Roger Milla
Albert Roger Miller ( born May 20, 1952 in Yaoundé, Cameroon ), known as Roger Milla (probably due to a spelling error of a registrar ), is a former Cameroonian footballer with good technique and game overview. He had large share in the collection of his national team to the quarterfinals of the World Cup 1990. Moreover, he is 42 years and 39 days, the oldest player to score in a FIFA World Cup finals.
Club career
In 1976 Milla, who played at this time for Tonnerre Yaounde, with 23 years the "Golden Football " as the best player in Africa. In the same year he moved to France, where a true odyssey began: In U.S. Valenciennes (1978 /79), AS Monaco (1979 /80) and SEC Bastia ( 1980-1984 ), he was rarely because of injuries or insufficient training zeal for use.
Really he could prevail until 1984 for the second division AS Saint- Étienne, there I found his goalscoring return (22 goals in 31 games) and helped Les verts 1986 revival. Surprisingly joined Roger Milla but then the second division Montpellier La Paillade SC, with which he also ascended a year later, still 60 games in Division 1 denied (19 goals) and there on 31 May 1989 ended his club career.
In 1990, he prepared himself - at least according to individual sources - at Sporting Toulon on the World Cup in Italy before, but without playing for this club.
National players
His first cap for the national team of Cameroon denied Milla in July 1978. 1982 he took part with the first qualified South Africans at the World Cup finals in Spain, where the " Indomitable Lions ", although undefeated against Italy, Poland and Peru, after the first round, however, had to go home.
In 1984 he took part in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and scored in the first round against Yugoslavia a gate ( Full 1:2 ). Cameroon difference as a group of third parties in the first round.
Before the 1990 World Cup, the 38- year-old, who had meanwhile been set to Réunion to rest, was asked to put together the football boots again and to represent his country at the World Cup in Italy. There Milla enchanted the football world with his dribbling, his game overview and its still fast acceleration. His four goals against Romania ( 2-1 group stage ) and Colombia ( 2-1 aet, second round ) brought Cameroon to the quarter- finals. Every celebrated its hit Milla with a Makossa dance around the corner flag around what was copied in the following years often. In 1990 he was re-elected to African Footballer of the year.
Four years later, the now 42 -year-old came on again at a World Cup ( Soccer World Cup 1994 in the USA). Although Cameroon was eliminated in the first round, but the substitute Milla scored a goal in the game against Russia, and is thus the oldest scorer at a World Cup finals. Milla's performance was no great public response, as Cameroon lost the game 6-1 and Oleg Salenko it met five times.
Situation today
After his retirement from active football is Roger Milla sports advisor to the Cameroonian President Paul Biya and World Cup ambassador of his country. He lives alternately in Cameroon and Montpellier. He is also ambassador athletes of development aid organization Right to Play.
Honors and Awards
Milla belongs to the FIFA 100, a to mark the centennial anniversary of the FIFA published list of the 125 greatest living footballers at the anniversary.
In 1991 he was awarded the Franz Beckenbauer price that was provided for particularly deserving athletes.
In 2006 he was voted best African player of the last 50 years by the CAF. When conducted by the IFFHS choice to Africa's footballer of the century in 1998, he finished behind George Weah the second rank.