Rigobert Song Bahanag (born 1 July 1976) is a Cameroonian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who is the manager of the Central African Republic national team. Known for his defensive skills, Song usually played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, but could also operate at

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Internationally, he played at a record eight

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

tournaments and served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in five (the ones he was not captain for were South Africa 1996, Burkina Faso 1998 and Angola 2010), a record, and holds the record of most consecutive games played in the tournament with 35 first team games. He has won two CAF Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002. In 2009, Song was dropped as Cameroon skipper by new coach Paul Le Guen, who eventually appointed

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian Association football, football administrator and former Football player, player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation. He is often regarded as one of the ...

as the new captain, which later caused concerns, as Song had never been on the bench in more than eleven years for Cameroon. With 137 appearances, Song also holds the record of the most capped player in the history of the Cameroon national team and has played in four World Cups, in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Song started his professional career with

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and helped the club to win the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

in 1996. After appearing at the 1998 World Cup, he joined Salernitana, newly promoted to the top-flight Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

. In January 1999, he left Italy to start successive stints with

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and 1. FC Köln, but after failing to hold down a first-team place, he returned to France to play for

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

. He stayed there until 2004, before moving on to Turkey, where he spent four years with Galatasaray, winning two

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

titles and the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

. Song then signed a contract with

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

in 2008, where he won another Turkish Cup and stayed until 2010. Aside from

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

, Song is the only player to have been sent off in two different World Cups, once against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1994 and against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in 1998. He also holds the record as youngest player ever to be sent off in a World Cup, aged 17. Nicknamed "Big Chief" by Turkish fans, he is the uncle of fellow Cameroon defensive midfielder Alex Song and of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player Junior Nsemba

Early life

Rigobert Song Bahanag was born on 1 July 1976 in Nkenglikok, Nyong-et-Kéllé.

Club career

Early years (1993–1998)

Song started his professional career at

. He made several strong appearances that earned him a selection to ''The Indomitable Lions'' for the World Cup in 1994.

Liverpool (1999–2000)

Following his Italian experience with Serie A side Salernitana, Song moved to

in January 1999 for £2.7 million. Having been frozen out by the Italians, he made a good impression during a trial spell at Anfield. Before he arrived, Song already had the distinction of playing in two World Cups for his country. The first Cameroonian player to play for the ''Reds'', Song made his League debut against Coventry City at

Highfield Road Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City for 106 years. History It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game on 30 ...

. Early on he earned the support of Liverpool fans, who appreciated his strength, all-action style and effort. His natural position was

, but during his time at Anfield, Song operated at

and became a popular figure with Liverpool fans, who used to affectionately sing "We've only got one Song!" He had a mixed 1999–2000 campaign, missing three months of the season, due to international matches with the ''Indomitable Lions'', captaining them to victory in the

2000 African Nations Cup The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field o ...

, and scoring the decisive penalty in the final game against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Song was not able to find a spot in the starting eleven during the 2000–01 season, and played just four games. One of the games was a 2000–01 UEFA Cup first round away game against

Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...

. Liverpool eventually won the tournament, making Song a UEFA Cup winner. His last appearance for Liverpool was a 1–1 draw with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

at Anfield on 23 September 2000. He made a total of 38 appearances for the ''Reds''. He left Anfield to sign for

on 28 November 2000, in a deal that also saw Liverpool capture young Finnish striker Daniel Sjölund.

West Ham, 1. FC Köln and Lens (2000–2004)

Song signed for West Ham for £2.5 million. The club identified the 24-year-old defender as a possible replacement for Rio Ferdinand, who had signed for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. He made his West Ham debut on 29 November 2000 in the League Cup. In a fourth-round game at The

Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...

