The world has once been stunned by an indomitable lion's outstanding performance in the 2000 Olympic football tournament. Cameroon, the Olympic champion eight years ago, is now looking forward to making the big event their show stage again.
Yet only a few days ago, the African team had to make a last minute change to its 18-man squad. Midfielder Landry Nguemo was replaced by forward Serge Ngal as a result of an unexpected illness.
Even so, the team remains competitive featured Arsenal's Alex Song, the nephew of Cameroon's most capped player Rigobert Song, Rennes' Stephane Mbia and Reading's Andre Bikey. They are all big names for the country that won the Sydney Olympics gold.
"We are not sidelines on the Olympic stage. Our squad has the best professional players, and we want a gold medal in this tournament," Cameroon's captain, Andrea Bikey, told a press conference on Tuesday.
Cameroon, which went to Hong Kong for some warm-up matches, has adjusted to the local climate well. "We know how to play in different weather," he said.
"We were lucky to win the tournament once, but this time we are going to prove we have not only luck, but quality," the head coach Martin said.
"South Korea is great team as a whole. They have been to the Olympics for many times which already proves it is a great team," he said, but declined to comment on any individual Korean players.
With two veteran players, Kim Dong Jin and Kim Jung-Woo in the squad, Korea is no doubt a tough opponent. "On strength we are weaker than Italy and Cameroon, but on skills we do not have so much difference," Korean head coach Sung Wha Park said. "We ranked fourth in the 2002 World Cup. Nothing is impossible."
Kim Dong Jin, the St. Petersburg star, was part of the squad that competed in the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 World Cup.
"We went to Greece with a group of internationally inexperienced players, but this group has already has exposure of previous FIFA youth tournaments," he said.
The Group D also includes Honduras and Italy. Only the top two teams advance to next round.
The Olympic football tournament is scheduled from Aug. 6, two days before the official opening, to Aug. 23.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)