Izuchukwu Okosi
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Former Cameroon captain Rigobert Song has been named as the new head coach of the Indomitable Lions on the orders of the country’s president, Paul Biya.
Song, known for his physical approach to the game will replace Portuguese coach Toni Conceicao, who led the Indomitable Lions to a third-placed finish at January’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Song is the country’s most capped player, making 137 appearances for the Indomitable Lions between 1993–2010.
“On very high instructions from the President of the Republic, the coach of the men’s national football team, Mr Antonio Conceicao, has been replaced by Rigobert Song,” Cameroon’s sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi said.
“The Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) is invited to take the necessary measures for a rapid and harmonious implementation of these very high directives.”
The appointment of the 45-year-old former Liverpool centre-back would be unusual as FIFA’s rules require any member association to be independent and avoid any form of political interference.
Song will now lead Cameroon to World Cup qualifying play-offs, where they will play former African champions Algeria in a two-legged tie on March 25 and 29 for a place at Qatar 2022.
Song, who also played for West Ham in England and had spells in France, Italy, Germany and Turkey during his playing career, featured at four FIFA World Cups and won the 2000 and 2002 Africa Cup of Nations titles.
In February 2016, Song was appointed as manager of the Cameroon A’ team which is composed of players based in Cameroon.
Following his hospitalisation for a brain aneurysm and subsequent recovery, Song resumed coaching duties in 2017, ahead of the qualification stage of the 2018 African Nations Championship.
In April 2018, Song was one of 77 applicants for the vacant Cameroon national team job. He assumed the role on a caretaker basis later in the year.
On 17 October 2018, FECAFOOT announced that Song would take control of the Cameroon U-23 national football team for the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations campaign.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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