Schafer is Africa's Lion King

Schafer's lions

Winfried Schäfer is not the first German coach to have been in charge of an African team. Some, like Otto Pfister, who won the World Junior Championship with Ghana, have done so with huge success. But Schäfer has achieved what no other German coach before him in Africa has managed: he has won the African Cup of Nations and will lead Cameroon's Indomitable Lions at the World Cup in a few weeks.

Schäfer, for whom the coaching stint with Cameroon is the first time he has ventured outside Germany, counts winning the Nations Cup in Mali in February as the biggest achievement in his coaching career. "Playing in Europe with Karlsruher SC and beating Valencia 7:1 was a wonderful experience, but winning the Nations Cup was out of this world.

"To understand the passion that exists in African football, one needs to experience it. I would not have believed it, if somebody had tried to explain it to me beforehand. I have also never encountered the kind of feeling of togetherness that we have as a team with Cameroon. This was a huge part of our success."

"The most important thing I have learnt about Africa is that one needs to be able to improvise. It is no good to have fixed ideas and not be prepared to adapt and possibly change ideas. An example was when I said that our side would not stay in the hotel in Bamako as it was too loud. Instead, we moved into the players' villages. They were hardly finished, but my side did not complain at all. A coach in Africa can never say 'it cant be done'. That is something that I have learnt."

The coach, who took over Cameroon after the side had qualified for the finals of the Nations Cup and the World Cup, is dismissive of an incident that happened in Mali before Cameroon's semi-final clash against the hosts, when soldiers man-handled and handcuffed his assistant coach and pushed him and Schäfer off the field. "Of course that is not acceptable, but even after that incident, the President of Mali came into the change-rooms and apologised. Where else would something like that be possible?"

His contact with the President of Mali is not the only contact he has had with high-powered politicians. After winning in Mali Cameroon's president Paul Beya sent his own plane to fetch the victorious team. They then had to stay in the West African country for a few days for celebratory festivities. "That was something that I did gladly. After all, it is not every day that a coach is given the opportunity to spend time with the President of a country."

"I am very fortunate that I have received all the co-operation from the highest levels that I need. I have presented the government with a lengthy plan, which will allow Cameroon to become and stay a force in world football for many years. We need to start preparing immediately for the 2006 World Cup, not only a few months beforehand."

That Schäfer and the Indomitable Lions are on the right track is evident by the good results they have achieved in friendly matches since winning the Nations Cup. They even achieved a 2-all draw with one of the World Cup favourites, Argentina. "We are not in an easy group at the finals, but I think we can reach the second round."

One of the teams Cameroon will be facing in the first round is Schäfer's own country, Germany. "This will be a terrific match and I am not one who thinks that Germany is so weak at the moment. But I fancy Cameroon's chances and I am confident of going through."

He is hoping that his new-look Cameroon side will finally be able to lay to rest the idea that Cameroon football is only about the Milla side of 1990. "I am hoping that after the World Cup in Japan and South Korea people will start talking about the likes of Mboma, Song and Geremi."

If they do, it seems likely that Schäfer will be spending some more time with President Beya and that he could be stuck in Cameroon for an even longer period.

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