On may 20 every year, Cameroon gets to celebrate not only unity day but the birth anniversary of an iconic figure and football Legend, Albert Roger Milla.
Cameroon’s Roving Ambassador turned 72 this Monday, May 20, 2024, a man whose name remained on the lips of football lovers when he was 38, the age when most footballers especially strikers hang their boots.
The legendary Albert Roger Milla wore the green red and yellow jerseys from 1973-1994 and made over 77 appearances for the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and scored about 43 goals.
From 1967 when he started his football career back home with Eclair of Douala to 1996 when he ended it all with Putra Samarinda, he made over 670 appearances and scored over 405 career goals.
Known for his unique style in celebrating his goals which earned him the nickname “the dancer”, he remains till date, the oldest goalscorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup, when at 38, he scored four goals at the 1990 edition of the competition, all as a substitute.
It was thanks to him that Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarterfinals of this competition. Shockingly he had retired and due to Presidential plea, he came out of it before heading to make a name at the World cup.
The unstoppable Roger Milla broke his own record of being the oldest goal scorer at the World Cup by scoring another at the age of 42 in thesame competition four years later when Cameroon faced Russia.
He was part of Cameroon’s squad that won the country’s first AFCON Title in 1984, and 1988 where he was named player of the tournament as well as part of the 11 best after finishing joint top scorer.
He was crowned AFCON best on two occasions; 1986 and 1988, in these two editions he finished top scorer, African Footballer of the Year in 1976 and 1990, CAF Best player of the last 50 years in 2007, CAF golden Jubilee best player, Golden foot legends award in 2014, FIFA World Cup all stars team in 1990 and bronze boot same year, amongst the 100 greatest footballers of all times just to name but these few.
For all the unforgettable memories, Cameroon celebrates a Living Legend at 72.
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