Where Are They Now?

François Omam-Biyik’s Italia ‘90 ‘goal for all of Africa’

Cameroon where are the now?Twenty years before Siphiwe Tshabalala scored “a goal for all of Africa” in the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, a young man by the name of François Omam-Biyik scored the original “goal for all of Africa” (with the exception of South Africa which was still racist), as unpredictable Cameroon triumphed against the usually more predictable Argentina in the opening match of Italia ‘90 (or Italy ‘90, as it was known here). Now the Gaffer can exclusively reveal what happened next to the men who were the first to tell the world, “Yes we (Afri)CAN”.

1. Roger Miller
Nicknamed “Windy” by teammates partly because of his love of baked beans and partly after the Camberwick Green character, to whom he bears no resemblance, Miller first shot to fame in 1978 on the Cameroonian version of Robot Wars – Box Fight – where he reached the second round. After retiring from football in 2000, aged 83, Miller became a familiar face on TV in Cameroon, where he appears playing croquet with a lion on the state broadcaster’s official test card.

2. Doweet Youssef
The disgraced full back was outed as gay in 2006 and later conceded he only played football to be in close contact with other men during goal celebrations, this during a time when homosexuality in Cameroon was punishable with sanctions on the number of goats kept per household. Now aged 45, Youssef is perhaps best known for running an inner city safari park in Yaoundé aimed at people too poor or lazy to visit the countryside.

3. Jean Ojeanellli
Popular winger who once topped a BBC World Service poll of the greatest ever Africans, beating Tutankhamun and Retief Goosen into second and third place respectively. A veteran of three world cups, Ojeanelli is perhaps best remembered for his goal against Saudi Arabia in Chicago in 1994 in a match that was later abandoned due to a lack of interest. After a brief spell in management, Ojeanelli turned to acting. His best known roles include Ogbo in the popular Nigerian sitcom Take me to Abuja! and Youl Mawene in the low-budget Nollywood thriller One Night in Preston.

4. François Omam-Biyik
“Bicky”, as he was known by his mum, would never again reach the heights of his goal in 1990, particularly after a road accident left him trapped in his village for three years. The defensive striker quit football in 1997 after playing for every French club that ever existed, except L’Orient, who tried to sign him but then forgot. Now 46, he lives with his bi-polar disorder in an upmarket suburb of Nkongsamba, which translates as “The Shoreditch of Africa”.

5. Mambo Numba-Fav
An athletic yet inadequately skilled midfielder, Numba-Fav reinvented his game during the late 1980s by playing upside-down, in an attempt to take advantage of his strong heading ability. The move paid off until a mistimed challenge by Vinnie Jones in a 1993 international friendly left him with only half a head. He was tracked down in 2010 where he made bizarre claims about inventing fish pedicures and the King James Bible. He was sectioned in June 2011.

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