Everything seems so peaceful in this corner of Cameroon. Bafoussam purrs like the thousands of motorbikes, sometimes bearing the Nike comma, whirling endlessly in this third largest city in the country. Here, the streets are primed, cleared of garbage and other corpses of plastic bottles that tend to cover the damaged bitumen. Here, we are proud to host the African Cup of Nations (CAN), which “allowed the city to be cleaned up” and “to remove the dust from the sidewalks”, can we hear.
Tuesday, January 25, at 5 p.m., this city without traffic jams – so few, compared to its big sisters Yaoundé or Douala – said goodbye to the CAN by hosting, in its minimalist stadium, its last match of the tournament, the round of 16 between Senegal and Cape Verde. It’s the derby of the west of the continent, between two neighbours, two brothers, who share much more than the Atlantic Ocean. The new mayor of Dakar, Barthélémy Dias, is he not of Cape Verdean origin? On paper, Senegal, the first African nation, has nothing to fear from Blue Sharks (14and). In nineteen confrontations, this selection won fifteen duels and lost twice. The last dates back to 2000, during a tournament that has not existed since.
It is 4:40 p.m. Suddenly, the stands of the stadium – as if placed delicately around hills and a forest – begin to shudder. Senegalese supporters have just seen the silhouette of the country’s icon: El-Hadji Diouf. The former captain only has to raise his arm to be acclaimed like a head of state. Then, just before kick-off, the announcer announces a minute’s silence in memory of the victims who died the day before in a stampede that killed at least eight people, during the Cameroon-Comoros match (2-1), in front of the Olembe stadium in Yaoundé. Moreover, on the billboards, one can read “Our condolences to all the families”, signed CAF (African Football Confederation). A minute of silence that will barely last a handful of seconds.
A lack of rhythm, precision, creation
It is 5 p.m., time for the Battle of the West. Senegal must absolutely redeem themselves from their boring first round, like their game: flameless, soulless, lackluster. On the lawn of Bafoussam, the finalists of the 2019 edition are Lions without canines: a goal scored in three games (by Sadio Mané), two draws (against Guinea and Malawi) and a victory against Zimbabwe (0- 1), thanks to an unexpected penalty a few seconds from the end of regulation time.
On the ground too, the Senegalese purr. After the first thunderous minutes (Sadio Mané shoots the post), Aliou Cissé’s men fall back into their traps: lack of rhythm, precision, creation, even if they monopolize the leather. The match strangely resembles that of the day before, between Cameroon and the Comoros. Even in numerical superiority – the medium Patrick Andrade is expelled, for having crushed the ankle of Pape Gueye (19and), after consulting the video assistance to arbitration (VAR), the Lions are unable to develop their football, confused by a valiant Cape Verde. With Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, best goalkeeper of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) of the year 2021, Naples defender Kalidou Koulibaly, or Paris-Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye, how to explain that this armada can’t manage to enchant and let go? In the stands, the Senegalese journalists are devastated by the insipid game of their team and fear defeat.
twist of fate
The supporters continue to believe in it, giving rhythm and percussion: to the sound of the djembes, they dance like metronomes without the slightest pause. Then, fate. At the 53and, goalkeeper Vozinha badly hits Mané who finds himself K.-O. on the ground ; and after consulting the VAR, the Cape Verdean is expelled. At nine, it is no longer the same game. At nine, it’s easier, even if the Blue Sharks don’t give up. Thus, the star striker Mané scores with a splendid strike (63and) and Bamba Dieng doubled the lead in stoppage time. Senegalese journalists smiled again, and the 10,545 people in the stadium (20,000 seats) cheered the winners.
After four matches in Bafoussam, Senegal is heading to Yaoundé in the quarter-finals and will challenge Mali or Equatorial Guinea on January 30. But, to hope to go further in the tournament, the Lions will no longer be able to rely solely on the blows of fate, or on the VAR, but will finally have to break free and bite again.