Behind a World Cup record: Roger Milla

• Roger Milla, 42, became a World Cup’s oldest scorer in 1994
• The Cameroon striker had all yet late 5 years earlier
  
• Presidential vigour people energy led to him creation story

“To be honest, we found it so healthy that I’m not natural.”

This was how Roger Milla reflected on a unusual feats that punctuated his late 30s and early ‘40s. The Cameroonian idol done story during dual apart FIFA World Cups, apropos a tournament’s oldest ever goalscorer in 1990 and afterwards violation his possess record 4 years after during a developed aged age of 42.

In that latter tournament, he was personification alongside and opposite group who hadn’t even been innate when, 21-and-a-half years earlier, he had scored his initial general idea in a World Cup qualifier opposite Zaire. Some of those colleagues and opponents had still been in nappies, in fact, when Milla won his initial African Footballer of a Year endowment in 1976.

But notwithstanding those early achievements, and a renowned bar career in France, it was usually during an age when many players have prolonged given hung adult their boots that a striker became a domicile name.

#OTD during 94, Roger Milla, during age 42, became a oldest goalscorer in #WorldCup story https://t.co/zqgMzFujJR pic.twitter.com/kjb04NlJXB

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 28, 2016

The Player
When a Confederation of African Football (CAF) distinguished a 50th anniversary in 2007, a organization polled a open for a continent’s best actor over those 5 decades. Milla took home a prize.

Such an honour would have been inconceivable in a late ‘80s, when a journeyman striker – carrying unsuccessful to supplement to that 1976 African Football of a Year endowment – late from a maestro diversion to live and play pledge football on a island of Reunion.

But yet Cameroon’s Russian coach, Valeri Nepomniatchi, understandably had no thoughts of job on this 38-year-old retirement for a 1990 World Cup, that all altered when a country’s president, Paul Biya, released a fatal order. Biya insisted that Milla be enclosed and called a actor privately to safeguard his cooperation. “I consider he (Biya) was not a bad coach,” a smiling Milla would after reflect.

Though argumentative and distant from zodiacally renouned in a Cameroon squad, a preference to enroll a maestro striker’s services valid inspired. Despite not starting a singular compare during Italy 1990, Milla emerged as one of a tournament’s undoubted stars, with 4 goals – and a makossa dance jubilee that followed them – moving him to tellurian stardom.

Such was his standing after that tournament, in fact, that he was once some-more removed to a inhabitant group in 1994 during a age of 42. Again, he responded as usually Milla could.

The Record
When Milla bustled his approach by to measure opposite Russia in Cameroon’s final compare during USA 1994, he eclipsed a benchmark that he himself had set usually 4 years earlier. Previously, Sweden fable Gunnar Gren had hold this sold record for over 3 decades, carrying scored for a hosts in their 3-1 semi-final win over West Germany in 1958 aged 37 years and 236 days.

It was conspicuous adequate that Milla became a initial and, to date, usually male over a age of 38 to measure during a World Cup when his heroics desirous Cameroon’s quarter-final run in 1990. But it was truly startling that he returned 4 years after and, 39 days after branch 42, set a World Cup record that looks certain to be one for a ages.

He did so usually a notation after entrance on as a half-time surrogate in a 6-1 better to Russia that also witnessed one of his opponents, Oleg Salenko, set a World Cup record by apropos a usually actor in a tournament’s story to measure 5 times in a singular match.

Simply by holding to a field, Milla had turn a initial African actor to seem in 3 World Cups and a oldest male from any group or continent to play during a tellurian finals. That latter record was mislaid in 2014, though, when 43-year-old Colombia screw Faryd Mondragon took to a margin in Los Cafateros’ 4-1 win over Japan.

The Memories
“The Cameroonian people pushed me to play in 1994 since they suspicion we was a usually one who could measure goals. They usually didn’t have faith in any of a other players. At a time we was personification for Tonnerre Yaounde, a bar in Cameroon, so we was fit and ready. Was we confident? Of course.

“I looked after myself physically. we never did anything to mistreat my fitness. we did not have a furious lifestyle yet a really rational one. Half a potion of booze each so mostly would be as most ethanol as we would drink.

“[Becoming a oldest scorer] was an honour, yet it’s not hugely critical to me. That idea stays a really lustful memory but, as people mostly say, annals are done to be broken. And because not by another Cameroonian player?”
Roger Milla

Article source: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2017/m=7/news=behind-the-world-cup-record-roger-milla-2901386.html