

Doubts around Lions at the 2022 World Cup

Cameroonian media point out that Song might not have much say in the making of the roster, highlighting the interference of the Cameroon Football Federation in which 26 players would go to the World Cup.

Another possible reason is that Song has only been in charge for a short time and therefore does not know all his players. Until February this year, the position was held by the Portuguese Antonio Conceicao, who was surprisingly dismissed, considering his numbers of three defeats, six draws and 14 victories.

Song was chosen to replace him and had the difficult task of overcoming a tough qualifying round against Algeria, which he did with much suffering, to secure a ticket to the 2022 World Cup.

His record is two wins, one draw and three defeats. Their last friendly will be against Panama on November 18, six days before the opener against Switzerland.

In Cameroon, they hope to forget this embarrassment with a good start in the World Cup.

Source: Marca.com