WEEKLY WHINE

Friendly Foé

Cameroon's footballers will pay tribute to Marc-Vivien Foé by winning the Confederations Cup.

Such, at least, is their hope.

Only three days after Foé collapsed on the field at Stade Gerland in Lyon, France and died, his teammates will compete in the final of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup in Saint-Denis. Their opponents, France, have shared Cameroon's grief, as three players on France's roster, along with their coach, Jacques Santini, had been Foé's teammates at Olympique Lyonnais.

There had been a question as to whether the match might be postponed, but Cameroon's squad agreed that playing to win the final would be a fitting memorial. The match will be preceded by a minute's silence, as was the second semifinal between France and Turkey. That match kicked off a mere 40 minutes after Foé was pronounced dead at Stade Gerland's first aid station.

Foé began his professional career with Cameroonian club Canon Yaoundé, moving to RC Lens in France a year after making his World Cup debut at USA 1994. After a French league championship in 1998, he was nearly set to appear at France 1998 and move to Manchester United, but a broken leg prevented both. But partway through the next season, he did reach the English Premier League, signing with West Ham United.

After a year and a half in England, he returned to France on a transfer to Lyon. There he enjoyed a breakout, winning another league title in 2002. After playing all three matches in Cameroon's Korea/Japan 2002 campaign, he was loaned to England's Manchester City for the 2002-3 season, where he scored nine goals, became a fan favourite, and even made history; before the club closed its Maine Road stadium, he was the last player to score a goal there.

At the Confederations Cup, he started in Cameroon's wins against Brazil and Turkey before sitting out the US match. As Group B winners, Cameroon faced Colombia in the semifinals at Lyon. The Indomitable Lions were leading 1-0 after 72 minutes, when Foé collapsed in the centre circle. Within seconds, one of the Colombian players, noticing Foé motionless on the grass, frantically signalled to referee Markus Merk of Germany and then lifted up Foé's chin.

Officials have since remarked on the speed and competence of the medical staff, but the Colombian player, who as of this writing has not been identified, has also been praised for his quick intervention and for starting the proper treatment - lifting the chin to help Foé breathe.

When Cameroon's team doctor arrived, he found Foé's eyes rolled back, possibly the start of a coma. After about two minutes, Foé was carried off the field on a stretcher, and treatment continued on the sideline for a couple of minutes before he was brought to the stadium's first aid station. Doctors decided to continue treating him there rather than take him to hospital, hoping to stabilise his condition.

About seven minutes after he was brought into the first aid station, Foé's heart stopped. Reanimation procedures, including heart massage and shocks, were continued for about 45 minutes. About 58 minutes after he collapsed, at 18:20 UTC on THU 26 JUN 2003, Marc-Vivien Foé was declared dead.

Cameroon coach Winfried Schäfer wanted to substitute Foé out of the match just minutes before he collapsed. But the big midfielder wanted to stay in, saying that he felt fine and wanted to make sure of Cameroon's place in the final.

Foé came down with diarrhea two days before the match, but blood tests showed no infections, and he told the team doctor that he felt well the evening before the match. Initial results from the coroner have ruled out a stroke; some types of heart defects, including long QT syndrome, are difficult to detect unless you're specifically looking for them. Doctors have urged cardiological tests for footballers around the world, particularly at young ages, to detect such conditions early.

Foé's former teammates and opponents alike have remembered him as a friendly, enthusiastic competitor. Thierry Henry, the first goalscorer in the France-Turkey match, pointed to the sky after his goal. Afterward, when he discussed dedicating his goal to Foé, he said, "It's nothing, but it's all I can do."

After his squad heard the news, Santini asked two of his onetime Lyon players, goalkeeper Grégory Coupet and forward Sydney Govou, if they wanted to sit the semifinal out. They chose to play.

On FRI 27 JUN 2003, FIFA's president, Sepp Blatter, asked Cameroon's players if they wanted to scrub the final match. They chose to play.

Tributes to Foé are many and varied. Manchester City fans have left flowers and other mementos at Maine Road, and the club will retire the number 23 shirt he wore with them. A tribute match between his two Premiership teams, West Ham and Man City, is reportedly in the works. Cameroon is to declare a national day of mourning.

And at the Confederations Cup, today's final will go ahead as planned, without any of the prematch or postmatch entertainment. The Indomitable Lions will wear Foé's name proudly on their shirts. FIFA is considering a proposal to name the tournament in Foé's honour.

There will surely be much discussion about the place of the Confederations Cup on the international calendar. Foé, like many of the world's top players, has played almost continuously since AUG 2001, with the 2002 Men's World Cup taking away a month of offseason rest and this tournament taking a further two weeks. Nonetheless, the tournament does provide a valuable opportunity to play a variety of opposition in a short time.

But all who have played with or against Marc-Vivien Foé will have to continue playing without him. A statement on Foé's official website, submitted by Lyon, read in part, "We will keep of him his bursts of laughter, the music which comes out of the changing room, and his kindness away from the ground."