Former international Serge Branco revealed that he would soon have been had Cameroon been bribed at the 2000 Olympics. In the Cameroonian state television documentary, c RTV, the former defender looks back at the Olympics in Sydney, where he won a gold medal with Cameroon. In the quarter-finals of the tournament in question, the Cameroonians settled with Brazil, but if it were up to several Asian players, Ronaldinho and his teammates would have reached the semi-finals.
Aside from the sporting hurdles, Cameroon also had to overcome a major moral hurdle on their way to the gold medal. Indomitable lions He survived the group with Kuwait, the United States and the Czech Republic, after which Brazil surprisingly exited the quarter-finals (1-2). After a 2-1 victory over Chile in the semi-finals, Cameroon defeated Spain on penalties in the final. This made Samuel Eto’o’s team and co-workers the second African country to win a football gold medal at the Olympics. Nigeria won the first prize in 1996.
However, it could have gone wrong for Cameroon in the quarter-finals, Branco revealed nearly 22 years later. “They collected six of us and offered $100,000 each if we lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarter-finals. We refused, but…what a scary! We had just beaten the Czech Republic and in the mixed zone we stopped some Asians. They spoke English and it worked. As a translator, they told us that they Client And that they would like to speak to me and five other players at the Novotel in Brisbane the next day. I asked them if they were from Milan or Real Madrid and they replied, “Don’t worry.”
Branko continues, “We went to a suite on the seventh floor and walked into a darkened room with two bodyguards in which a man was sitting in a wheelchair with no legs or arms. We were amazed, it was like a scene from a movie.” Then came the shocking suggestion: “The man did not hide his will.” We put in $6 million and we want you to lose 2-1 to Brazil. We’ll give you $100,000 per person.” They totally surprised us and didn’t know what to answer. We were scared and told them we’d be happy to take that money … but only to win, ”admitted Branko.
A follow-up appointment with the Asian party was scheduled for the next day. “We picked up our focus again and met the five other people involved. Until then, the Cameroon government had only given us a hundred dollars. The temptation was huge. It was an unimaginable amount at the time, but we were there for it. To win and shine in the colors of Cameroon.” Branko and the other five players decided not to go to the meeting: “We didn’t go, but we were terrified. We left the room only to go in for sports. We were afraid to meet them in the city.
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