BBC SPORT | AFRICA | Fans call for Akono to go

Cameroon fans are calling for coach Jean-Paul Akono's head even though the African champions have not lost a match or conceded a goal since he took charge in October.

Akono had to be escorted out of the Omnisports Stadium in Yaounde by paramilitary gendarmes after the Indomitable Lions scraped a 1-0 win over Zambia in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

Most of the capacity 80,000 crowd, who had been disappointed by the Lions' performance, screamed for Akono's dismissal.

On Monday, both state radio and the official daily Cameroon Tribune expressed alarm at the team's performance.

The media warned that the Lions were not just a football team but "a rallying symbol" for the country.

Sluggish

Some fans shouted for the recall of Pierre Lechantre, the Frenchman who had to make way for Akono despite steering the team to victory in the African Nations Cup in February 2000.

Cameroon looked sluggish and unco-ordinated on Sunday when Zambia, who initially packed the defence, came close to equalising on several occasions in the second half.

rigobert song
Song was unhappy with Cameroon's display
The players acknowledged they played poorly. "Even if we created chances, we didn't play well. The crowd was naturally disappointed," scorer Patrick Mboma said.

"What disappoints me is the way we won this victory," said team captain Rigobert Song. "Our fans were left wanting more."

Extreme heat

However, midfielder Salomon Olembe, based in France with Nantes, pointed out: "We cannot just jump out of low temperatures in Europe and play well in this extreme heat and humidity."

Akono, a former coach of first division side Canon Sportif, took over from Lechantre shortly after steering Cameroon's Olympic squad to gold in Sydney.

He is one of only a handful of Cameroonians to have held the position of national team coach.

Ironically, there were few tears shed for Lechantre at the time of his replacement, fans attributing the Lions' success more to the talent of individual players than his coaching.


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