By Ndong Gisela
Sports Writer,kick442.com-Cameroon
Former Barcelona striker Jean-Marie Dongou has opened up about the difficult circumstances surrounding his second call-up to the Cameroon national team, describing a tense atmosphere, dressing-room divisions and a situation that ultimately convinced him international football was “not for me.”
Speaking on El After de Post United, Dongou reflected on the 2014 AFCON qualifier against Libya in Cameroon, a period he says marked a turning point in his relationship with the Indomitable Lions.
The forward, who joined Barcelona at the age of 13 and progressed through all the club’s youth ranks to train with the first team, admitted he struggled to adapt to what he described as a different professional environment.
“I told myself clearly that this football was not for me. I had grown up at Barça, trained with top players, and the standards were not the same,” he said.
Dongou revealed that he travelled to the camp alongside Alexandre Song, his then club teammate, noting that Song also had a strained relationship with Samuel Eto’o at the time. According to the striker, their closeness in camp created early tension when Eto’o arrived late to the gathering in Mbankomo under heavy security.
“He came with an armed bodyguard. He didn’t eat with the group because he feared being poisoned. His brother brought him food. No one could enter his room. For me, it was a shock,” Dongou explained.
The former Lorient and Zaragoza attacker said his lifelong dream had been to play alongside Eto’o, whom he considered his idol.
“More than the World Cup, I wanted to play with him,” he added.
However, Dongou claims national team coach Volker Finke later informed him that he would not feature in the match, allegedly due to pressure from the former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker.
“The coach told me Samuel had said: ‘If he plays, I don’t play.’ I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what I was told.”
Dongou says the situation deeply affected him mentally, despite being in strong form at club level and training regularly with Barcelona’s senior side.
“I panicked. Everyone told me I deserved to play. I called my parents. They were devastated. I decided I wouldn’t play. No match, no problem,” he said.
Although Eto’o briefly left the camp before returning on match day, he captained Cameroon to a 1–0 victory over Libya and subsequently announced his international retirement in the dressing room.
“He gathered everyone, gave a speech, then left. It was a real show,” Dongou recalled.
The former Cameroon youth international would go on to fade from the national team picture, his senior international career limited to just two call-ups, as he pursued club football in Europe.
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