The Lion King gets ready to roar again

Mboma's deadly left foot

There's something about Patrick. Mboma can miss chances so easy that as you wince in agony you wonder what the hype is all about. Then out of nowhere he'll languidly score jaw-dropping goals with wondrous grace and power like the overhead bicycle against France in October 2000.

The last two years have been golden ones for the Douala born Mboma. The Indomitable Lions won the African Nations Cup in Lagos with Mboma scoring two semi-final goals with another in the final for good measure. Then came the Olympics where Mboma played as an over-age player and contributed four goals.

"It was amazing to think I won an Olympic gold medal, the same as Carl Lewis."

No wonder he was overwhelmingly voted the 2000 African Plaver of the Year. Even domestically things were on the up as Parma rescued him with a lucrative move after Cagliari's relegation.

It has been a circuitous route to the top for Mboma. Having started with Paris Saint-Germain, he endured several loan spells before taking up an offer to play in the comparitive backwater of the Japanese J-League in 1996.

In 18 months with Gamba Osaka Mboma scored 25 goals in 28 matches. "I went to Japan with the sole intention of being a success," he recalls.

His form was so good it was being monitored by both the Indomitable Lions and Italian clubs and just before the 1998 World Cup, he also signed a contract with Cagliari.

The 1998 World Cup was disappointing for Mboma. He played out of position as a lone target man and it was only in the 1-1 draw with Chile where he got the Cameroonian equaliser and had another disallowed that he showed glimpses of what he could do. It was some contrast with the player who's explosive shooting had sealed qualification with two goals against Zimbabwe.

Then came the Nations Cup 2000 where Mboma joined forces with the talented Samuel Eto'o. The pair got eight goals between them and the rest is history.

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