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Foe dies Tragedy overshadows Cameroon's semifinal victoryPosted: Thursday June 26, 2003 2:01 PMUpdated: Thursday June 26, 2003 7:40 PM
LYON, France (AP) -- Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe died after he collapsed in the heat during the Confederations Cup semifinal against Colombia on Thursday. "It is an incredible tragedy," FIFA President Sepp Blatter said. It was the first time a player died on the field during such an international tournament. With no one around him, the 28-year-old midfielder sank through his knees and fell down, head forward inside the midfield circle in the 71st minute of the game. Emergency staff rushed onto the pitch to help and had to make sure Foe, who was lapsing into unconsciousness with his eyes rolling, did not swallow his tongue. Foe tried to sit up but collapsed again. The 28-year old was carried off on a stretcher to the sideline where he received further treatment, including mouth to mouth resuscitation and extra oxygen for 45 minutes. The midfielder, however, never recovered.
"I have spoken with the doctor. It was like a heart attack," Blatter told The Associated Press. "I saw that he collapsed and I immediately had a bad feeling," said Blatter. FIFA's medical officer Alfred Mueller said the cause of death was "not absolutely clear. We prefer [to wait for] an autopsy." "He was an extraordinary man. He was the big brother," French national team goalkeeper Gregory Coupet, Foe's former teammate on Olympique Lyon, said while wiping tears in his eyes after France qualified for Sunday's final to face Cameroon. Foe was still in Olympique Lyon's employ but had been on loan to Manchester City this season. (Tributes from England) Lyon has been in the midst of a heat wave, with temperatures soaring into the 30s C and peaking at 37 C during recent afternoons. Even though the tournament has been criticized for a quick succession of games at the end of a long season, Foe had played only 153 minutes of a possible 270 during the group stage of the Confederations Cup and sat out Monday's game against the United States. The death totally overshadowed Cameroon's 1-0 win over Colombia and qualification for the final of the eight-nation tournament. In Saint-Denis, where the other semifinal was played between France and Turkey, the crowd of some 40,000 held a minute of silence to Foe before the kickoff. "FIFA and the world family of football want to give his family and the Cameroon team their condolences," the stadium announcer said. The French coach, Jacques Santini, openly wept. As Lyon coach up to last year, he had worked together closely with Foe in the 2000-2002 period. "There is nothing to say. I will miss him. It is just too much," Santini said. In his career, Foe played at Cameroon's Canon Yaounde, France's Lens, England's West Ham United, Lyon and Manchester City. He died in the stadium where he played for Lyon from 2000-02. "Foe leaves us the memory of a charming boy, who incarnated the joy of life," Olympique Lyon said in a statement on its Web site. "We will remember his laugh, music floating from the locker rooms and his kindness off the field." In the poor West African nation where soccer provides one of the few joys in life, Foe's death had fans weeping. Crowds that had gathered to celebrate Cameroon's victory instead went home in sadness. "This is too much of a sacrifice in a Confederations Cup for a player who has given too much for his country in football," said Augustine Meh Zang, a business man from Yaounde, the capital city. Foe was playing in his 64th international for Cameroon, and was a typical player on the African champion's lineup with his measurements of 1.94 meters for 84 kilograms. (Unsung hero) "Foe was one of the leaders of the Cameroon team which have shone since the start of the competition," said Chuck Blazer, chairman for the competition's organizing committee. At last year's World Cup, Foe played in all three of Cameroon's games, but the African champion went out in the first round. It made the country's success here, with upset wins over Brazil and Turkey, all the more remarkable. After the semifinal victory over Colombia, Cameroon's joy soon turned the tears, as several players collapsed on the pitch, sobbing. Inside, the Colombian players went inside the dressing room to console the African players. The