, West Ham lost 1–2 to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. Song's debut was described by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as "unhappy". In his early days, Song insisted that he did not want to be compared to Ferdinand, as he believed it was derogatory to his own talent. Over two seasons, he made 27 appearances for West Ham in all competitions without scoring, his final game coming on 29 September 2001; a 5–0 away defeat to Everton in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. In November 2001, he joined 1. FC Köln on loan, for the remainder of the 2001–02 season. He left West Ham on 26 June 2002, joining

Galatasaray (2004–2008)

Song then signed for Galatasaray in 2004. He became an instant fan favourite, and formed a strong defensive partnership with

Stjepan Tomas Stjepan Tomas (born 6 March 1976) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. His previous clubs include Dinamo Zagreb, Vicenza, Como, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Rubin Kazan. He played as centre-back, and at one point o ...

at the heart of defence. During the 2006–07 season, he struggled to find a place in the team, after an argument with then-Galatasaray manager Eric Gerets during a league game. Although Song apologized for the incident both publicly and privately, Gerets had no interest in letting bygones be bygones, and the player remained out of favour. With the arrival of new coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp in the 2007–08 season, Song once again become a vital member of the squad, and the club's new captain. Upon his return from the African Cup of Nations with Cameroon, however, he found himself on the bench due to injury, with the emergence of

Emre Güngör Fehmi Emre Güngör (born 1 August 1984) is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was part of the Turkey squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008. Güngör spent his entire 16-year professional footbal ...

who partnered Servet Çetin at the heart of the defence in Galatasaray's run for their 16th league title. With a better offer to play elsewhere, Song decided to leave at the end of the 2007–08 season to sign for fellow

club

Trabzonspor (2008–2010)

Song joined the club on a free transfer. After a successful start to 2008–09 season, he became a fan-favorite in

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

, playing 28 games in the league without accumulating any yellow or red cards, nor scoring any goals. After

Ersun Yanal Kazım Ersun Yanal (, born 17 December 1961) is a Turkish football manager and former player. His style has always been attacking football doubled up with tactics unprecedented in Turkish football. He enjoys a very respectable place amongst Turki ...

resigned as manager, however, Song lost his place in the starting lineup. Nonetheless, during the next season, he became Trabzonspor's new captain on 1 December 2009, after Şenol Güneş took over as the club's new manager. Trabzonspor would end up becoming the last club of his professional career.

International career

20060816 191713 0072 Football Guinee-Cameroun

Considered a key player for

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

for over a decade, Song played in the

and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

s. He made his international debut on 22 September 1993, in a game against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. At only 17 years old, Song was given a surprise call-up to

Henri Michel Henri Louis Michel (28 October 1947 – 24 April 2018) was a French football player and coach. He played as a midfielder for Nantes and the France national team, and later went on to coach various clubs and national teams all over the world ...

's Cameroon squad for the 1994 World Cup, playing two group matches in the finals against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

. He received a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

in the match against Brazil, becoming the youngest player ever to be sent off in a World Cup. Led by veteran striker Roger Milla, the ''Indomitable Lions'' were knocked out in the group stage. The 24 years and 42 days age gap between Milla (42 years and 35 days) and future captain Song (17 years and 358 days) became (and remains) the largest between two teammates in World Cup history. Song then participated at the 1998 World Cup. Led by Song,

Patrick Mboma Henri Patrick Mboma Dem (born 15 November 1970) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the fourth all-time top goal-scorer for the Cameroon national team. Club career Born in Douala, Cameroon, Mboma sta ...

and 17-year old striker

, Cameroon were eliminated in the group stage following a draw with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(1–1), a loss to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(3–0) and another draw with

. After receiving a red card in the last game against ''La Roja'', Song broke another record: he became the first player ever to be sent off at two different World Cups.

, who was also sent off at this World Cup, has since achieved this feat as well, receiving his second red card in the final of the 2006 tournament. Song was a part of the Cameroon squads that won the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2002 Africa Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (Confederation of African Football, CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000 African Cup of Nations, 2000, th ...

