Coach Lagoon faces dilemma after Cameroon flop

[Bobo Dan]

Coach faces dilemma after Cameroon flop

http://www.supersport.com/football/2010 ... eroon_flop




Cameroon coach Paul le Guen must decide whether to keep faith with his controversial team selection after they failed to dazzle in Monday's 1-0 World Cup Group E defeat to Japan.

Le Guen, who left first-choice midfielder Alexandre Song on the bench and also ended goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni's seven-year reign in favour of Hamidou Souleymanou, was left frustrated after a clueless display ended in a damaging defeat and put their tournament progression in the balance.

"We are disappointed with the result but also with our attitude -- we were very tense in the first half," Le Guen told reporters. "I expected something else. I felt the players were not playing to the best of their capacity, so we were not able to unleash our potential. That is very frustrating."

Cameroon would no doubt have earmarked the game as their most likely three points in the group stage, but a first half strike from Keisuke Honda and a gritty defence were enough to nullify the disjointed Africans and seal Japan's first World Cup win on foreign soil.

The Indomitable Lions now face tricky ties against Denmark on June 19 in Pretoria and the Netherlands in Cape Town on June 24.

"We have to win against Denmark, we know that. We will try to recover well to do our best," Le Guen said.

The Frenchman smelt goals against Japan and chose a 4-3-3 formation, but their attack, which included captain Samuel Eto'o in an ineffective deeper role, failed to repay their coach's instinct.

Young midfielder Joel Matip, Song's replacement in the side, also failed to make an impact, with Cameroon missing the Arsenal man's calming influence on the play.

"Eto'o plays in the position I choose for him and I take the responsibility for that," a downcast Le Guen replied after suggestions his side would have benefited had the Inter Milan man played further forward. Oloshi Oloriburuku. Useless coach.

Cameroon defender Sebastien Bassong was already focusing on the next match.

"I'm very disappointed because we expected a win to be honest. It is a very frustrating result for us but we have to look forward and win the next game," he told Reuters.

"It's always hard to start with a defeat, but we will try to improve ourselves."

A marked improvement in their performance will be essential against a Denmark side also chasing their first points, having lost 2-0 to group favourites the Netherlands, on Monday.

[realtrouble]

Useless coach. You only move Etoo out of position if you have a better striker than Etoo. Benching Song for a 19 years old nobody is beyond shocking.

[100%Naija]

The angel* cannot read his teams strength.. Cameroon does not have the same players as Inter...so it make no sense to play Eto the way Mourinho played him... this is not the venue for your stupid experiments LeGay...egbe ohsi

[Ekorian]

Useless coach. You only move Etoo out of position if you have a better striker than Etoo. Benching Song for a 19 years old nobody is beyond shocking.

But some you guys were applauding Lagerfront for starting a 19 year old Haruna too.

[Heliopolis]

Now I'm beginning to understand why many people here dislike foreign coaches. You can not tell me that Le Guen knows what he is doing. Have they used the same XI in consecutive matches this year?

[waka-man]

Useless coach. You only move Etoo out of position if you have a better striker than Etoo. Benching Song for a 19 years old nobody is beyond shocking.

But some you guys were applauding Lagerfront for starting a 19 year old Haruna too.

Man, you guys make some really poor arguments. Did Lagerback bench a top quality midfielder for Haruna? This is Alex Song, often Arsenal's best midfielder. In Obi's absence, who are you suggesting we play in place of Haruna?
Jeez, it's just so frustrating reading such illogical posts

[amafolas]

Useless coach. You only move Etoo out of position if you have a better striker than Etoo. Benching Song for a 19 years old nobody is beyond shocking.

But some you guys were applauding Lagerfront for starting a 19 year old Haruna too.

abeg tell me what better option to play in that spot. this leguen is an angel*. somebody should tell this guy that this is the world cup. not some playstation game to try weird lineups and combinations.

Cameroun is who they are. I watched their last few friendlies, most of their goals came from crosses from Geremi. this guy needs to stop being cute. Play Geremi is a RW or RB, put alex song in the game. Emana has to start too. Put etoo in the center. and let them play.

[100%Naija]

Useless coach. You only move Etoo out of position if you have a better striker than Etoo. Benching Song for a 19 years old nobody is beyond shocking.

But some you guys were applauding Lagerfront for starting a 19 year old Haruna too.

Man, you guys make some really poor arguments. Did Lagerback bench a top quality midfielder for Haruna? This is Alex Song, often Arsenal's best midfielder. In Obi's absence, who are you suggesting we play in place of Haruna?
Jeez, it's just so frustrating reading such illogical posts

Ekorian is being mischievous with that post. Dont mind him

[Ekorian]

Useless coach. You only move Etoo out of position if you have a better striker than Etoo. Benching Song for a 19 years old nobody is beyond shocking.

But some you guys were applauding Lagerfront for starting a 19 year old Haruna too.

Man, you guys make some really poor arguments. Did Lagerback bench a top quality midfielder for Haruna? This is Alex Song, often Arsenal's best midfielder. In Obi's absence, who are you suggesting we play in place of Haruna?
Jeez, it's just so frustrating reading such illogical posts

What is illogical is when you sit behind your keyboard pretending to know better than the coach that selected the team.

[Otitokoro]

Ah, yes O!
He benched Kanu, the game changer, for Haruna. That's why we lost, as the Argies would have been afraid of him because of what he did to Brazil 14 yrs ago.

Useless coach. You only move Etoo out of position if you have a better striker than Etoo. Benching Song for a 19 years old nobody is beyond shocking.

But some you guys were applauding Lagerfront for starting a 19 year old Haruna too.

Man, you guys make some really poor arguments. Did Lagerback bench a top quality midfielder for Haruna? This is Alex Song, often Arsenal's best midfielder. In Obi's absence, who are you suggesting we play in place of Haruna?
Jeez, it's just so frustrating reading such illogical posts

[cchinukw]

Na strategy Oyinbo na oyinbo

[Bobo Dan]

Hard rain continues to fall on Cameroon

http://www.supersport.com/football/2010 ... n_Cameroon



Cameroon trained in weather as miserable as their mood in their camp on Tuesday but maintained they can still revive their World Cup campaign after Monday's surprising opening loss to lowly-rated Japan.

Having returned straight after the 1-0 defeat in Bloemfontein, all 23 players took part in the session as a chilly wind blew rain in from the Indian Ocean across Durban's northern suburbs.

Coach Paul le Guen greeted media with handshakes and smiles but left assistant Yves Colleu to do the talking as he turned his mind to the next Group E game against Denmark.

"We, and the players, all took a hard knock yesterday," Colleu told reporters. "It was not easy. I must say we did not play as well as expected. That is football.

"However, it is not the end of the road. The players are set to recover their spirits and bounce back in the next match, which will be a must win for us."

The four-time African champions and top-ranked team from the continent will take on Denmark, who lost their first encounter 2-0 to the Netherlands on Monday, in what looks like being a decisive match for both teams' hopes in Pretoria on Saturday.

[blackjack]

Now I'm beginning to understand why many people here dislike foreign coaches. You can not tell me that Le Guen knows what he is doing. Have they used the same XI in consecutive matches this year?

in that case we should also hate saadane who's a local coach