Steeve Lima

Attacking Midfielder (C) - Free Agent
20 Jul 2031
Sunday
Process

Marked for Steeve Lima

218 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

30 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Felix Koné Lottin out for 105 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Colombe du Dja et Lobo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Felix Koné Lottin keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Colombe du Dja et Lobo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Steeve Lima is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Edmond Sindjo yet — 8.45

At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.45 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Colombe du Dja et Lobo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Edmond Sindjo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo find a way past Aigle Royal de Moungo

Aigle Royal de Moungo made Colombe du Dja et Lobo work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The dugout

Adam Musah gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Adam Musah

Marked 8.50 — 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.

In brief

Back issues
216 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

16 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Felix Koné Lottin breaks a bone — 119 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 119 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Cotonsport Garoua end the Colombe du Dja et Lobo run at 14

Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 14 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.

Squad

Dérrick Anye Fru keeps Colombe du Dja et Lobo in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

The dugout

Sidoine Koularambai says Colombe du Dja et Lobo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Jean Pierre Nguele Nkotto has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colombe du Dja et Lobo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Clarence Kokoro is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Tempers go at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama 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.

Match

Adam Musah’s goal not enough for Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Adam Musah scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Cotonsport Garoua, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

The dugout

No hiding place for Franck Anguissa

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Franck Anguissa, and the manager let it.

In brief

214 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

2 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Henry Tchikeu out for 27 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Colombe du Dja et Lobo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Only the photograph left for Steeve Lima

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Steeve Lima will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Colombe du Dja et Lobo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Boardroom

Deadline passes with 16 signed and 17 gone

That is the business done at Colombe du Dja et Lobo until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.

Boardroom

A new deal for Franck Toko-Ekambi

The board have signed the man in the dugout to a longer contract, which says more than any statement of support. Stability is easy to promise and costly to keep.

Transfer targets

An offer of $270.0K for Yann Junior Mengue

Colombe du Dja et Lobo have gone to Canon Yaounde with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Market

Ange Constant Kenfack comes home

The shirt still fits. Ange Constant Kenfack is back at Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

David Igbongidi is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Boardroom

5 academy players handed senior numbers at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

In brief

213 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

26 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

34 days out for Henry Tchikeu after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Colombe du Dja et Lobo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Aigle Royal de Moungo come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Colombe du Dja et Lobo did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Justice Apaingolo has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colombe du Dja et Lobo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Steeve Lima is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Transfer targets

Zacharie Ebogo due for a Colombe du Dja et Lobo medical

Everything agreed with Panthere du Nde, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Boardroom

Justice Apaingolo has agreed to leave Colombe du Dja et Lobo for nothing

He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.

Transfer targets

Colombe du Dja et Lobo rebuffed over Daniel Adjessa

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PWD Bamenda have kept their man, and Colombe du Dja et Lobo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Words exchanged at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A late step up for Suleiman Idris

At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

In brief

212 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

19 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Henry Tchikeu breaks a bone — 41 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Colombe du Dja et Lobo say no — this time

The offer from Aigle Royal de Moungo for Édouard Sombang 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.

Market

Jean Pierre Nguele Nkotto is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Real improvement from Clarence Kokoro at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Clarence Kokoro is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Junior Dande

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Colombe du Dja et Lobo have done the hard part with Canon Yaounde, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Tempers go at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama 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.

Transfer targets

Colombe du Dja et Lobo rebuffed over Yann Junior Mengue

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Canon Yaounde have kept their man, and Colombe du Dja et Lobo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

A row about effort at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edmond Sindjo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Yvan Mvondo Olama gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Yvan Mvondo Olama is on it.

In brief

210 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

5 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Henry Tchikeu breaks a bone — 55 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Only the photograph left for Steeve Lima

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Steeve Lima will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Colombe du Dja et Lobo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

The dugout

David Igbongidi: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Colombe du Dja et Lobo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Boardroom

Colombe du Dja et Lobo to lose Jean Pierre Nguele Nkotto for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Jean Pierre Nguele Nkotto has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edmond Sindjo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Félix Oukiné

Colombe du Dja et Lobo asked and Cotonsport Garoua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Felix Koné Lottin

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Transfer targets

Colombe du Dja et Lobo try to borrow Bebeto Tsafack

Canon Yaounde have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

In brief

206 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

8 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Henry Tchikeu out for 83 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Colombe du Dja et Lobo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Steeve Lima has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colombe du Dja et Lobo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Édouard Sombang signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Édouard Sombang and Colombe du Dja et Lobo agree another 2 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Edmond Sindjo falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Boardroom

Colombe du Dja et Lobo sign 6 boys into the academy

None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.

Market

Karim Hamadou told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Karim Hamadou has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Colombe du Dja et Lobo.

The dugout

Edmond Sindjo has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Calistus Akoh is still paying for one afternoon at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

In brief

204 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

24 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Colombe du Dja et Lobo turn down Aigle Royal de Moungo for Giovanni Abata Angoula

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Transfer targets

Fee done, terms next for Guti Hilarion

Colombe du Dja et Lobo and Gazelle Garoua have settled on $180.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.

Squad

Tempers go at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama 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.

