Andre Onana announced his international retirement on Friday. While many believe that his return to the Indomitable Lions will depend on a change of coach, the situation is more complicated than that because of the indifference of Samuel Eto’o.
The Cameroon national team can no longer count on its goalkeeper. The Inter Milan goalkeeper has decided to put an end to his adventure within the Indomitable Lions. The 26-year-old’s decision surprised many.
This is a tactical disagreement with Cameroon coach Rigobert Song and the Indomitable Lions coaching staff. Of the events which took place during the group stage of the 2022 World Cup and which are at the origin of this departure of Onana.
Dismissed, Onana only played one game in Qatar, the one against Switzerland, which ended in a 1-0 defeat. As things stand, optimists believe a coaching change would be enough to convince Onana to reconsider his position. Fans mostly believe that the goalkeeper might decide to return if Song is dismissed.
However, things are not that simple. If Onana decided to retire from the national team, it was not because of a simple falling out with the coaching staff of the Indomitable Lions. Obviously, the 26-year-old was also disappointed that Eto’o didn’t come to his defense in this story.
President of the Cameroon Football Federation, Eto’o closed his eyes or even gave his approval for the Onana’s temporary suspension. As a result, the former Ajax star is still unlikely to think he can fix this situation. And it’s not his relationship with the Cameroonian legend that will fix things.