Aging Lions????? Age could be the main Problem of the team

 Aging Lions?????

Age could be the main Problem of the team

 By Dominic Elempia Forcha 

Since the humiliating defeats of the indomitable Lions and a rather reprehensible exit at the World cup 2014, the debate on the Lions performance has revolved around some unfortunate scenes, notably the long squabble for match bonuses, the refusal of receiving the national flag from the PM, Alex Song’s dramatic elbow on Croatia’s Mandzukic and Ekotto’s head-butt on his fellow colleague Moukandjo. These incidences seem to have affected the Lions so badly that even the technical abilities of the individual players have not been question. But does this imply that if everything was perfect, that is, players at the right frame of mind and bonus paid on time,  the situation would have been much different, giving the technical qualities of the players selected?. There is no doubt that with the lion fighting spirit the indomitable lions can always do the impossible n’est pas Camerounais. Aside from the dismal technical qualities of most of the players selected (specifically the Midfield), there is equally the question of age- the aging lions.

 The age of players is always a fashionable topic to discuss when it comes to future stars in the game. According to Dr. Meersseman a Belgian sports medical doctor, old age still withers almost everyone. This means it is only natural to grow weak with as we grow older. 

The question of players ages especially those from Africa, and South America has always been a heated debate. Recently it was the turn of one of Africa’s greatest in the game, Samuel Eto’o whose real age was put to question by his Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho. African stars are always at their very best between the ages of 20 and 25, and when the logic of football expects them to explode, it is diminishing returns on the contrary. We can site Cameroon’s Solomon Olembe who at 25 was already relegated to inferior leagues, Ghana’s  Nii Odartey Lamptey who was very brilliant at the junior world cup  and was predicted by the great Pele to rule and inherit his title but unfortunately never really made it at the at the professional level. The case of Cameroon’s Kameni Carlos is equally a course for concern. Brilliant at the age of 16, Kameni was seen as one of those keepers to match the likes of Iker Casilas or  Italy’s Buffon. At just 28 Kameni is already out of the scene in a game where goalkeepers are reputed of beating records in terms of longevity on the pitch. The list can go on and on, but the conclusion is that our African boys always ware out at an apparently young age because they usually don’t start their professional careers with their right ages. It is alleged that some even reduce as much as 15 years from their original ages. The case of the bone test at the FIFA 2009 under 17 world Cup which disqualified almost all of Nigerian players cannot be overemphasized. 

Our selection at the 2014 world cup cannot be an exception to the issue of age that surrounds African players. It is very unlikely to select an aging team and produce good results. Most Cameroonians don’t see the age of the team because they have been fooled with the bogus ages of the players. The Indomitable Lions are playing with an average age of about 33 years. Many fans of the Lions will surely doubt this, but it is a fact, apart from the German and French born Matip, Choupo Itandje Ekotto and Moukandjo, all the other players are surely playing with fake ages and the least can be estimated at 35 years old.

In football players generally reach their peak between the ages of 25 to at most 33, Looking at this analogy it is very unlikely that the lions can perform better with at least 10 players who are more than 35 years of age.

Estimated Average age of the 23 man squad

Attack – 33

Midfield-35

Defense - 33