Forgotten football icon: The Indomitable Doctor!

People often let players who are on the less flamboyant side of the game slip their mind once their career is over. One such star was the Indomitable Doctor, Theophile Abega! 

While African footballers are perhaps more renowned for their physical prowess, power, pace and skills, it could be argued that the continent has seen its fair share of players who did not need to rely on the aforementioned traits but instead made football look easy by being extremely intelligent off the ball, pulling off ridiculous passes and looking so relaxed while doing it. 

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However, everything is not always as it seems. Sometimes a spectacular level of composure shown by a player could translate to spectators as a player who is lazy, easy-natured or lethargic. Abega may have been the ideal example of this. The Cameroonian would dictate play from midfield and was so intelligent a player that he was nicknamed "Doctor". 

Despite how his style of play may have been perceived by some, Abega was a physical player who incorporated his superb stature into his game by using his body to ward off opposition when necessary. This supplemented his already impressive abilities that included tearing through defences with quick one-twos, pulling out tricks to beat a defender, incredible dribbling skills, and an admirable range of passing.   

His route to greatness initially began when he joined Cameroonian side Canon Yaounde in 1974. The Doctor stayed put at the club for 10 years, winning four league titles, five domestic trophies, and two African Champions Cups. He also appeared in three Cup Winners' Cups finals, winning one.

Abega's performances caught the eyes of some top European teams, and he ended up moving to French club Toulouse in 1984. He would, however, only spend a season with the Ligue 1 side, making just 22 appearances, before joining Vevey Sports. It was at the Swiss club that he would decide to hang up his boots and thus begin the next chapter of his life: politics. He went on to become the mayor of the sixth arrondissement of Yaounde. 

His footballing contributions to his home nation is worthy of note too. Abega was part of the Cameroon side that won their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title in 1984. The former Toulouse star played a big role in that triumph as he captained the team throughout the competition, and also contributed with a vital goal in the final. His efforts therefor were rewarded as he also walked away with the 1984 Africa Men's Player of the Year award. 

At the next AFCON, Abega was involved in a collision with Zambia goalkeeper Efford Chabala and retired in 1987.

He later passed away in 2012, but his mentality and his determined view, and love, for African football should always be cherished.  

"Canon had a sand pitch," he said in an interview with Jonathan Wilson published by The Guardian in 2012. "Just mud, where we trained, but that didn't stop us winning African Champions Cups.

"A lot of teams try to play in the European way but they'd be better off sticking to the African game.

"Unlike in Europe, where people play for results and if you win the match 1-0, you're happy, in Africa people want the pleasure of watching a good match.

"When I look at the players, I see fear in their eyes."

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