Carlos Kameni saved another penalty kick to help his club reach second place in Spain while in France Achille Emana and in Belgium Patrice Noukeu made names for themselves by scoring. Samuel Eto’o did not score this week-end in La Liga, but he scores twice this Wednesday night against Ajax Amsterdam during a friendly match (see video).
Spain
Espanyol’s Carlos Kameni grabbed the headlines in Spain this weekend by helping lead Espanyol to a 2-1 win over Mallorca. Kameni made some nice saves throughout the game but his biggest was stopping Jorge Lopez’ penalty kick and then showing quick reflexes in order to make an even better save on the rebound. Kameni has now stopped all 3 penalty kicks which have been taken against him this season and has allowed the fewest goals to be scored against any of the starting goalkeepers in Spain.
Pierre Webo started at forward for Osasuna in their 2-2 draw with Zaragoza and had an active match. Samuel Eto’o did not score this week but was involved in a lot of Barcelona’s most dangerous moves in their 2-1 win over Albacete. Eto’o was more the goal provider than scorer this weekend but still leads Spain with 12 goals this season. But Eto’o scores twice this Wednesday night, giving a 2-1 victory to Barcelona against Ajax Amsterdam during a friendly match. Video here: Etoo’s first goal, Etoo’s 2nd goal.
France
In France, Achille Emana had a very good match at right side midfield in Toulouse’s 2-1 win over Istres. Emana scored the opening goal of the game by trapping a long diagonal ball with his right thigh and then volleying the ball in the goal with his left foot. Throughout the match Emana’s passing and movement caused danger for Istres’ defense. Playing right back for Istres in their losing effort was Patrick Leugueun.
Midfielder Jean Makoun also had a good showing this weekend playing a key role in Lille’s 2-1 victory over Nantes. Benoit Assou Ekotto was active in overlapping down the left flank from his position of left back but it was not enough as his club Lens were beaten 3-1 by Rennes. Alexandre Song once again played well at centerback for Bastia but his club were topped by Monaco 2-0. Salomon Olembe again started at left back for Marseille but was not as effective as the previous week and his club lost 1-0 to Auxerre. Herve Tum made a return from injury by coming on as a substitute at forward for Metz in his club’s 1-0 win over Strasbourg. France’s Ligue 2 teams and below were involved this week in preliminary games of the French Cup.
Germany
In the Bundesliga, Bill Tchato played a good match at left back as Kaiserslautern drew 1-1 with defending champions Werder Bremen. Raymond Kalla and Bochum both struggled as they were defeated 2-1 by Hamburg and Mohamadou Idrissou came off the bench as a sub in the 69th minute for Hannover in their 1-0 loss to Hertha Berlin.
In Bundesliga 2, forward Cyrille Florent Bella scored the game’s only goal in the 24th minute as LR Ahlen beat 1860 Munich. Francis Kioyo returned from injury but Rot Weiss Essen were defeated 4-0 by Unterhaching and Kioyo was subbed out after 78 minutes. Daniel Wansi also started at forward this week in Dynamo Dresden’s 1-1 tie with RW Erfurt.
The German leagues now will take a 2 month break for winter.
England
In the 2nd level of English football, Matthias Doumbe started at centerback for Plymouth as his club were beaten 3-0 by Crewe.
Italy
In Italy’s Serie B, Antonio Ghomsi started at centerback as Salernitana defeated Arezzo 2-0. Alain Bono was the right back for Ternana in their 1-0 win over Albinoleffe and Thomas Job Iyock played right side midfield in Pescara’s 2-0 loss to Ascoli.
Belgium
Patrice Noukeu grabbed the headlines again as Mouscron beat Mons 5-1 in Belgium’s Jupiler League. In the 68th minute midfielder Noukeu scored his 2nd goal in as many weeks. Forward Samuel Ipoua also scored this week in Belgium. He came off the bench as an offensive sub for St. Trond in the 79th minute and scored in the 88th as his club drew 1-1 with Germinal Beerschot.
Eric Matoukou had a less happy time of it as he was subbed out at the half of Racing Genk’s 2-0 loss to Charleroi. Neither centerback Matoukou nor midfielder Justice Wamfor had much success in the match for Genk. Matthieu Assou Ekotto started in midfield for La Louviere but was subbed out after 72 minutes as his club were beaten 2-1 by Ostende.
Turkey
Galatasaray moved closer to the top of the table in Turkey as they beat league leaders Fenerbahce 1-0. Rigobert Song again gave a commanding performance at centerback for Galatasaray who are now only 2 points behind Fenerbahce. Souleymanou Hamidou was in goal as Denizlispor beat Genclerbirligi 3-1. Joseph Marie Tchango started in midfield for Ankaragucu as they topped Konyaspor 4-3. Claude Bakadal was at forward for Sebatspor in their 1-0 loss to Sarkayaspor.
Greece
In Greece, Guy Feutchine played right back for PAOK Salonika as they drew 2-2 with OFI. Goalkeeper Pierre Ebede made 5 saves as Chalkidona drew 0-0 with Ionikos and Jean Denis Ouanga came on as a sub in midfield in the 59th minute as Kallithea lost 2-1 to Kerkira.
Portugal
In Portugal, Yohanna Buba continues to make a name for himself at centerback. He gave a strong showing for Estoril in their 2-0 win over Nacional. Rudolph Douala was very active at forward but neither he nor his teammates could score as Sporting Lisbon drew 0-0 with Sporting Braga. Albert Meyong came off the bench at forward in the 68th minute as Vitoria Setubal were beaten 1-0 by Rio Ave.
Switzerland
In Switzerland FC Thun remained in 2nd place at the halfway point after drawing 3-3 with league leaders FC Basel. Centerback Armand Deumi started for FC Thun. Midfielder Augustine Simo started for FC Aarau as they were beaten 2-1 by Grasshoppers Zurich.
The leagues in Ukraine, Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro are on their winter break while the leagues in Russia, Latvia, Sweden and Finland are finished and will begin again in the early spring.
We know of 2 Cameroonian players currently on trial. Forward Bertin Tomou, who was one of the top scorers this past year in China’s 2nd Division is on trial at French Ligue 1 club Istres. Midfielder Georges Mbida, who has been without a club since leaving Belgium’s Lokeren in June, is on trial at Maccabi Petach Tikva in Israel. We wish both of them well in their pursuit of a new club.
By Martin COUTLER, martin@camfoot.com
