ROGER MILLA
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BORN: MAY. 20, 1952
COUNTRY: Cameroon
WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 3 tournaments ('82, '90, '94)
CLUBS: Leopard Douala, Tonnerre Yaounde, Valenciennes, Monaco, Bastia, Saint-Etienne, Montpellier
INTRODUCTION: The greatest African star and the best "oldie" in World Cup history. |
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1982 World Cup - Spain
Milla, the African Footballer of the Year in 1976, came to Italy as a veteran center-forward at the age of 30. Unfortunately, the inexperienced Cameroon drew all their games and failed to qualify despite unbeaten in any of their matches.
1990 World Cup - Italy
Few people would expect Milla or Cameroon would make such a big impact at this World Cup. Milla, afterall, was 38 years of age and many suspected that his real age to be even older! In this tournament, Milla appeared as a "super-substitute", coming into the game in the last 30 minutes to add goal-scoring punch. He scored two goals in the first round that ensured Cameroon qualification for the second round for the first time in history. These goals made the Africans' subsequent 4-0 defeat by USSR irrelevant.
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COMIC STUFF
Milla scored a funny but important goal after stealing the ball from Colombia goalkeeper Higuita |
In the next round, Milla would made an even greater impact. In the quarter-final against Colombia, the "super-sub" scored twice in a 2-1 victory. These goals made Cameroon the first African nation to progressed to the quarter-finals. Milla would make one more appearance in the 1990 World Cup, creating the second goal in Cameroon's 4-2 defeat in the semi-finals against England.
1994 World Cup - USA
Four years later, at the age of 42, Milla was still selected for the tournament in France.
In the final first-round match against Russia, Milla came on as a substitute in the second half and he scored Cameroon's only goal. This goal beat the record he set four years earlier in Italy as the oldest player to score in the World Cup. But it was hardly satisfying to Milla as Cameroon crushed to a 5-1 defeat.
HIS GOALS IN THE WORLD CUP - COMPLETE RECORD
| 1990 |
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| 1st round: 2nd match |
v. Rumania (2) |
| 2nd round |
v. Colombia (2) |
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| 1994 |
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| 1st round: 3rd match |
v. Russia |
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