A Song and a prayer for Rigobert Song

This photograph taken on June 24, 2010 shows Cameroon's captain and defender Rigobert Song during a past match. PHOTO | CARL DE SOUZA |

What you need to know:

  • Outpouring of solidarity messages from football’s greatest stars
  • Former Cameroon captain doing well, flown to France for further treatment
  • The head of the hospital’s emergency unit, Louis Joss Bitang, said late Monday that Song had come out of his coma.

YAOUNDE

Former Cameroon captain Rigobert Song, 40, has emerged from a coma following a stroke and was due to be airlifted to France for further treatment last night.

The former Liverpool and West Ham defender who led Cameroon to back-to-back African Cup of Nations wins was rushed to hospital from his Yaounde home on Sunday after suffering a cerebral aneurysm.

The head of the hospital’s emergency unit, Louis Joss Bitang, said late Monday that Song had come out of his coma.

“His condition is acceptable,” he said, adding that the former player was breathing without aid and cerebral bleeding was controlled.

Unmissable on the pitch with his flowing dreadlocks that were dyed blond later in his career, Song also played for Metz and Lens in France and won two league titles at Galatasaray in Turkey.

For Cameroon he played in the same team as the veteran Roger Milla at the 1994 World Cup before the emergence of goal king Samuel Eto’o alongside whom he helped forge Cameroon’s global status.

He was capped 137 times, 36 of them were at CAN finals where he captained his country to the trophy twice in 2000 and 2002 and also won Olympic gold in 2000.

Perhaps the lowest point of his career came at the 2003 Confederations Cup when his friend and central defence partner Marc Vivien Foe died during a game against Colombia from a hereditary heart condition.

The secretary general at the Cameroon presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh and other high profile personalities of the country visited the legend on Monday.

There has been an outpouring of solidarity messages and wishes of quick recovery from world football’s greatest stars to the emblematic footballer ever since news of his malaise broke out.

Former Indomitable Lions team mates, Samuel Eto’o Fils and Patrick Mboma have posted messages of solidarity and wish of quick recovery to Song.
“All my thoughts and prayers are with you,” Liberian politician and retired footballer George Weah twitted.