. After winning the 23rd edition of the football championship of Africa, the ''Indomitable Lions'' featured in the 2002 World Cup, but were again eliminated in the group stage following a 1–1 draw with the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, a 1–0 win over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and a 2–0 defeat to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Song's next tournament was the 2003 Confederations Cup. The ''Indomitable Lions'' qualified for the semi-finals after wins against Brazil (0–1) and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(1–0) and a draw with the United States. The defender then led his team against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in the knockout stage. In the 72nd minute of the game, Song's long-time friend Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed in the centre circle, with no other players near him. Foé died the same day due to

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which muscle tissues of the heart become thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ...

, a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise. Cameroon eventually won the game 1–0, but lost to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the finals after extra time. Although Cameroon did not manage to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals, the team participated in the

2006 Africa Cup of Nations The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt, from 20 January to 10 February. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split int ...

. In the tournament, Song became the most capped player in Cameroon history. After three wins over

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

(3–1),

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

(2–0) and Congo DR (2–0) in the group stage, the ''Indomitable Lions'' were eliminated in the quarter-finals by

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, following a 24-penalty shoot-out, in which Cameroon was defeated 12–11. Song was also part of the Cameroon squad for the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

. After a 4–2 loss to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in the Group C opening match, the veteran defender led his team to wins against

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

(5–1) and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

(3–0). In the first game against ''The Pharaohs'', Song's nephew

Alex Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...

made his international debut for Cameroon, joining Rigobert on the pitch at half-time. The captain then carried the ''Indomitable Lions'' to the knockout stage, in which they defeated

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

(2–3) and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

(0–1) before losing the final to Egypt 1–0. The only goal, made by Mohamed Aboutrika, came after a mistake by Song, who covered his face with his shirt during the opponent's celebration. On 31 May 2008, Song scored the first goal for Cameroon after nine minutes, in a 2–0 home win against

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

. With the win, the ''Indomitable Lions'' took an early lead in Group 1 of the 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. In 2009, Song was dropped as captain of the Cameroonian national team, from the World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers by new coach Paul Le Guen, but still remained the player that defined the image of the national team. Le Guen eventually appointed Samuel Eto'o as his new captain. On 12 August 2009, Cameroon's most-capped player was left out of the starting eleven for the first time in ten years in a friendly game against Austria. In 16 years with the national team, he has been to the African Nations Cup a record eight times, serving as captain in five competitions - except in South Africa in 1996, Burkina Faso in 1998 and Angola in 2010. Song holds the record of most consecutive games played in the African Nations Cup, with 35 first-team games. He won the Nations Cup twice in Nigeria 2000 and Mali 2002, losing to Egypt in the finals in Ghana 2008. In 2010, Cameroon was featured in the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

, but failed to win the tournament. On 13 January 2010, the ''Lions'' lost in a 1–0 group-stage upset against

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, but won a match against Zambia four days later, 3–2. Despite being considered an experienced player, some of Song's mistakes in the tournament were called "self-destructive": in the first game against Gabon, a defensive error allowed Daniel Cousin's goal, and against Zambia in the second, he headed a cross towards his own goal. The team still qualified for the quarter-finals with four points, after a draw with Tunisia on 21 January, in which Song came in as a substitute. Two days later, Cameroon was eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations, following a 3–1 loss after extra time to Egypt. In the match, Aurélien Chedjou was preferred to Song, ending the former captain's run of 36 successive Africa Cup of Nations matches, a total of 3,201 minutes. After such events, Song was relegated to a role as backup for a string of games, as Le Guen often preferred to field younger players such as Sébastien Bassong and Benoît Assou-Ekotto. Although he had handed the captain's armband over to Eto'o, Song was still selected for the 2010 World Cup squad in South Africa, making him the only player to play in the 1994 and 2010 World Cup finals. He was also the most experienced player to be featured in South Africa 2010, with 136 caps for his nation. Song did not play in Cameroon's opening game of the World Cup against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The ''Samurai Blue'' won the game 1–0, with a goal from

Keisuke Honda Keisuke Honda is a Japanese former professional footballer and manager who played as a midfielder. A versatile player, Honda usually played as an attacking midfielder, but could also play as a winger, a false nine or as a deep-lying playmak ...