game must go onThere were rumors that Cameroon would not play the final, but Blatter said he expected Sunday's game to go ahead. "We deplore the death, we are sad, we cry over this death, but the game goes on," he said. "We will play this final, and I am sure that Cameroon will be there," said Blatter. Colombia will meet Turkey in Saturday's 3rd-4th playoff in Saint-Etienne. On Thursday, Pius Ndiefi, used only once before in the tournament as a substitute, got Cameroon's goal in the 10th minute. Colombia staged a strong fightback in the second half, largely thanks to substitute winger Elson Becerra, and Cameroon was down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes after defender Bill Tchato was shown his second yellow card and sent off for a foul on the pacey winger. The African champions held on under fierce Colombian pressure late in the game when the South Americans hit the post twice. After finishing top of its first-round group, Cameroon continued its charge in the eight-nation tournament with a robust defensive display and opportunist strikes even though it was missing star striker Samuel Eto'o, who was recalled to his club Real Mallorca for the Spanish Cup final. The game was lukewarm in front of only a few thousand spectators at the Stade Gerland until a slick passing move allowed Geremi on the right to lob the ball to Mohamadou Idrissou at the far post. The forward headed back across the goal for Ndiefi, a Sedan of France striker, to tap the ball past stranded goalie Oscar Cordoba. Ruben Dario Velasquez headed over the Cameroon bar a few minutes later and defender Jairo Patino thundered a long-range shot just wide as Colombia went in pursuit of the equalizer. Ndiefi was a lone attacker for Cameroon which packed its midfield. Giovanni Hernandez and Victor Aristizabal shared striking duties for Colombia but lacked the close ball control and vision to find a way through. The South Americans didn't have a single shot on goal in the first 45 minutes. The momentum was behind Cameroon which drove through midfield and had plenty of space around the Colombian penalty area. Cordoba had to dive at the feet of Geremi, who broke into the area, and then scramble for the loose ball on the half-hour. Just before the interval Geremi wrought more mayhem down the right flank but no Cameroon player could reach the cross. Colombia sharpened its attack with Becerra at half-time but the burly African defense initially was unshakable. Colombian defenders Mario Yepes and Jorge Lopez stumbled as they both went for a loose ball 10 minutes after the restart, letting Ndieffi through for a pass to Idrissou who shot straight at goalie Cordoba. The Africans began to look tired in the last 30 minutes and gaps opened up. Arnulfo Valentierra almost put Aristizabal through on the break but his pass took a deflection. Hernandez then unleashed Becerra down the right and Aristizabal went up for the cross which he miscued. Cameroon was backpedaling against the Colombian fightback and Song appeared to bring down Becerra, making another break down the right, inside the penalty area but the referee waved play on. In the 68th minute Becerra was once again on a run at goal thanks to Hernandez and was fouled on the edge of the area by Tchato who was sent off. Down to 10 men and with Foe gone, Cameroon lost its fire and sat back in its own half as Colombia pushed forward, Becerra scraping the post with a low drive after 80 minutes. In the last minutes of regular time Yepes and Aristizabal both headed against the Cameroon post in quick succession. Summary: In Lyon: Cameroon 1 Colombia 0 Scorer: Pius Ndiefi 9 Red Card: Bill Tchato (Cameroon) 69 Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 12,352 Teams Cameroon - 1-Idris Kameni; 6-Pierre Njanka, 4-Rigobert Song (capt), 13-Lucien Mettomo, 2-Bill Tchato; 8-Geremi, 18-Mohamadou Idrissou (20-Ngassam Falemi 89), 17-Marc-Vivien Foe (16-Valery Mezague 75), 7-Modeste Mbami, 19-Eric Djemba Djemba; 11-Pius Ndiefi (5-Thimothee Atouba 74) Colombia: 1-Oscar Cordoba; 23-Gonzalo Martinez, 3-Mario Yepes, 2-Ivan Cordoba (capt), 20-Gerardo Bedoya (11-Elkin Murillo 70); 21-Jairo Patino, 18-Jorge Lopez, 10-Giovanni Hernandez, 15-Ruben Dario Velasquez (7-Elson Becerra 46), 8-Arnulfo Valentierra; 9-Victor Aristizabal Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. |
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