Overshadowed by tragedy
The mood in the final of the Confederations Cup was sombre after the death of a star Cameroonian.Eric Asomugha describes the scenes of sadness
Cameroon and France met for the first time in a Confederations Cup final but the match will forever be remembered as a tribute to the Cameroonian and Manchester City midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe.
The 28-year-old Foe died last week, on Thursday, after collapsing during the semi- final match against Colombia in Lyon. He fell to the ground unchallenged in the 72nd minute of the match and died minutes later.
As a sign of respect for the Cameroonian player, all the festivities scheduled to coincide with Sunday's final in Paris were cancelled by FIFA.
All the players wore Foe's number 17 jersey during warm-ups. In an emotional presentation ceremony after France had beaten Cameroon 1-0 in extra time, an enlarged picture of Foe was carried shoulder-high during a victory lap normally reserved for the champions but which was made together by both teams.
Cameroon supporters cheered as the great disappointment normally associated with losing a final of this magnitude was overshadowed by the tragedy. One banner from the stand read, "Marco, we love you and we shall never forget you forever."
Cameroon fought gallantly from the first minute of play to the dying seconds of the 97th minute when Thierry Henry scored a golden goal after Robert Song, who was under pressure, failed to clear the ball.
It was 97 minutes of great respect for each other and entertaining action as both teams tried to take an early lead. Chances were lost with France having greater ball possession.
After the break, the Cameroonians improved in their game plan but Henry was the first to miss an opportunity when his shot went inches wide of the post.
Playmaker Geremi and defender Song succeeded in maintaining the tempo and frustrating every French move.
French coach Jacques Santini had to bring in Robert Pires for Sylvain Wiltord in the 65th minute. His Cameroonian counterpart Winnie Schaefer reciprocated in the 67th minute, bringing in Samuel Eto for Pius Ndiefi.
For the French, it was Henry doing things his own way, along with Ludovic Guily, while at the other end Geremi, Mbami and Atouba were stamping their authority on the game.
In the 69th minute, Eto found himself free at the far post but shot wide from close range, missing a golden opportunity to put Cameroon ahead before time. Two minutes later, the French dean of the post, Fabien Barthez, diligently parried a powerful shot by Mbami over the bar.
With time running out, Santini invigorated his team by bringing in Lilian Thuram and Oliver Kapo for Willy Sagnol and Olivier Dacourt. Cameroon brought in Achille Emana for Valery Mezague in the first minute of injury time before Henry scored the winner, which gave France its second consecutive Confederations Cup.
But there were really no winners on this day in which Marc-Vivien Foe was remembered.
