Roger Milla

Not to be confused with Roger Miller.
Roger Milla

Milla in 2008
Personal information
Full name Albert Roger Mooh Miller
Date of birth (1952-05-20) 20 May 1952
Place of birth Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
1965–1970 Eclair de Douala
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1974 Léopards Douala 116 (89)
1974–1977 Tonnerre 87 (69)
1977–1979 Valenciennes 28 (6)
1979–1980 Monaco 17 (2)
1980–1984 Bastia 113 (35)
1984–1986 Saint-Étienne 59 (31)
1986–1989 Montpellier 95 (37)
1989–1990 Saint-Pierroise
1990–1994 Tonnerre 116 (89)
1994–1995 Pelita Jaya 23 (23)
1995–1996 Putra Samarinda 12 (18)
Total 666 (405)
National team
1973–1994 Cameroon 102 (28)
Teams managed
2001–2007 Montpellier (Coach Staff)
2007–2011 Tonnerre
2011–2012 Tonnerre (Director of football)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Albert Roger Mooh Miller (born 20 May 1952), commonly known as Roger Milla, is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He was one of the first African players to be major stars on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team.

He achieved international stardom at 38 years old, an age at which most forward-playing footballers have retired, by scoring four goals at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He helped Cameroon become the first African team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. Four years later, at the age of 42, he became the oldest goalscorer in World Cup history by scoring against Russia in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[1]

He is also remembered for his trademark goal celebration of running to the corner flag and performing a dance. In the years that have followed, he has been recognised as a pioneer of the many unconventional and imaginative goal celebrations seen since then. He was named one of the 125 greatest living football players in 2004 by Brazilian football player Pelé.[1] In 2007, he was named by the Confederation of African Football as the best African player of the previous 50 years.[2]

Club career

Born in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé, he moved constantly as a child because of his father's railroad job. He signed for his first club in Douala as a 13-year-old. At 18, he won his first league championship with Léopards Douala.

In 1976, by which time he had moved to Tonnerre Yaoundé, he was named African Footballer of the Year.

In 1977, he was lured to Europe by the French club Valenciennes. However, he was kept on the reserves for two years. In 1979, he joined AS Monaco, but shuttled between the reserves' bench and the injury list. The next year, he joined Bastia, but still did not flourish. He finally found stardom at Saint-Etienne in 1984; he then starred for Montpellier from 1986 to 1989, where he later went on to become a member of the club's coaching staff after retiring from French football.

International career

Milla was capped 63 times for the national team, scoring 37 goals.[3] Milla made his first appearance for Cameroon in 1973 versus Zaire in a World Cup qualifier.[4] He was a member of Cameroon's team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, having a goal disallowed against Peru in their first match. Cameroon went out with three draws from their three first-round games. Two years later, he was part of the squad competing at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. He first retired from international football in 1987, and eventually moved to Réunion in the Indian Ocean where he played for JS Saint-Pierroise.

However, in 1990, he received a phone call from the President of Cameroon Paul Biya, who pleaded with him to come out of international retirement and rejoin the national team. He agreed, and went to Italy with the Indomitable Lions for the 1990 World Cup.

1990 World Cup

38-year-old Milla emerged as one of the tournament's major stars. He scored four goals in Italy, celebrating each one with a dance around the corner flag that has become a popular goal celebration ever since. Two of his goals came against Romania in Cameroon's second game, and two more came in extra time against Colombia in the last 16 to carry Cameroon to the quarter-finals, the furthest an African team had ever advanced at the World Cup (Senegal matched this feat in 2002, and Ghana matched it in 2010). In the quarter-final match against England, Milla confirmed his super-sub legend by entering in the second half with Cameroon trailing 1–0 and drawing a penalty and then setting up a goal for Ekeke to give Cameroon a 2–1 lead, before England later scored two penalties, to win 3–2 after extra time. Due to his performances in Italy, he was once again named African Footballer of the Year.

His second goal celebration against Colombia was the subject of the 2010 World Cup Coca-Cola advertisement.[5]

1994 World Cup

Milla returned to the 1994 FIFA World Cup at the age of 42, being the oldest player ever to appear in a World Cup until the 2014 FIFA World Cup when Faryd Mondragón entered in the Colombia vs. Japan game being 43 years and 3 days old, setting a new record. Cameroon were knocked out in the group stages; however, Milla scored a goal against Russia, setting a record as the oldest goalscorer in a World Cup tournament; a record he set in the previous World Cup edition. His final international appearance came in a friendly against South Africa in December 1994.[4]

Post-playing career

He is now an itinerant ambassador for African causes. In 2004, he was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé in conjunction with FIFA's centenary celebrations.

Milla starred in a Coca Cola advertisement for 2010 FIFA World Cup as the originator of dancing whilst celebrating when scoring a goal. He is seen in the crowd drinking Coca Cola.

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cameroon League Cameroon Cup Total
1968–69Eclair de Douala281
1969–70295
1970–71Léopards Douala2925
1971–723020
1972–732819
1973–743025
1974–75Tonnerre Yaoundé2923
1975–762826
1976–773020
France League Coupe de France Total
1977–78ValenciennesDivision 100
1978–79286
1979–80MonacoDivision 1172
1980–81BastiaDivision 1309
1981–82238
1982–832913
1983–84315
1984–85Saint-ÉtienneDivision 23122
1985–86289
1986–87MontpellierDivision 23318
1987–88Division 13312
1988–89297
Réunion League Cup Total
1989Saint-Pierroise
1990
Cameroon League Cameroon Cup Total
1990–91Tonnerre Yaoundé2922
1991–923019
1992–932723
1993–943025
Indonesia League Piala Indonesia Total
1994–95Pelita JayaPremier Division2323
1995–96Putra SamarindaPremier Division?18
Total Cameroon 377253
France 312111
Réunion
Indonesia 23+41
Career total 712+405

Honours

Club

International

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Roger Milla, the pride of the Indomitable Lions". FIFA. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Milla is Caf's best from 50 years". BBC Sport. 15 January 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Albert Roger Mooh Miller "Milla" - Goals in International Matches RSSSF. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 Men - Longest 'Career' Span RSSSF. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Roger Milla World Cup Coca-Cola Commercial on YouTube
  6. ↑ "World Cup 1990 - Scorers' list". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Awards: All-Star Team". Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Legends". Golden Foot. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.