As we mentioned before, the Cameroonians were gigantic people who looked very strong and energetic. Majority of their players looked like they had destroyed many calendars. To be exact, they assumed the distinction of people who had destroyed at least 35-40 calendars each compared to the Kenyans, majority of whom had hardly sailed through 25 Januaries. Others had big stomachs, suggesting that they have been eating fufu in this planet for quite some time. One could be forgiven to think that the Kenyans were playing against their fathers or uncles. When he saw the Kenyans, at least one Cameroonian player thought that the Kenyans may have made a mistake or that they may have mixed up a match they were to play with their agemates. But that is not the point with this photo.
You are right if you are wondering what may be going on. It is the first time the Cameroonians were seeing the Kenyans after the boys emerged from their dressing room to hit the field. When they saw the boys, the Cameroonians were shocked beyond belief. They thought that the boys were too young to take them head on. In the photo, they were wondering whether the boys were the real team or whether they were an advanced squad sent to “warm up the field” as the real team waited to emerge minutes later.
The Cameroonians realized that they were to take the boys only when they saw the team taking a KSB group photo. For the Cameroonians, the game was as well as over because they thought that they had a big advantage since the boys looked more like underdogs than a real team which could take them up. Their mind-set appeared to have been that a team that could effectively take them up had to be composed of gigantic people, just like them. They were mistaken because they were thwacked 7-0.
The more the goals entered their net, the more they understood that football is not about age but strategy. Next time when they encounter a team composed of young players, they will have very good reasons to be scared because the Kenyans have taught them one big lesson. Never undermine the opponent. After all, even the bible says that the stone that the builder refused is the very stone that became the head corner stone.
Another problem for the Cameroonians was that a handful of the Kenyan players had dreadlocks while the Cameroonians know nothing about the Mau Mau who fought the British with guns during the colonial revolution in Kenya. They thought that the boys would end up singing Bob Marley songs in the field instead of playing soccer. Once again, they were mistaken and you could have been there to see how they blamed each other in French after every goal. By the time the seventh goal was kicked into the net, the blame game had ended because they seem to have accepted a defeat even before the final whistle. In any case, David slew Goliath while Samson also slew the Philistines with a donkey jaw-bone.
All the same, the Cameroonians played a good game and had it been that the Kenyans were not the better side, the West Africans could have forced a 1-1 draw at best. May be, they can get more prepared next year when SAAS is expected to host the tournament once again. For now, the Cameroonians have to live to fight another day. Next time they see a Kenyan, they will remember the big thwack that shattered their hopes of capturing the Africa Challenge Cup in Scandinavia.
KSB takes this opportunity to sympathize with the Cameroonians for their heavy defeat at the hands of the youthful Kenyans. There is always another day and what they need to do now is to get back to the drawing board and straighten things out. KSB also takes this opportunity to congratulate the Kenyan team for a job well done. Getting into the finals of the Africa Challenge Cup is not easy. The Kenyans are still not yet there. The much bigger challenge is whether they can win the tournament this year.
Okoth Osewe
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