Post by Salem6 on Nov 17, 2003 18:37:13 GMT
By Doug Gratton
doug.gratton@islingtonexpress.co.uk
If tuesday night’s testimonial match for Marc-Vivien Foe was about more than just football, then according to Lauren that is because the Cameroon international was more than just a football player.
The Arsenal full-back was one of 24,000 people who filled Lyon’s Stade Gerland with emotion as football came together to help raise money for Foe’s family, who were left bereaved when the midfielder tragically died with a heart attack before Cameroon’s match with Columbia at the Confederations Cup in June 2003.
Lauren actually came out of international retirement to play in the game, travelling to France to play in Cameroon’s 3-1 victory over the Friendship Selection.
But the result – and football itself – came a distant second to friendship on the night.
As Lauren told High&I Sport: “He always liked to give advice to young players in Europe, which was really nice.
“He also had a lot of experience in Europe and that’s very important.
“But also, he did a lot of things to help people in Cameroon, including helping with a foundation for people in Cameroon. He was a top, top man.”
That message was reiterated poignantly by the player’s son – Marc Scott Foe – who led the players onto the pitch wearing a shirt with the word Dad.
The fact that Patrick M’Boma, Modeste M’Bami, Samuel Eto’o and Sonny Anderson all scored was inconsequential.
What mattered more was the presence of so many well-wishers at Lyon – a club Foe graced on more than 50 occasions – and the number of former team-mates from the likes of Manchester City and West Ham.
According to Lauren, Foe was a man who made an immediate impression.
The right-back can still remember the time when the two players first met, a moment that said much about Foe.
“I remember the day, the first time we met, it was before the World Cup in 1998, and he had a bad leg because he broke it,” said Lauren.
“But he was still there to talk to everyone, and talk to us, and encourage the young players.
“He’s always been a top, top man and a player.”
Lauren played alongside Foe in all of his last 10 international matches, culminating in their 2-0 defeat to Germany in the World Cup, a result which cost them their place in the competition.
That was supposed to be Lauren’s final match for the Indomitable Lions, with the right-back deciding that the commitment of playing in the African Nations this winter was too much.
He had been part of Cameroon’s team in the 1998 World Cup, and played a starring role in the country’s victory in the 2000 African Nation’s Cup where he was player of the tournament.
But like his Arsenal team-mates Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, this was a match he was not going to miss.
doug.gratton@islingtonexpress.co.uk
If tuesday night’s testimonial match for Marc-Vivien Foe was about more than just football, then according to Lauren that is because the Cameroon international was more than just a football player.
The Arsenal full-back was one of 24,000 people who filled Lyon’s Stade Gerland with emotion as football came together to help raise money for Foe’s family, who were left bereaved when the midfielder tragically died with a heart attack before Cameroon’s match with Columbia at the Confederations Cup in June 2003.
Lauren actually came out of international retirement to play in the game, travelling to France to play in Cameroon’s 3-1 victory over the Friendship Selection.
But the result – and football itself – came a distant second to friendship on the night.
As Lauren told High&I Sport: “He always liked to give advice to young players in Europe, which was really nice.
“He also had a lot of experience in Europe and that’s very important.
“But also, he did a lot of things to help people in Cameroon, including helping with a foundation for people in Cameroon. He was a top, top man.”
That message was reiterated poignantly by the player’s son – Marc Scott Foe – who led the players onto the pitch wearing a shirt with the word Dad.
The fact that Patrick M’Boma, Modeste M’Bami, Samuel Eto’o and Sonny Anderson all scored was inconsequential.
What mattered more was the presence of so many well-wishers at Lyon – a club Foe graced on more than 50 occasions – and the number of former team-mates from the likes of Manchester City and West Ham.
According to Lauren, Foe was a man who made an immediate impression.
The right-back can still remember the time when the two players first met, a moment that said much about Foe.
“I remember the day, the first time we met, it was before the World Cup in 1998, and he had a bad leg because he broke it,” said Lauren.
“But he was still there to talk to everyone, and talk to us, and encourage the young players.
“He’s always been a top, top man and a player.”
Lauren played alongside Foe in all of his last 10 international matches, culminating in their 2-0 defeat to Germany in the World Cup, a result which cost them their place in the competition.
That was supposed to be Lauren’s final match for the Indomitable Lions, with the right-back deciding that the commitment of playing in the African Nations this winter was too much.
He had been part of Cameroon’s team in the 1998 World Cup, and played a starring role in the country’s victory in the 2000 African Nation’s Cup where he was player of the tournament.
But like his Arsenal team-mates Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, this was a match he was not going to miss.
