CAMEROON is facing a big mess before the Africa Cup of Nations, with a disputed coach named Marc Brys and the country's football association led by Samuel Eto'o choosing two different teams. Eto'o is accused of leaving out Vincent Aboubakar to keep his own record as the nation's top scorer.
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At the start of the month, right after Eto'o won an election to be the FA president, it was said that Brys would be replaced by David Pagou, and that the Indomitable Lions' AFCON team wouldn't have Andre Onana and Aboubakar.
However, Brys was actually appointed by the country's Ministry of Sport, not the FA, and he says the ministry is the only one that can fire him.
In an interview with TV5 Monde, Brys said that until there is an official note from the President appointing David Pagou as the coach, he still considers himself the coach of Cameroon.
He explained that this is how things have been in Cameroon for at least 30 years.
Because of this, he has submitted his own team list to the Ministry of Sport, including both Onana and Aboubakar.
He told VTM Nieuws, "It's always been Eto'o's goal to get me out as quickly as possible.
From the very first minute, he insulted me, and I reacted. I was too much of a competitor for him."
"Eto'o had left key players and leaders out of the squad. Because, of course, he had made that selection. How can you go to the Africa Cup of Nations without a world-class goalkeeper? Or without Aboubakar?"
"It's unbelievable, but actually, it doesn't surprise me.
It's coming from someone who is narcissistic and thinks he's the best."
Eto'o has a poor relationship with Onana, and many insiders believe the legendary striker made sure Aboubakar wasn't in Pagou's squad to keep his own top scorer record.
According to The Sun, Aboubakar's exclusion was to keep Eto'o's goal count as the highest in the country.
Eto'o has 56 goals, while Aboubakar currently has 45. The situation has led to talks between government officials and FA representatives, but with less than two weeks until their first match against Gabon, it's still unclear who will be the coach and who will be playing for Cameroon.