By Walter Wilson Nana
Thomas Nkono, assistant coach in the den of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, in charge of training goal keepers has been fired from his job. Cameroon’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Michel Zoah, signed Nkono’s dismissal note February 19 in Yaounde. “Tommy” as Nkono is fondly referred to has been replaced by another Cameroonian big name in goal keeping, Jacques Celestin Songo’o. Like Nkono, Songo’o is a former keeper of the Lions.
It is known in football circles in Cameroon that at the close of AFCON 2010 in Angola, relations between Nkono and head coach of the Lions, Frenchman, Paul Marie Le Guen turned sour. The Minister of Sports, President of Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, Iya Muhammed and Le Guen are said to have blamed Nkono during their first evaluation meeting in Luanda after the Lions were booted out in the quarter-finals by Egypt. These officials posit that Nkono failed to make the Lions’ goal keeping at AFCON 2010 competitive and relied only on Idriss Carlos Kameni, the Cameroonian keeper at Espagnyol of Barcelone, Spain. Nkono (who is also the trainer of goal keepers at Espagnyol) is described as the protégé of Kameni, who will not want him replaced at the goal post, even when the keeper is not at his best. Observers hold that the Lions’ dismal performance in Angola 2010 lends credence to this.
Uncomfortable with the situation and as the Lions warm up for South Africa 2010, Le Guen requested the sacking of Nkono, which the Minister of Sports quickly endorsed.
Songo’o, the former keeper of FC Metz, France, and Deportivo La Coruna, Spain has resurfaced in the Lions den after a stint as the trainer of Lions’ keepers from February 2005 to February 2006. Then, Portuguese born Arthur Jorge, was at the head of the Lions technical bench.
Songo’o, was the Indomitable Lions keeper at the 1998 World Cup in France. He is replacing Nkono for the second time on that job.