Last December, Cameroon coach Rigobert Song invited 17-year-old Wilfried Douala to the African Cup of Nations. The boy became the youngest player in the tournament, but after the publication of the photo of him, the entire French-speaking Spoiler: not in vain.
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Cameroon calls up 17-year-old player who looks older for African Cup of Nations
Eto’o is among those involved in the case. The ambitious official did not see
After taking over as president of the local football federation, Samuel Eto’o became serious about controlling rewritten players, a perennial problem in black Africa. In January last year, for example, with the help of the former Anzhi forward, 21 of the 30 athletes were excluded from the youth tournament. The Cameroon Football Federation also tightened the conditions for completing applications: clubs now have to provide a bunch of documents for each player.
But failure occurred: immediately after the CAN, the promising Victoria United midfielder was caught falsifying his age. It is generally accepted that Douala was born in 2006, but even on reputable sites there are discrepancies regarding the days: FIFA indicates June 15, Transfermarkt indicates May 15.
“Wilfried is intelligent and especially good with the ball,” says club president Valentin Nkwane, “a very fast and skilled dribbler who has scored several goals this season.” “Victoria” itself can hardly be considered at least average: the team has just returned to the big leagues after almost 20 years. But the hero convinced the leaders of the national team in 11 matches and went nowhere, but to the African Cup of Nations.
I screwed up on CAN, but I gave you a meme
In the main event of the continent, the “lions”, who by default are included in the group of favorites, did not reach heights. Somehow they made it to the playoffs with a negative goal difference, and then the five-time Cup champions were instantly defeated by Nigeria (0-2). It could only be remembered from the non-football side: the rushes of André Onan, the excuses of the super-fatalistic Song and the dances of the African Benjamin Button.
Duala never even appeared on the bench, but he destroyed media videos with ridiculous and even terrifying movements to the sound of music. Now, other inspired footballers recreate them during goal celebrations: for example, in recent weeks, Nice midfielder Kefren Thuram-Julien and Young Boys defender Jauen Ajam have expressed a kind of respect towards the Cameroonian. The second gesture of the rewritten record holder turned out to be even more beautiful: Douala joined his senior partner from behind him, performing a new version of Artyom Dzyuba and Serdar Azmun. Not typical of a 17-year-old.
The Internet remembers everything. How Wilfrid was burned
At the beginning of March, the media thundered again: 62 footballers from the local championship were immediately disqualified and prohibited from participating in the playoffs. The Cameroon Football Federation woke up again, launched an investigation and suspected that everyone on the list had false documents. The clubs lost players in batches: from Victoria Douala, for example, seven left at the same time. Including himself.
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In Cameroon, 62 footballers who lied about their age were suspended from championship matches
But the first suspicions about Wilfried arose during the African Cup of Nations. No wonder they say: “What happens on the Internet stays there forever.” Thus, journalists from the French newspaper Le Monde, after seeing a photograph of Douala, captured memories of January 2021. Then they went to Douala (yes, almost the city of the same name), where they filmed a story about the crisis of the once great Oryx club. There, around twenty young players without boots or with broken laces told how they dream of entering the football elite. At least local.
One of the interviewees was a certain Alexander Bardelli, a guy covered in tattoos that did not correspond to his age. “Despite the conditions here, I want to be professional,” said the midfielder without five minutes of the bankrupt team, standing on the field with bottles lying around. “I will train until I get it. I really love this game.” Bardelli claimed to be 21 years old and even agreed to take the photo.
Surprise, surprise, three years later we discovered that the tenacious footballer has a striking resemblance to the newcomer to the Cameroon national team, Wilfried Douala: the same small scar above his eyebrow, a tattoo with a cross and stripes on his calf. The craziest thing is that, for some reason, Douala has “Bardelli” stamped above his right knee. Nowadays, he reasonably covers this area with thermal underwear and long or low-cut shorts.
The number that Alexander shared in 2021 now belongs to Douala’s mother. The WhatsApp profile usually shows a photo of Bardelli wearing a Victoria United shirt. To an uncomfortable question about the possible machinations of her son, the woman responded: “Anything can happen. There are nicknames and everything. It doesn’t matter”.
However, as part of the investigation, the publication contacted former Oryx players, who, after requesting anonymity, honestly said: “Yes, Alexander Bardelli is Douala.” According to their data, the participant of the African Cup of Nations today is at least 23 years old, and it seems that the Cameroon Football Federation decided to deepen this investigation a few months later.
The ending killed me: the guy could end up in Europe
Now sit back and get ready: the Cameroon Football Federation has claimed Douala! They investigated his case for several weeks and then explained the decision by saying that Alexander Bardelli was actually the young prospect’s brother. The Victoria United president added that he had supposedly already died and that Wilfrid was not involved in anything. The former Krasnodar player supported the boy.
Ambroise Oyongo
former footballer from Krasnodar
“Our little brother has been putting up with all this on social media for the past few months, but why pay so much attention when you can just support a young man who is at the beginning of his career? He can no longer concentrate properly on the game. Let’s protect our players.”
Even more surprising is that Douala, despite its background, attracts the attention of Europeans: Inter, Marseille, Lille and other French clubs. But the Turks were especially active: the president of Antalyaspor confirmed that he was following the Cameroonian, but so far there were no agreements.
The passport story is unlikely to become a problem, taking into account the fact that the “filthy” Chancel Mbemba successfully performs in the same “Marseille”. Former Rostov midfielder Gelor Kanga was born four years after the death of his mother and nothing of him: he now registers 7 + 9 in 24 games for Red Star.
But burying a brother is powerful.
