CHENNAI: Even in the vivid, vibrant world of African football, Cameroon are an outlier. The stories are endless. The heroes evoke an awe, some of their feats etched in the sands of time. Heck, when you are known as the 'Indomitable Lions', you can see why Cameroon doesn't do boring things.
Right from Roger Milla using the corner flag for his dance routine in 1990 to the national team refusing to travel to Brazil to the 2014 World Cup till the national federation (it was reported they had to take out a loan to pay players to take the flight days before the World Cup began) had paid the bonuses promised to them, it's been a ride.
That ride was in full force on Monday. It began even before their match against Serbia when it was revealed their first-choice keeper, Andre Onana, had been dropped from the 26-man squad. Onana, news had filtered in, had a disagreement with coach Rigobert Song, Cameroon's all-time record cap holder.
On the field, Cameroon, who had lost the opening match to Switzerland, took an early lead against Serbia. In response, the Europeans scored three goals inside nine minutes. Just when it looked like the Africans were heading home early, they mounted a response of their own to level thanks to a two-goal blitz. Both sides had chances to score a fourth but ultimately shared the spoils.
Apart from a penchant for embracing chaos, they have a knack for producing handy strikers. There's the aforementioned Eto'o and Milla. There was Patrick Mboma, who was in the side when they won the Olympics in 2000. These days, it's Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. Both players had a heavy hand in Cameroon keeping alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stages. The pair have already had a memorable 2022 and Monday was a reminder that the duo could yet cook up something special to close out the year.
At the Africa Cup of Nations which Cameroon hosted earlier this year, Aboubakar won the golden boot to lead the side to a third-place finish. Choupo-Moting, meanwhile, has gone from leading the line for Stoke City to PSG's plan B to Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski replacement. In fact, the 33-year-old has the third best minutes per goals scored (87 minutes per goal for his six Bundesliga goals) among the top five European leagues. The top two are Lewandowski and Erling Haaland (minimum six goals).
Even after taking the Bundesliga tax into the equation, Choupo-Moting has emerged as an effective attacker. He can pick up the ball in awkward areas and drive at the defence. He possesses a handy change of pace and has the upper body strength needed to play up front at this level.
If the Hamburg-born attacker is the safe pair of hands in this forward line, Aboubakar is the embodiment of Cameroonian football. Highs, lows, controversies but never boring. Even before the forward made his international debut, his exploits at age-group football meant he had been marked for future successes. While he has never quite managed to replicate those feats in senior football, he remains a hugely popular figure in his country. Not least because he scored the goal that won Cameroon the Nations Cup in 2017.
It explains why the locals call him 'Aboutcho'. "It is just an affectionate word we use for the youngest of children," The Athletic quoted a local as saying during the AFCON in January 2022. "It means 'My beloved', or something like that.” He also has a one-sided rivalry with Mo Salah. As recently as November, Aboubakar claimed that: "I understand people's attitudes, he's one of the best goalscorers in the Premier League," he had told 90football.fr. “It makes sense that when you go on about a player like that, people will talk.
"But I did say that it was my opinion, my point of view. I'm not impressed by him. I can do what he does. I just don't have the opportunity to play in a big club." He had indulged in some trash talking before the two sides met in the AFCON semifinal in January as well (Egypt advanced on penalties).
The 30-year-old, though, is yet to start a game at the World Cup. Coach Song has preferred to start Choupo-Moting as the focal point either side of Karl Toko Ekambi and Bryan Mbeumo. With his side 1-3 down, Song threw caution to the wind and brought on Aboubakar.
Less than 12 minutes later, the move paid dividends thanks to one of the goals of the World Cup. He ran onto a long punt upfield and insouciantly chipped the keeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. Aboubakar was so far upfield he may have been in a different postcode so it was no surprise that the flag went up for offside. Yet, replays showed he was onside by the barest of all margins. On air, the commentator, perhaps rightly, mentioned that the former Porto star wouldn't have tried something outrageous as chipping the keeper if he knew he was onside.
Two minutes later, he turned provider. After receiving the ball on the right, he drove towards goal before squaring it to strike partner Choupo-Moting for the simplest of finishes. The side had chances to win the game but squandered them.
While the draw keeps alive their slim chances, they haven't won a game at the World Cup for 20 years. Their final group game? Brazil. While not many will back them, beating the Selecao will be on brand for the side that refuses to do boring.