Cameroon football mourns 1980 African Ballon d’Or winner Jean Manga Onguene

Jean Manga Onguene, one of the most celebrated figures in Cameroon football, has died in Paris at the age of 80.

The former striker, who won the African Ballon d’Or in 1980, died on Tuesday morning following an illness. His death was announced on Tuesday 6 October and confirmed by Canon de Yaounde, the club with which he became a legend.

Born on 12 June 1946 in Ngoulemakong, in southern Cameroon, Manga Onguene enjoyed an outstanding playing career before continuing to serve the country’s football after retiring.

He achieved the majority of his success with Canon de Yaounde, winning six Cameroon league titles, six Cameroon Cups, three African Cup of Champions Clubs and one African Cup Winners’ Cup.

The pinnacle of his career came in 1980. Manga Onguene finished as the leading scorer in the African Cup of Champions Clubs, scoring nine goals as Canon de Yaounde won the competition. He was subsequently named African Ballon d’Or winner by France Football, finishing ahead of Nigeria’s Segun Odegbami and fellow Cameroon international Theophile Abega.

Manga Onguene represented Cameroon for more than a decade and played at the 1970 and 1972 Africa Cup of Nations. However, a knee injury ruled him out of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

His influence on Cameroon football continued after his playing career ended. He moved into coaching and held several roles with the national teams.

In 1995, he led Cameroon’s junior side to the African title. He later managed the senior national team, the Indomitable Lions, at the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso, where Cameroon reached the quarter-finals.

Manga Onguene also served as an assistant coach with the national team at several World Cups, including during Cameroon’s historic run at Italia 1990. He subsequently became Cameroon’s National Technical Director and later worked as a FIFA instructor.

His death marks the loss of one of the leading figures from Canon de Yaounde’s golden era and one of the most prestigious Cameroon players of his generation.

Cameroon football is now mourning a player whose achievements at club and international level helped define an important period in the country’s history.