El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf, the former Senegalese international, minced no words as he unleashed a scathing critique on Cameroon and goalkeeper André Onana. The verbal onslaught comes just hours before the highly anticipated encounter between Senegal and Cameroon on the second day of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Diouf, a former Liverpool player, expressed his deep concerns about the management of the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT), emphasizing the late arrival of star goalkeeper André Onana to the Cameroonian gathering.
“You have to be serious,” remarked Diouf on the set of “Soir de CAN” on Canal+. “There are things that bother me with the Cameroon team.
To have a high-level goalkeeper, with the African Cup’s importance for Cameroonians and Africans, and to see him arrive two days before a match… It is unacceptable in Senegal.
Unacceptable. They showed that they are going to the African Cup but there is nothing ahead. Cameroon has regressed. Today, I feel bad for the Cameroonian supporters.”
Diouf continued his critique by suggesting that Cameroon neglects its rich footballing history and lags behind serious contenders like Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
He attributed Cameroon’s challenges not to on-field issues but to a management problem within the team.
“They (the Cameroonians) sleep on their history. They talk about the Continent but, today, they must know that this Continent has become the continental hotel.
Today, when we talk about football, we talk about serious teams,” declared Diouf. “Today, Cameroon’s real problem is not on the ground; it is a management problem.
I don’t watch the Cameroon team. All I look at is what Senegal will take me. We have very good players, and it will be up to us to play our game, not to watch what Cameroon will do.”
