Samuel Eto’o gave an emotional speech to the Indomitable Lions after their 3:1 loss to Senegal.The speech came at a time when there has been an uproar in the media by Cameroonians and football fans who were not happy with the performance of Cameroon in general.
“Dear brothers, I understand you. Many of you were not born in Cameroon and have never played for a club in Cameroon. The advice of a Cameroonian coach is beneficial to a footballer from the start of his career until the end. You who were born there have too many rights over the leaders.
Cameroon taught me that I am a soldier within the National team. I will die with this spirit. Cameroon has just gone through humiliation just because love for the Fatherland is not 100% there. Excuse me for talking about myself. I could play two matches on the same day for the love of our beautiful country.
I did it, Roger Milla did it and François Omam Biyick did it. Do you believe that Cameroon paid us more than our clubs? Not even 1/10 of what we received elsewhere. You play with too many reserves, what are you afraid of? Dying for the homeland surpasses all the money on this earth.
Manga Onguené broke his foot for this country, he was better than me at the time. He continues to respect his country despite everything. What I remember from you this Friday. We made a mistake bringing you in to play for the flag.
But after the AFCON, things will change. We are going to do a patriotism test before having young Cameroonians play in the National team. Good continuity in the competition!”