Cameroon in KZN for 2010 Fifa World Cup

Durban, South Africa: 24 June 2010 -- The Cameroon National Squad has been seen in and around KwaZulu-Natal during Africa’s first Soccer World Cup. Benita Enoch met the team at a dinner hosted by KZN local government in Umhlanga recently...

If there’s one thing that really gets a girl giggling, it’s meeting a tall, dark and handsome man.

So you can imagine the nervous smiles all round when the entire Cameroon National team were hosted to dinner by local government. 

The truth is, sporting heroes are glorified by us commoners because they have exceptional skill. They’re of the nth percentile of the population who live by such a refined regimen that it really does separate them from the pack.

The Cameroon team -- much like any of the 31 other national soccer teams who are in South Africa for the 2010 Fifa World Cup -- therefore fits perfectly into this category. 

Sitting amongst the great Samuel Eto and Alex Song at Plaka Restaurant in Umhlanga, it’s hard to understand how these players get away from the constant attention.

Cameras flashing, journalists asking about game performance and fitness levels, dignitaries making small talk about rankings and hot favourites, these players are often hounded by a myriad of questions on a constant basis.

And as if the difficult questions aren’t enough, at the back of their minds, they have their national pride to uphold. 

An off-day in a critical match is no joke to an ardent supporter. 

To a player, it’s not the easiest thing to explain either.

Asked about Cameroons defeat by Japan, coach Paul Le Guen tells the media he was disappointed by his team’s performance and intends on making substitutes.

But even with his substitutes in place, Cameroon where knocked out of contention by Denmark in a 2-nil loss.

Their next match, today, against the Netherlands is based purely on pride.

For these guys, every Tom, Dick and Sally are arm chair generals and any national team goes into battle facing the pressure of knowing the publics opinion on them. The players have to go to a place where they take the good with the bad, and make gold out of it. But that’s the nature of a World Cup. And that’s why we look up to them as heroes... Because for 90 minutes, they dribble a ball and strike from impossible distances with the weight of the entire world on their shoulders.

Photo Caption and Credit:

Caption: The Province of KwaZulu-Natal hosted the Cameroon Minister of Sport,the President of the Cameroon Football Federation and the Cameroon team to a welcoming dinner at the Plakka Restaurant in Gateway, Umhlanga.