Cameroon coach Winfried Schaefer has sprung a surprise by calling up Patrick Mboma for a friendly international against Japan in Oita on Wednesday. The call comes just days after the striker told reporters that he thought his international career was over.
« I’m very disappointed, my career with the national team is over, » said Mboma, after his J-League match on Sunday, a day after he turned 33.
But after the call from Schaefer a delighted Mboma told reporters: « The coach just called me and wants me to return. I think my national career is not finished.
« I’m very happy, because I think I deserve to stay with the team. I didn’t make things bad against all the players and the coaches.
« I was really astonished when I was dropped from the squad last week.
« But now things are back to normal. The players really want me to join the team, because they know with my experience I can really be helpful.
« They encouraged to talk with the coaches. That’s the reason why they called me. »
Mboma, who scored against Ireland in the World Cup, became the most popular Cameroon player in the J-League when he scored the fastest season-opening goal, in 26 seconds, soon after arriving in Japan in 1997.
Wednesday’s encounter will be the first meeting between the two sides since Japan defeated Cameroon 2-0 in the 2001 Confederations Cup.
« We played several African teams this season and obviously Cameroon are the number one in Africa, » said Japan coach Zico.
We need to play against a strong side like them to improve overall. It’s a good chance to study their team, learn from them and see what we can do against such a strong team on the pitch.
