The Cameroon national football men's team, dubbed "the Indomitable Lions," is one of the most successful in Africa.
All The Coaches Who Have Managed The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon
The five-time African Cup of Nations champions and 2000 Olympic gold medalists are a powerhouse whose style of play, resilience, and successes have elevated African football to the global stage.
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon's success cannot be credited to a single coaching staff.
In fact, there has been a total of 33 coaches who have managed the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon over the years.
Who Was the First Ever Coach of The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon?
The first man to manage the Indomitable Lions was French man Dominique Colonna.
The former France international took over the reigns of the Cameroon National Team in 1963 and oversaw Cameroon's qualification and eventual participation in their first ever continental Competition in 1968.
Colonna left the position in 1970, after a brilliant African Cup of Nations tournament.
Peter Schnittger took over and was in charge of the Cameroon National team when the Country organized the Africa Nations cup for the first time in 1972.
Schnittger has also been in charge of Canon Sportif de Yaounde.
His departure ushered-in an era of alternation between Russian, Yugoslavian and French Coaches at the helm of the Cameroon National team beginning with the Russians Vladimir Beara (1973–1975), Ivan Ridanović (1976–1979) and then Yugoslavian Branko Žutić (1980–1982).
After a very poor African Cup of Nations in 1982, Zutic left his position as Camreoon's coach and was replaced by Jean Vincent who had a very brief but memorable stint with the Lions.
It was Jean Vincent who guided Cameroon to their first ever World Cup Participation (Spain 1982).
The indomitable Lions line-up consisting Roger Milla and Thomas Nkono competed in the world cup group stage against Peru, Poland, and eventual champions Italy.
The boys of Jean Vincent, performed excellently, staying unbeaten in all three Group games and missing out on the second place to Italy only on goals scored.
Radivoje Ognjanović took over from 1982 to 1984 before giving way for Claude Le Roy (1985–1988) and Valery Nepomnyashchy (1988–1990).
Radivoje Ognjanovic oversaw Cameroon's qualification for the African Cup of Nations 10 years after their last participation for the continental showpiece.
Cameroon qualified for the tournament for the second time,and went on to win it after defeating Nigeria 3-1 in the 1984 finals in Cote d'Ivoire.
It was Cameroon's first title since the formation of the national men's squad, making Radivoje Ognjanovic the first ever coach to win a trophy for Cameroon.
In 1988 Cameroon clinched their second African Cup of Nations with Pierre Claude Le Roy (1985-1988), after being runners up in 1986.
Valery Nepomnyashchy was in the dugout during the Indomitable Lions' historic World cup in 1990, where Roger Milla and Co pulled a stunning victory over Diego Maradona's Argentina in Italy.
Valery Nepomnyashchy helped Cameroon qualify for the 1990 World Cup, surpassing Nigeria and Tunisia.
The Russian coach, who was 46 at the time, led the Cameroonian squad on the world stage, and the indomitable lions went on to become the first African team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals, however they were knocked out by England.
He was succeeded by Philippe Redon from 1990 to 1993.
Philippe Redon's departure gave way for a succession of Cameroonian coaches first with Jean Manga-Onguéné (1993–1994) and Léonard Nseké (1994).
Henri Michel guided the Lions to their third world Cup in the USA (1994).
He was succeeded by yet another Cameroon in the person of Jules Frederic Nyongha (1994–1996) who will oversee proceedings at the 1996 Africa Nations Cup in South Africa.
Henri Depireux (1996–1997) took over and was succeeded by Jean Manga Onguene who was in charge for the 1998 African Cup of Nations.
Cameroon's qualification for a third consecutive World cup led to a recall for the "White wizard" Claude Le Roy who led the team at the 1998 world Cup in France.
The Early 2000's
Claude Le Roy was succeeded by Pierre Lechantre who managed the Indomitable lions between 1998 and 2001.
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| Pierre Le Chantre overseeing an Indomitable Lions match from the touchline |
Pierre Lechantre is credited to have assembled what is widely regarded as the greatest Indomitable Lions Squad of all time.
It was during his time as coach that Cameroon assembled players like Patrick Mboma, Samuel Eto'o, Geremi Njitap and Rigobert Song Bahanag.
The Indomitable Lions won two AFCON titles (2000 & 2002), sandwiched by a historic Olympic Gold medal in Sydney in the year 2000.
Suggested:Cameroon 2002 African Nations Cup Heroes, Who Were They And Where Are They Now?
There were short stints for Robert Cofou and Jean Paul Akono in 2001 before the appointment of German coach Winfried Schafer.
Winfried Schafer, Cameroon's coach from 2001 to 2004, helped the Indomitable Lions win their fourth African Cup of Nations title, defeating Senegal on penalties 3-2 after a goalless 120 minutes, qualifying for the 2003 Confederation Cup in the process.
Cameroon became the first African team to beat Brazil in a major competition when they overcame the South Americans in the opening game of the Confederation Cup in France, thanks to a goal by Samuel Eto'o, before going on to defeat Turkey, draw with the United States.
Cameroon then defeated Colombia in the semi-finals, a game which has gone down as the darkest day of Cameroon football because of the unfortunate incident on the pitch which led to the death of midfielder Marc Vivien Foe.
The Trophy Drought Period (2002 to 2017)
The Portuguese technician, Artur Jorge managed the Indomitable Lions for two years (2004–2006), followed by Arie Haan (2006-2007), Otto Pfister (2007-2009), Thomas N'Kono (2009), Paul Le Guen (2009-2010), Javier Clemente (2010-2011), Denis Lavagne (2011-2012), Volker Finke (2013-2015), Alexandre Belinga (2015-2016).
It took the indomitable Lions 15 years to win another AFCON title thanks to Hugo Broos in 2017.
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| Hugo Broos Celebrates AFCON 2017 Triumph with Cameroon Indomitable Lions |
After that last continental triumph, Cameroon has employed Clarence Seedorf (2018-2019/22), Antonio Conceição (2019-2022) and Rigobert Song who has been at the helm since March 2022.
A third place finish in AFCON 2021 on home soil is the closest Cameroon has come to any form of silver ware in that time.
How Many Coaches have managed The Indomitable Lions Of Cameroon
Final Words
Because of the diverse coaching staff and the quality of players the nation has employed, the Indomitable Lions' accomplishments have garnered attention from all around the world.
Worth noting is the fact that, out of the thirty-three coaches that have headed the indomitable lions so far, eight have come from Cameroon who have recorded some achievements among them is Raymond Fobete.