. After the match, Song and some senior players claimed that Cameroon's youngsters were not up to required standard, and asked Le Guen to reconsider his lineup for the next group match against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Song, however, was again omitted in the game with Denmark, which Cameroon lost 2–1. With the loss, they became the first team to be mathematically eliminated in the 2010 World Cup. The former captain eventually featured in the last game against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, his fourth World Cup participation; he entered the match as a substitute for Nicolas N'Koulou in the 73rd minute of the second-half. The ''Indomitable Lions'' went out of the tournament with a 1–2 loss and shortly after, on 1 August, Song retired from international duty after 137 total appearances.

Managerial career

In late 2015, Song was reportedly close to becoming the manager of the Chad national team, but an agreement was never finalised. In February 2016, Song was appointed as manager of the Cameroon A' team, which is composed of players based in Cameroon. Following his hospitalisation for a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

and subsequent recovery, Song resumed coaching duties in 2017, ahead of the qualification stage of the

2018 African Nations Championship The 2018 African Nations Championship, known as the 2018 CHAN for short and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies, Total African Nations Championship, was the 5th edition of the biennial association football tournam ...

. He led the team into the tournament, which saw Cameroon finish bottom of their group after two losses and a draw. In April 2018, Song was one of 77 applicants for the vacant Cameroon national team job. He assumed the role on a caretaker basis later in the year. On 17 October 2018, FECAFOOT announced that Song would take control of the Cameroon under-23 team for the

2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations was the third edition of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, the quadrennial international age-restricted association football, football championship organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the ...

campaign. On 28 February 2022, it was announced that Song had replaced Toni Conceição as the manager of the Cameroon national team. He guided Cameroon to the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, after beating

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in the final hurdle. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, his Cameroon team failed to progress from the group stage, despite becoming the first manager to guide Cameroon to their first World Cup victory since

against the mighty

, with a shock 1–0 win. On 29 February 2024, he was dismissed from the job, following Cameroon's poor performance in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He became the

Central African Republic national football team The Central African Republic national football team (French: ''Équipe de République centrafricaine de football''), nicknamed ''Les Fauves'', is the national team of the Central African Republic and is controlled by the Central African Footba ...

manager in January 2025 ahead of the 2024 African Nations Championship in August 2025.

Outside football

Personal life

Song's father, Paul Song, died when he was young. Song is married to Esther Song, and has four children (two sons and two daughters): Ronny Paul, Bryan, Yohanna Bernadette and Hillary Veronique Liliane. They currently live in Liverpool. Rigobert is also a national ambassador for Cameroon. He acquired French nationality by

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

on 21 January 1999. His nephew Alex Song played as a defensive midfielder for clubs in France, England, Spain, Russia, and Djibouti. About the relationship with Rigobert, Alex said: "I speak to him all the time and always call on him for advice. He's a good person to talk to because of his experience in England and I can ask him anything, depending on situations."

Illness

On 3 October 2016, it was reported that Song had suffered a "cerebral attack", and was hospitalised in Cameroon. He was in a coma for two days, after having had a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, with doctors planning to transfer him to a French hospital for further treatment. He returned to Cameroon in April 2017, and resumed coaching duties later that year.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Source: List of international goals scored by Rigobert Song

Managerial

Honours

Metz *

: 1995–96 Liverpool *

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

: 2000–01 Galatasaray *

: 2005–06, 2007–08 *

: 2004–05 Trabzonspor * Turkish Cup: 2009–10 Cameroon *

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; runner-up:

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runner-up:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Individual * Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament:

* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

* UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 1997–98 *

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All-time Africa Men's Dream Team: 2021 * CAF Legends Award: 2012 Orders * Knight of the

Order of Valour The Order of Valour is an order of knighthood of Cameroon. History It is regulated by the ordonnance N° 72/24 of 30 November 1972. It is one of the four orders of Cameroon:List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps In association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official appearance for their national team. This article lists all men's football players who have played in 100 or more official internat ...

References

External links