Squad

Words at Colombe du Dja et Lobo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Edmond Sindjo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Félix Oukiné

Colombe du Dja et Lobo asked and Cotonsport Garoua said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Adam Musah

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Arthur Yene has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Clarence Kokoro asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

The Arthur Yene question follows Colombe du Dja et Lobo around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Arthur Yene’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

202 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

10 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Only the photograph left for Steeve Lima

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Steeve Lima will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Colombe du Dja et Lobo the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

Frederic Koloto hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Colombe du Dja et Lobo can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Steeve Lima signs for Stade Renard de Melong while still at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Steeve Lima has agreed terms with Stade Renard de Melong for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Transfer targets

Colombe du Dja et Lobo bid $190.0K for Guti Hilarion

The offer went to Gazelle Garoua this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Market

Dynamo Douala expected to open talks for Édouard Sombang

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Colombe du Dja et Lobo will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

Arthur Yene falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

Yvan Mvondo Olama gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Yvan Mvondo Olama is on it.

The dugout

Giovanni Abata Angoula is still paying for one afternoon at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

In brief

198 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

13 May 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Frederic Koloto says Colombe du Dja et Lobo went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Felix Koné Lottin signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Felix Koné Lottin commits to Colombe du Dja et Lobo for another 3 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Colombe du Dja et Lobo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arthur Yene is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Yvan Mvondo Olama gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Yvan Mvondo Olama is on it.

The dugout

Giovanni Abata Angoula is still being punished for one mistake

Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.

Market

Adam Musah linked with a move away

The name of Adam Musah keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Colombe du Dja et Lobo say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

The manager makes Felix Koné Lottin a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Colombe du Dja et Lobo. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

Market

Talks stall between Colombe du Dja et Lobo and David Igbongidi

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

194 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

15 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Henry Tchikeu: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Colombe du Dja et Lobo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Walid Khermouche arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Walid Khermouche has, at Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

The dugout

Clarence Kokoro gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

When it matters, Yvan Mvondo Olama plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

The dugout

Giovanni Abata Angoula is still being punished for one mistake

Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.

Market

Adam Musah linked with a move away

The name of Adam Musah keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Colombe du Dja et Lobo say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Somebody is after Edmond Sindjo’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Edmond Sindjo suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Colombe du Dja et Lobo have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

In brief

189 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Clarence Kokoro: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Colombe du Dja et Lobo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Ndzi Yaouba is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edmond Sindjo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Giovanni Abata Angoula gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Yvan Mvondo Olama has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Market

Colombe du Dja et Lobo and Justice Apaingolo are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Market

The Adam Musah talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Colombe du Dja et Lobo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

A season on the outside for Justice Apaingolo

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

186 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

Adam Musah is carrying Colombe du Dja et Lobo

32 goals and a season average of 7.88. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 93th minute. Fortuna Mfou will replay every second of the added time for a week.

Player ratings

Adam Musah scores twice — 9.26

Two goals and a mark of 9.26 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

James Tendoh was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Squad

Cyrille Atchom signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cyrille Atchom commits to Colombe du Dja et Lobo for another 2 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Colombe du Dja et Lobo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Edmond Sindjo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo see off Fortuna Mfou

Three points for Colombe du Dja et Lobo, 2‑1 the final word against Fortuna Mfou in a contest settled by the finer margins.

In brief

176 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

10 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Adam Musah is carrying Colombe du Dja et Lobo

20 goals and a season average of 7.65. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Édouard Sombang

There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

A fracture rules Benjamin Mbarga out for 30 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Colombe du Dja et Lobo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Frederic Koloto puts it in writing

“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 Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo come up short against Cotonsport Garoua

Cotonsport Garoua left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Herman Talla

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

No place for Steeve Lima in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Steeve Lima has his answer from Colombe du Dja et Lobo; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Market

Still no ink between Colombe du Dja et Lobo and Duke Osimaga

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Colombe du Dja et Lobo, another week without a signature from Duke Osimaga.

In brief

171 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

James Tendoh beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 33. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo refuse to drop out of the race

Position 2, 25 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Herman Talla has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Colombe du Dja et Lobo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

The dugout

Steeve Lima keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Colombe du Dja et Lobo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

After 8 games, Colombe du Dja et Lobo finally taste it again

The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Fauve Azur Elite; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Duke Osimaga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo come up short against Fauve Azur Elite

Fauve Azur Elite left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Édouard Sombang gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

168 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo cannot stop winning

6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Squad

Words exchanged at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Words at Colombe du Dja et Lobo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Duke Osimaga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Marcel Djialeu runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Duke Osimaga

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

Herman Talla is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Colombe du Dja et Lobo has been clear about where Herman Talla stands, which is more than many ever get.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo find a way past Victoria United

Victoria United made Colombe du Dja et Lobo work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Adam Musah at his very best

Marked 8.38. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo.

Squad

Adam Musah is carrying Colombe du Dja et Lobo

8 goals and a season average of 7.23. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

167 Edition

The Colombe du Dja et Lobo Post

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Cup progress for Colombe du Dja et Lobo

A 1‑0 win over Gazelle Garoua, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 92th minute. Gazelle Garoua will replay every second of the added time for a week.

Market

Herman Talla is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Colombe du Dja et Lobo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

Ali Nsangou was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Colombe du Dja et Lobo make it 5 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Colombe du Dja et Lobo have 5 straight wins of it.

Squad

Steeve Lima gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Steeve Lima has just signed for Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and for once the answer mattered.

Squad

Edmond Sindjo signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Edmond Sindjo and Colombe du Dja et Lobo agree another 2 years.

Market

Steeve Lima comes home

The shirt still fits. Steeve Lima is back at Colombe du Dja et Lobo, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Squad

A falling-out at Colombe du Dja et Lobo

Yvan Mvondo Olama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

In brief