Marked for Patrick Moukandjo
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces18 Aug 2036
Supporters organise against the Unisport Bafang board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market18 Aug 2036
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dynamo Douala waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Unisport Bafang is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market18 Aug 2036
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Unisport Bafang is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad18 Aug 2036
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 dugout18 Aug 2036
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.
Market18 Aug 2036
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Unisport Bafang know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Aug 2036
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dynamo Douala waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Unisport Bafang is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market11 Aug 2036
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad11 Aug 2036
Becker Tcheuani and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout11 Aug 2036
Edgar Fai 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 dugout11 Aug 2036
César Epoh 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 César Epoh is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces31 Mar 2036
Anger at Unisport Bafang spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market31 Mar 2036
Yves Mbappe has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Unisport Bafang they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout31 Mar 2036
“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.
Squad31 Mar 2036
Becker Tcheuani 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 dugout31 Mar 2036
Dimitri Mbele 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 Dimitri Mbele is on it.
The dugout31 Mar 2036
Yves Mbappe knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Unisport Bafang, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad31 Mar 2036
Joel Aboubakar is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Match31 Mar 2036
Position 9 on 29 points, with the season drifting toward the summer. It is the safest place in football and the hardest one to sell a season ticket from.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Feb 2036
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Unisport Bafang are no longer polite ones.
Match16 Feb 2036
A 0‑3 beating by Panthere du Nde was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market18 Feb 2036
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Unisport Bafang is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad18 Feb 2036
Becker Tcheuani and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom18 Feb 2036
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout18 Feb 2036
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout18 Feb 2036
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Desire Ekambi, and the manager let it.
The dugout18 Feb 2036
Joel Ganago 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 Joel Ganago is on it.
The dugout18 Feb 2036
Madaoua Tchiva knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Unisport Bafang, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces15 Oct 2035
Supporters organise against the Unisport Bafang board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad15 Oct 2035
Becker Tcheuani 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 dugout15 Oct 2035
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Unisport Bafang, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead15 Oct 2035
Gazelle Garoua top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
The dugout15 Oct 2035
Joel Ganago 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 Joel Ganago is on it.
Squad15 Oct 2035
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Unisport Bafang has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Squad15 Oct 2035
Where he used to play does most of his talking for him at Unisport Bafang. The room defers to it, the kids study it, and the only thing that can puncture it is a bad month.