The man : ” An elder always there for advice »
They were all there that day. On the ground which was to witness the last strides of their teammate Marc-Vivien Foé. Lucien Mettomo, Bill Tchato, and Pius N’Diefi started in the Cameroon-Colombia match (1-0), semi-final of the Confederation Cup, on June 26, 2003 in Gerland (Lyon). That day they lost a teammate, “ a friend, a big brother “. ” Twenty years later, I have the memory of a nice guy to live withtestifies today Lucien Mettomo. Someone who respected those around him, who was very family. Who wanted people around him to smile. »
The former Saint-Étienne player shared the same room as Marc-Vivien Foé in the selection and had welcomed him when he arrived at Manchester City in 2002. He was an elder who was always there to give you advice, to listen to you when you were in a difficult time “, continues Mettomo.
Bill Tchato, he keeps the image of a Foé ” very generous” “A person who welcomed me in a very, very positive way into the group of Lions since he was there before me. »
” Discreet and kind adds Pius N’Diefi. The former Sedan striker sat next to Marc-Vivien Foé in the dressing room and on the national team bus. Strangely, on the day of the tragedy, the discreet City player had not hesitated to sketch dance steps on the bus during the trip to go and play in the semi-final.
The drama: “On asked the doctors to redo a cardiac massage”
“It happened on an action in which he is 40 meters from me. I see help coming. Until we leave the field, go to the locker room, there is no worry. At the time of going to scrubbing, the trainer holds us back and tells us that something serious has happened. The rest, we know it… “. Lucien Mettomo still finds it difficult to relive this sad moment today and does not really want to dive back into these painful moments.
Bill Tchato remembers almost every minute of that match and the aftermath. He was no longer on the lawn when Marc-Vivien Foé fell. The left-back from Kaiserslautern (Germany) at the time had received a second yellow card, synonymous with exclusion in the 69ᵉ minute. It is therefore from the stands that he sees his teammate lying on the lawn, five minutes after his exit. ” We see “Marco” falls, you don’t immediately realize that the problem is serious. What others see on TV; eyes rolled back, I don’t see him. So he got out and evacuated to the locker room. I keep watching the game and then we qualify “.
Cameroon is in the final of the Confederation Cup and will meet France three days later. There are songs and smiles. When leaving the locker room to carry out the cleaning to prepare for the final in three days, the Indomitable Lions meet Roger Milla. The legend weeps. ” Mark is gone! he says. ” We fell apartremembers Pius N’Diefi. Everyone was crying, it was shock. I was next to him two hours before, and now he was gone. It was not possible. I remember, we even asked the doctors to redo a cardiac massage so much we could not believe it “.
The final, no one wanted to hear about it. ” We had just lost a teammate, football is nothing compared to “says Bill Tchato. It is finally on the request of the wife of Marc-Vivien Foé that the group resolves to face France precisely to pay homage to “Marco”. ” We had to play for him, explains N’Diefi. He was a warrior, we had to play for him “.
Lesson : ” To enjoy life »
This June 26, 2003 will remain forever etched in the collective memory of Cameroonian sport. “Cameroon has won African Cups, played World Cups, lived great moments, but this day will remain, it is obliged, the worst day in the history of Cameroonian football “, according to Pius N’Diefi.
For all of Marc-Vivien Foé’s teammates present that day, the tragedy changed their lives in the way they approach their sport or their existence. “It completely changed my way of looking at things.recognizes Lucien Mettomo. I got involved and I am now active in the social field. I have been part of the National Association of Cameroonian Footballers for years, which deals with everything related to the retraining and structuring of their life after football. It was inspired by him (Marc-Vivien Foé, Editor’s note), because he was someone who cared about others and the elders. He had a form of generosity that I greatly missed.. »
For a long time, Pius N’Diefi had moments of stress when walking the lawns after losing his friend. ” I was afraidrecognizes the retired player who currently lives in Saint-Quentin (Hauts-de-France). I often did heart tests to see if everything was okay. If it happened to “Marco”it could happen to anyone “.
” Life is short and it’s something that can happen to anyonelaunches Bill Tchato. You really have to minimize things and there are things much more serious than that. After this tragedy, I said to myself that I had to enjoy life. We do a wonderful sport. We are privileged to earn our living by playing, unlike other people who get up in the morning at 5am or 6am and only come home in the evening. »
This Monday, June 26, the Association of Cameroonian Footballers is organizing a friendly match between former internationals in tribute to Marc-Vivien Foé. A minute of silence will be observed before the start of the meeting.
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