The Lion King | 21
for the size of their cattle herds.
With their Hausa colleagues,
they engage in long-distance
trade involving cattle. Other
northern ethnic groups include
the Mandara, Kokoto, and Arab
Choa. Major crops include
cotton and millet.
Most of the southern peoples
are Christian or engage in tradi-
tional, animist religious practic-
es. The Centre, South, and East
provinces are characterized by
dense tropical rain forest. The
Centre and South are culturally
dominated by the Beti peoples,
which include the Ewondo,
Eton, and Bulu, and are linguisti-
cally and culturally related to
the Fang of Gabon. They are
patrilineal, grow root crops and
peanuts for their own consump-
tion, and grow cocoa as a cash
crop. Peoples in the East include
the Maka and Gbaya, both with
relatively egalitarian forms of
social organization. A sense of
common national culture has
been created through shared
history, schooling, national
holidays and symbols, and
enthusiasm for soccer.
Roger Milla: icon of
Cameroonian Football
Born on May 20, 1952, Albert
Roger Milla obviously had a well
marked destiny. The name Milla
which means ‘What runs, What
goes fast’ in Douala language
already presaged the great
adventure of the “old lion”.
As with young people of his time,
the school was the only way to
prepare for a successful future,
at least in the opinion of his
parents. Thus, having assiduously
followed the primary studies, he
continued with school until the
first class when he terminated
his studies to concentrate on his
football career.
He started his football career in
Eclair Douala - second division
club in 1967, later progressing
to Douala elite division, eventu-
ally winning the league title
in Cameroon’s 1970/71 sports
season.
Milla left Douala and moved to
Yaounde where he signed with
the Tonnere Kalara Club (TKC)
from the same town, with which
he won the Cameroonian Cup
final in 1974. Then follow the
African Cup in 1975. Milla’s stay
at TKC saw his personal talent
crowned with the Golden Ball
title of Cameroon in 1975 and
1976.
Roger Milla immigrated to
France in 1977 to pursue a
professional career with passage
in the second division clubs such
as Valenciennes, Saint Etienne,
Montpellier and clubs of the
second class first division like
Monaco and Bastia. He enjoyed
the glory of victory in the final of
the cup France with Bastia.
Cameroon’s participation at the
World Cup football organized
by Spain in 1982 remains one of
the best memories of Milla as a
footballer. However, having his
goal disallowed against Peru
in their first match, Cameroon
went out with three draws from
their three first-round games.
The contrast will therefore be
the participation of Cameroon
in the final phase of the 1990
World Cup in Italy with the
unexpected call from the Presi-
dent of Cameroon to 38 year old
Roger Milla asking him to play for
the national team. Roger Milla
emerged as one of the tourna-
ment’s major stars, scoring four
goals for the Indomitable Lions
of Cameroon whose course
ended in quarterfinals. At the
end of the event, he ranked
among the best scorers in the
tournament and was named
one of the best players in the
world.
His World Cup history culminated
in 1994 with the participation of
Cameroon in the world cup in
United States where at 42 years,
he became the oldest scorer in
the history of the world cup. It is
not his only record; he is also the
first African to have played in
three finals tournaments.
A man of great generosity and
humanity, he now devotes his
time to African causes. An itiner-
ant ambassador for Cameroon
and UNAIDS, he is tireless in his
globe-trotting work. If you ever
meet the man Roger Milla, don’t
ever ask him how many goals
or caps he has. “I don’t know.
It never interested me. Football
was all that mattered,” would be
his response. The quote sums up
the man.
Roger Milla:
Icon of Cameroonian Football
Country Focus
