Exactly a year ago Souaibou Marou was selected by Rigobert Song as one of two local based players for the Cameroon squad heading out to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Marou had been named the 2022 Cameroon Footballer of the Year after scoring 21 goals in all competitions and had plenty interest in his services from Belgium, Germany, and France.
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Standard Liege, Arminia Bielefeld, and Clermont Foot were mentioned as having made contact but ultimately couldn't get the deal over the line.
Pirates' offer of USD200 000 (approx. R3,7 million) was ultimately accepted by Coton Sport paving way for Marou to move down south instead of heading to Europe.
The year 2023 has now turned into a waste for Marou with his career now in crisis having long lost his place in the national team.
As Cameroon go into yet another camp this week for the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers along with the AFCON finals in January, Marou has not even been considered which is understandable considering what has happened at Pirates.
Through the opening six months that the 22-year-old spent at Pirates during the second half of last season, he battled for minutes.
After his debut back in February against Maritzburg United as late substitute, Marou then totalled a mere 46 minutes spread over five appearances and without a goal to his name.
Into the new season, there has been little change for the Cameroonian.
No appearance in all the domestic competitions which comprise the DStv Premiership, MTN8, and Carling Cup with The Bucs having played 10 in the league.
Marou has sat on the bench thrice in those competitions.
The only minutes that he has had have been in the CAF Champions League getting to play 18 minutes against Djabal Club from Comoros before getting his only ever start as a Pirates player away at Jwaneng Galaxy.
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This means at Pirates, he has had 77 minutes of game time this season plus 46 minutes last term giving him a total of 123 minutes this year and with no goal to show.
Compared to last year, it has been disastrous for Marou, who is now linked with a move out in January with Coton Sport keen to have him back.
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