Forgotten football icon: The cultivated Cameroonian!

The memories of players who were once flamboyant sometimes fall victim to time, with many forgetting their incredible achievements. One such star is Roger Milla! 

The former Cameroon talisman built a long, decorated career for himself that spanned the course of 26 years. His longevity in the beautiful game stemmed from the impeccable manner in which he took care of his body, affording an incredible amount of people to witness his tenacity, delicate skill, killer instinct in front of goal and, of course, his sumptuous dance moves.  

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His career began in 1970 and would bring him many achievements, including winning the African Player of the Year award on two occasions. The first time he was handed the prize was in 1976, with the second time coming a remarkable 14 years later when he bagged it in 1990. This is a reflection of the admirable level of professionalism he managed to display over the years, which probably put him ahead of his time. 

"I've always looked after my body. I've never done anything that would affect my fitness. I haven't led a wild life, but a very healthy one," he said, per FIFA. 

His philosophy makes one wonder how well he would have fit into today's footballing world with all the emphasis put on high levels of fitness and athletic ability, and with the technology available. It begs the question: Would the attacker have been able to play at a top level for longer than he did? It's a question that, unfortunately, we will never know the answer to so it makes no sense dwelling on it.

What we can dwell on, however, is Milla's sensational career that saw him represent clubs in not only his home country (where he played for Leopard de Douala and TKC Yaounde), but also in France where he featured for a host of teams, including US Valenciennes, AS Monaco, SEC Bastia, AS Saint-Etienne, Montpellier, and Saint-Pierroise. During the former attacker's time there, he scored 51 goals in 150 French top-flight games. He also won two domestic cups in the process. 

Milla then went on to return to his homeland in 1990, opting to represent TKC Yaounde once again. He did so for four years before moving to Indonesia and donning the jerseys of Pelita Jaya and Putra Samarinda, the club at which he decided to hang up his boots in 1996 at the age of 44. 

However, it was what he managed to accomplish with his national team that has seen him forge his name in footballing history. Remarkably, Milla was part of two squads that won the Africa Cup of Nations, one in 1984 and the other in 1988. He finished the latter tournament as its top scorer, having done so in 1986 too (Egypt won the showpiece on that occasion). 

The iconic striker also competed in three FIFA World Cups, featuring in his country's first-ever World Cup appearance at the 1982 edition, where they were eliminated at the group stage. He retired from international football in 1988 but was swayed into helping his country once again, leading to his second tournament appearance in 1990. This proved magical as the forward helped his nation progress to the quarter-finals, with his performances during that competition leading to him being crowned African Player of the Year for the second time. 

Milla's third and final showing at what many consider to be football's biggest tournament came in the USA in 1994, when he was 42 years of age.

"Cameroon pushed me to play again in 1994 because they thought I was the only one who could score goals. They had no confidence in any of the other players to do so," the former Indomitable Lion once said of his selection for that team. 

While the side was once again eliminated at the group stage, the former Monaco star grabbed the headlines by becoming the oldest player to ever appear at the tournament. While that record may have been broken since, Milla still holds the record for the competition's oldest ever goalscorer! 

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