Remembering a Football Hero: Marc-Vivien Foé

Marc Vivien Foe

Although I have witnessed death before, I have never written about it. How do you capture someone’s last moments, especially when they come so suddenly? The best one can do then is to pen a heartfelt eulogy.

They say you are to expect the unexpected in the game of football, but I am quoting that euphemism to describe what happened to Marc Vivien-Foé on the pitch of the Stade Municipal de Gerland in Lyon ten years ago. Never again has football been the same.

On the 26th of June, 2003, in the 72nd minute of Cameroon’s semi-final clash against Colombia at the 2003 Confederations Cup in France, Foé collapsed in the centre circle and died of a heart attack. Today, the world of football remembers him for the larger-than-life athlete that he was and I would like you to join me in doing so.

A perfect example to follow

Football fans – nay, people, in Africa – consider some of their best footballers to be role models for their exemplary work both on and (more importantly) off the pitch. Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Frédéric Kanouté and the Toure brothers Kolo and Yaya are all looked up to by the youth of Africa and the rest of the world as examples of individuals who made name for themselves after battling poverty and troubled political landscape before giving back to the community that they are a part of.

Foé was yet another outstanding example of this breed of sportsmen. As said in the football magazine When Saturday Comes:

“Marc-Vivien Foé was an early developer. A first team regular for Cameroon’s top club Canon Yaoundé at 17, an international at 18, a World Cup player at 19, he won his first transfer to Europe when he signed a contract shortly after his 20th birthday to join Lens”.

- Craig McCracken, When Saturday Comes, the Half-decent Football Magazine

Foé’s time at Lens was successful, and with his domineering talents in midfield, the club from the Pas-de-Calais won the Ligue 1 title in 1997. That no-nonsense tough-tackling ability garnered the attention of Europe’s leading lights with Sir Alex Ferguson heading the queue.

But while Manchester United were very keen on signing the Cameroonian, he was to be denied a chance at playing at the Theatre of Dreams alongside Roy Keane, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the brothers Neville when he suffered a bad leg break in his country’s preparations for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

He missed the showpiece event in France and United’s interest faded. But the 6’4″ man-mountain had to move on due to RC Lens rapidly disintegrating. He jumped at the opportunity to move to West Ham and the Premier League for a then-record club signing of £4.2 million.

French and Cameroon players honour Marc Vivien Foe after the Confederations Cup final of 2003.

Foé’s first season in England saw West Ham finish fifth, their highest position in the League to date despite some mediocre performances, but the season that followed saw Foé become the archetype of the midfielder that clubs in the Premier League later employed in the form of Patrick Vieira, Michael Essien and Yaya Toure.

Bossing midfield, Foé was best noted for his calmness and composure on the pitch. Although he did have his detractors, Foé was generally loved by fans during his time in Merry Olde England. Team mates and fans alike lauded his infectious, bubbly personality, his no-nonsense attitude, his commitment to the game and his down-to-earth personality.

Despite his influence in midfield, Foé’s time in England was cut short when then-West Ham manager Harry Redknapp was forced to make a choice on signing loan signing Frédéric Kanouté and and sell the Cameroonian. Foé was shipped back to France with Lyon as the French club parted with £6 million (another record for West Ham) in 2000.

With Lyon, Foé would set the the template for yet another success in football. He was in the side that led Lyon to their first of eight consecutive league titles in 2002, successfully making him a household name on both sides of the English channel.

A year later he was back to torment forwards in England. Manchester City signed him on loan and he impressed so much that he was actually on the verge of signing a permanent contract with the Citizens. There, as they had at the Boleyn Ground, the fans took to him instantly. Foé will forever be remembered at City for scoring the very last goal at Maine Road, City’s old ground in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa.

“Our fans thought the world of him. He was a great guy to have around the club…everyone loved him. He was a really, really nice guy. You could not meet a better professional. He never gave anyone an ounce of trouble. We gave him a few days off at the end of the season so he could go back for the birth of his daughter and when he returned he just couldn’t stop smiling.”

- John Wardle, Fmr. Chairman, Manchester City FC

And that transfer would have gotten through (emphasis on ‘would’) had what transpired in the summer of 2003 not happened.

The summer of 2003 – when tragedy struck

Foé was a mainstay for Cameroon and had featured in his country’s setup for ten years when he was called up for the Confederations Cup.

He had excelled in games against Brazil, the United States and Turkey in the group stages and was in the starting lineup against Colombia which was to be played at the Stade Gerland – the home of Lyon, where Foé had played his club football – and saw Cameroon take the lead against the South Americans through a ninth minute Pius Ndefi goal.

The moment of tragedy

In he 72nd minute of the game, Foé collapsed in the centre circle of pitch. No other player or official was near him. Foé was immediately tended to by the medical staff who tried to resuscitate him by giving him oxygen on the pitch. After CPR also proved fruitless, the still-alive Foé was taken to the stadium medical centre where doctors spent 45 minutes trying to restart his heart.

Shortly afterwards, he was declared dead. Foé was 28.

The aftermath

An autopsy after the match found out that he had died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a hereditary heart condition sometimes triggered during physical activity.

Foe’s death came on the occasion of his 64th cap for the Indomitable Lions and had an immensely profound impact on football. Immediately after the game, both the France and Cameroon teams said that the final should be called off in respect for Foé.

France ultimately won that sombre final 1-0, courtesy Thierry Henry’s Golden Goal. Both sides wore Foé’s name and number (23) in show their strength of support.

Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan said they would withdraw number 23, while Lyon decommissioned the number 17 which Foé had worn there. It was later brought out of retirement when personally requested for by fellow Cameroonian Jean Makoun who wore the shirt in memory of Foé.

“It was such a shock. He was a great athlete, a great footballer and even more than that, a great bloke. I was on holiday in Spain and was watching the game on and off. I heard that he had collapsed but I didn’t know how serious it was until I got a call from the club about an hour later. It was a bombshell.”

- Kevin Horlock, Manchester City, 1997-2003

Earlier this year, when Manchester City and West Ham United played at the Etihad Stadium, a tribute was organised for him. A minute’s applause was held in the 23rd minute and both players and fans joined in.

At Lens, Foé’s first club in Europe, a street next to the Stade Félix Bollaert was named in honour of the Indomitable Lion. Back home, people flocked to the streets in the Cameroonian capital of Lusaka after hearing of his death and flocked to the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium to honour his remains.

Foé was given a state funeral with full honours and was posthumously awarded the Commander’s medal of Cameroon’s National Award of Valour. Six years later, at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, Foé’s son Martin, then 14, gave a moving speech before the game between Brazil and the United States.

Foé’s story is one of the ultimate sacrifice, and his legacy is remembered by football fans throughout the world. As the French say, un Lion ne meurt jamais. A Lion never dies.

Truer words were never spoken.

“It is an honour indeed to die in a battle which has been won by your country. The good deeds done on the stage live for ever, even after the curtain falls.”