By Anye Valentine in Bamenda
After pressure from fans, Eric Maxim Choupo Moting who plays in the German Bundesliga revealed why he was absent on pitch during the 3rd position match that Cameroon won Burkina Faso.
It is not even the match of Saturday but other matches like the semifinal in which Egypt defeated Cameroon.
The talk about his absence is because he is one of those tactical playmakers who gives breakthrough passes to victory.
When the Lions lost to the Phaorods of Egypt, many were forced to question why the Coach hs been benching Choupou. However, Cameroon was still able to secure the bronze medal despite not making it to the finals.
Fans we were expecting to see Choupo in the starting 11 but unfortunately, the Bayern forward was nowhere to be found.
Cameroon came from 3 goals down to 3-3 with the assistance of Aboubakar who scored a brace setting a record of the only 21st-century player to have 8 goals in an AFCON tournament.
The penalty shootouts tuned out to be a roller-coaster for Cameroon, whose shots all found the back of the net.
Immediately after the victory, Cameroonians opened the case file of Choupo who revealed, how the coach has been disrespecting him and killing his moral by not believing in him.
While granting an interview to Sports news Africa he said he was psychologically fit for the game.
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“In fact, I spoke with the coach. I told him that for the match, I was not feeling well psychologically, because of everything that happened in recent days. I am very disappointed and frustrated because I came to help the team win the AFCON. And I deserve respect.” Choupo said “The coach has shown me that he does not count on me 100%. I made this remark for a while, especially in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. For me, it’s a lack of respect.”
According to Choupou, he told the indomitable Lions coach the truth.
“Not even being able to play in a difficult 120-minute match like the one against Egypt (in the semi-final) was not normal for me” he explains that It really hurt him. “I told the coach that today we had to win this match and to do so; we had to put in players who were good in the head. I was 100% with the team, but I couldn’t play.”