World Cup 2014: Akono can pass first real test as Cameroon boss

22Mar 2013

World Cup Brazil 2014

Jonathan Wilson gives us an insight into the man who is now charged with bringing former glories back to the Cameroon national team, and how his appointment came about...

Jean-Paul Akono is a big man who laughs readily. He likes a drink and is very good company. He is also the man charged with resurrecting Cameroonian football, of lifting it from the slough of complacency, infighting and politicking into which it had sunk.

I spent some time in Yaounde last year after the African Cup of Nations, trying to find out why Cameroon had failed to qualify, how they had gone in a decade from being Africa's dominant side, winning back-to-back Cups of Nations, to not even being at the finals. While I was there, I had lunch with the former forward Jean Manga-Onguene, now the technical director of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot), and Akono, a former defender who was at the time his assistant.

They outlined various schemes to scout the whole country, to make sure that gifted young players were discovered as early as possible to they could receive proper coaching, but they admitted that the country's football administrators as a whole had been guilty of assuming the success of the late eighties and nineties would simply continue. I had lunch at Manga-Onguene's house a couple of days later, before heading to the Cameroonian league game between Cannon Yaounde and Tiko United.

There were a number of former players and coaches there and fevered discussions. As I left to go to the game with the coach of the Cameroon national women's team, I remember glancing back and seeing Manga-Onguene, a slim, dapper man with a measured way of speaking, seated at a table on his veranda, animatedly explaining something to three or four others, pointing at plans that flapped in the gentle wind. At the time, I didn't really realise what I now think was going on but it did occur to me that it all felt strangely conspiratorial.

It all became much clearer in September. Cameroon lost 2-0 away to Cape Verde in a play-off for Cup of Nations qualification. The French coach Dennis Lavagne was sacked and Akono was appointed. In a sense it was a logical move, at least in the short term: Akono, after all, was deputy technical director, and has coaching pedigree, having led Cameroon too Olympic gold in 2000. But it soon became apparent that the appointment had been made by the sports ministry and hadn't been ratified by Fecafoot. A few days later, whether because they wanted Akono or because they feared a schism, Fecafoot confirmed his appointment.

I have little doubt that Akono's appointment was Manga-Onguene's doing, that he acted swiftly, pulling the correct political strings to get his man in place and so ensure consistency of ethos between what he was doing as technical director and the national side. He also headed off the possibility of the appointment of a European coach (who are popular largely because they command higher salaries than local coaches and the more money sloshing through the system the more can be syphoned off).

Akono's first game was the second leg against Cape Verde, which Cameroon won 2-1, but the damage had already been done. Saturday's game against Togo, who reached the quarter-final of the Cup of Nations last month, really represents Akono's first chance to make a difference. Only 11 of a 21-man squad showed for last month's friendly against Tanzania, a major embarrassment for Akono given they included the captain Samuel Eto'o, the vice-captain Nicolas Nkoulou, Alexandre Song, Jean Makoun, Joel Matip and Achille Emana.

"I have called up the players who I think are the most competitive now and anyone who does not turn up this time will never again be called up in the national squad as long as I remain the head coach," Akono said. "We have done our best to resolve differences between some players and disagreements with the federation. The players should know that when they are called up it is to serve the nation and not any particular individual."

Having lost in Tripoli, Cameroon lie a point behind Libya in qualifying, level with DR Congo. They need a win and a sense of renewal should inspire them.