It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
0‑3 to Aigle Royal de Moungo, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marcel Fobang will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Unisport Bafang the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Unisport Bafang lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Unisport Bafang, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 8.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Unisport Bafang, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces16 Sep 2030
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tony Ngani Kameni will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Unisport Bafang the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Machoer Djisse trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Unisport Bafang can pretend not to have heard.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yileng Augustine and Unisport Bafang agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Unisport Bafang has been clear about where Bronson Nsubuga stands, which is more than many ever get.
Iniekade Timitimi is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.35 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Manuel Maurice Nkoulou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
1‑4 to Victoria United, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Unisport Bafang can pretend not to have heard.
The deal that would have taken Manuel Maurice Nkoulou to Stade Renard de Melong has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Unisport Bafang with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
The terraces4 Feb 2030
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 7 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Serge Andoulo and Unisport Bafang agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.82 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The offer from Aigle Royal de la Menoua for Manuel Maurice Nkoulou was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Unisport Bafang, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
PWD Bamenda go through and Unisport Bafang go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Unisport Bafang, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rodrigo Okon and Unisport Bafang agree another 3 years.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Herval Joel Ndedi Kingue and Unisport Bafang agree another 2 years.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
1‑4 to Fortuna Mfou, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Unisport Bafang can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Unisport Bafang have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joy Manana and Unisport Bafang agree another 3 years.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 8.49 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manuel Maurice Nkoulou will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Unisport Bafang the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Unisport Bafang can pretend not to have heard.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Manuel Maurice Nkoulou knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Unisport Bafang have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Collins Song is a Unisport Bafang player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
The shirt still fits. Karl Ondoa is back at Unisport Bafang, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Machoer Djisse and Unisport Bafang agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
A 2‑0 win over Stade Renard de Melong, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joy Manana will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Unisport Bafang the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yileng Augustine and Unisport Bafang agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Unisport Bafang can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Desmond Kameni will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Unisport Bafang the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.01 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Unisport Bafang, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Unisport Bafang have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vaclav Cerny and Unisport Bafang agree another 3 years.
Vaclav Cerny is 19, and Unisport Bafang have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Unisport Bafang, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Unisport Bafang have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Unisport Bafang know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Desmond Kameni will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Unisport Bafang the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Unisport Bafang this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Herval Joel Ndedi Kingue and Unisport Bafang agree another 2 years.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Unisport Bafang can pretend not to have heard.
Mohamed Yassine Abouzra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Played out of position, hooked on the hour, asked to be somebody he is not — the details vary and the mood does not. Unisport Bafang have a player doing his work under protest.