Samuel Eto’o again grabbed the headlines as he scored two goals as Barcelona increased their league lead in Spain. Guy Feutchine in Greece and Patrice Noukeu in Belgium also scored this past weekend while Jean Makoun made French sports daily L’equipe’s team of the week in France.
Spain
Samuel Eto’o continues his scoring streak for Barcelona. He scored two goals over the weekend as his club defeated Malaga 4-0 to increase their league lead
Carlos Kameni also played a big role in his club Espanyol’s win, 1-0 over Zaragoza. Kameni started in goal and made a good leaping save of Delio Toledo’s header just after Espanyol scored the game’s only goal. With the win, Espanyol remain in third place in the league.
Pierre Achille Webo started at forward for Osasuna and had a well placed header of his saved by Atletico Madrid’s goalkeeper. Webo eventually was subbed out in the 69th minute of Osasuna’s action packed 3-2 loss to Atletico Madrid. Daniel Kome also made an appearance this week, entering as an offensive sub in the 71st minute of his club Getafe’s scoreless draw with Levante.
France
In France several Cameroonians made a name for themselves this week. Foremost amongst them was Jean Makoun, whose midfield play for Lille in their 1-1 draw with Paris St. Germain earned him a spot on French daily L’equipe’s team of the week (L’equipe type). Opposing Makoun in midfield was Modeste Mbami who started for PSG and gave a good workmanlike performance. Benoit Assou Ekotto also had a good week. He started at left back for Lens as they won their northern French derby over Metz 2-0. As is becoming his norm, Assou Ekotto gave a strong defensive effort on the left flank of Lens’ defense. Herve Tum remains injured for Metz and did not play.
In Ligue 2, Gueugnon continued their good start to the season with a scoreless draw with Guingamp. Alexis Ngambi was at the heart of Gueugnon’s defence. Bertin Tokene also played centerback as Grenoble were beaten 2-1 by Lorient. Eugene Ekobo started in midfield for Creteil as his club drew 1-1 with Clermont. Marcus Mokake started at forward as Sedan beat Troyes 2-1 and in Niort’s 1-0 loss to Le Mans, Julien N’Da started at left back and Stephane Biakolo entered as a sub at forward in the 61st minute for the losing club.
Germany
In Bundelsiga 2, Cyrille Florent Bella started at forward for LR Ahlen in their 1-0 loss to Rot Weiss Essen. Francis Kioyo missed the match for Essen due to injury. Daniel Wansi entered as a sub at forward in the 71st minute of Dynamo Dresden’s 4-1 win over Eintracht Trier.
England
In the Premier League, Timothee Atouba gave a battling performance at left back for Tottenham in their 1-0 win over Blackburn. But Atouba has been reported to the English FA for rough conduct in that game. Lauren started at right back but was not busy in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Birmingham City. In the second division (Championship) Patrick Suffo came on as a late sub in Coventry’s 2-2 draw with neighbours Derby.
Belgium
Greece
In Greece, Guy Feutchine made the headlines as he scored once and nearly had a second goal as PAOK Salonika drew 1-1 with AEK Athens. Feutchine started at right side midfield and scored in the 80th minute after missing an excellent chance to opening the scoring in the 8th minute. Pierre Ebede was in goal as Chalkidona were beaten 3-2 by OFI Crete and Jules Denis Ouanga came on as a midfield sub in the 72nd minute of Kallithea’s 2-1 win over Egaleo.
Turkey
In Turkey, Joseph Marie Tchango reappeared for Ankaragucu after a long absence due to injury. Both Tchango and Herve Zengue started in midfield for Ankaragucu but it was not enough as their club were defeated by league leaders Fenerbahce 5-0. Souleymanou Hamidou was in goal for Denizlispor as his club drew 0-0 with Malatyaspor. Rigobert Song started at centerback as Galatasaray continued in 2nd place in the league with a 3-1 win over Genclerbirligi. Finally forward Claude Bakadal came on as a sub in the 60th minute for Sebatspor in their wild 6-4 loss to Gaziantepspor. The loss dropped Sebatspor to bottom of the league.
Italy
In Italy’s Serie B, Alain Bono started at right back for Ternana in their scoreless draw with Ascoli. Antonio Ghomsi played centerback for Salernitana in his club’s 2-1 win over Albinolefe and Thomas Job Iyock started at right side midfield, before being subbed out in the 74th minute, of Pescara’s 1-1 tie with Verona.
Portugal
Only two of Cameroon’s players saw action over the weekend in Portugal but both played well. Rudolph Douala started at forward in Sporting Lisbon’s 3-2 win over Academica but was given a rest in the 79th minute. Yohanna Buba continued his successful conversion from a striker into a central defender by playing well for Estoril in their 2-1 loss to Benfica.
Elsewhere in Europe, Jeremie Njock started at forward for Universitatea Craiova who drew 1-1 with Arges Pitesti in Romania. In the Czech Republic, Patrice Abanda played centerback for Drnovice as they were beaten 2-0 by Abanda’s former club Sparta Prague. In Serbia and Montenegro, Pierre Boya, after starting the past several weeks in UEFA Cup play, came off the bench as a sub for Partizan Belgrade who defeated Cukaricki 3-1. Cukaricki’s Cameroonian forward Thierry Ekwalla was on the substitute’s bench but did not play. In the Ukraine, Patrick Ebanda played at defensive midfield for Arsenal Kyiv who defeated Metalurg Donetsk 2-1. Ebanda was subbed out in the 66th minute of the game.
In Israel, Emile Mbamba played twice during the week. Midweek, Mbamba started in the Israeli Toto Cup and scored with a header off a rebound in his club Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 4-0 win over SC Ashdod. Over the weekend, Mbamba again started but missed several chances to score yet his team won the Tel Aviv derby 1-0 over Hapoel Tel Aviv.
In Switzerland, Armand Deumi started at centerback as FC Thun defeated Neuchatel Xamax 2-0.
By COUTLER Martin, martin@camfoot.com
