Has a tribute in form of an award, the Prix Marc-Vivien Foe that honors outstanding African players in French Ligue 1
* A minute of silence is respected in every FIFA Confederation Cup final to honour Foe
* The Indomitable Lion scored 24 goals for club, and eight goals for Cameroun
Maravi Express
Cameroun midfielder, Marc Vivien Foe, who died in an unfortunate incident in 2003 during the FIFA Confederations Cup in France, would have turned 46 today.
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The midfielder, who collapsed and later died of cardiac arrest (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) in the middle of the game against Colombia, has a tribute in form of an award, the Prix Marc-Vivien Foe, that was set up in his memory.
Three players — Zimbabwe international Tinotenda Kadewere; Algerian forward Andy Delort and Congolese winger Gaël Kakuta — have been shortlisted for the award for their outstanding performance at their respective clubs in the French Ligue 1.
The Zimbabwean Kadewere, who has scored 10 goals plus three assists in his debut campaign in the French top-flight, plays for Lyon — the club Foe last played for — while Delort is for Montpelier and Kakuta for Lens.
The winner of the award, first presented in 2009 — six years after Foe’s death — will be unveiled just after the penultimate day of Ligue 1, on May 17.
Cameroun online, kick442.com, reports on Foe that “it was not only his ability to read and anticipate the game, but also his work ethics, covering large parts of the pitch and galloping up and down for the team be it at Canon Yaounde, West Ham United Olympic Lyonnais, Manchester City or Cameroun”.
“Foe presented adequate shield for the back four of the Lion’s especially in their back-to-back triumph of the AFCON in 2000 and 2002.”
Vivien started a career at Canon of Yaoundé, before he went ahead to play for Lens, West Ham United, Manchester City and Lyon, imposing his calm and know-how, getting a pass mark in every club he graced.
Whilst with Manchester City
A minute of silence is respected in every FIFA Confederation Cup final to honour Foe, together with the Mark Vivien Foe award in the French league, only for the best African player in the League.
The Indomitable Lion scored 24 goals for club, and eight goals for Cameroun, which is glorious for someone whose job was to give his back four some protection.
Background
Born in 1975, Foe was posthumously decorated with the Commander of the National Order of Valor and had his jersey number 23 was retired at Manchester City.
Foé started as a junior with Second Division Union Garoua before moving on to Canon of Yaoundé, one of the biggest clubs in Cameroon, where he won the Camerounian Cup in 1993.
In the derby between Man City and Man United
He began representing Cameroon at Under-20s for the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia and later made his senior debut against Mexico on September 22, 1993 and the following year, he was included for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, starting all three of their matches.
Marred by low morale caused by various financial and disciplinary disputes with the Cameroun Football Association, the 1994 squad was a shadow of the squad which had famously reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1990.
Cameroon mustered just one point from three matches, and finished with an embarrassing 1-6 defeat against Russia. However, Foé’s consistently strong performances as a defensive midfielder (including a goal assist) prompted interest from European clubs.
After turning down Auxerre for a trainee position, he signed for another French club, RC Lens and in five seasons at Lens, he won the 1998 French league title.
In 1998, he was targeted by Manchester United but Lens turned down a £3 million offer for him and further negotiations between the clubs were curtailed abruptly after he broke a leg at Cameroon’s pre-World Cup training camp and subsequently missed the whole of the 1998 World Cup.
Shortly after his recovery, he moved to English Premier League club West Ham United in 1999 with which he played 38 league matches, scoring one goal. In May 2000, he moved back to France, joining Lyon on a £6 million transfer.
He was on the Cameroon squad in the 2002 World Cup in which they they were again eliminated at the group stage, having beaten Saudi Arabia, drawn with Ireland and lost to Germany.
Foé then returned to the English Premier League, loaned to Manchester City in the 2002-03 season under manager Kevin Keegan, starting 38 of 41 matches.
His death
In the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, Foé played in wins against Brazil and Turkey and was rested for the match against the United States as with Cameroon having already qualified for the semifinal against Colombia on June 26, 2003.
Cameroon faced Colombia in the semi-final and in the 72nd minute of the match at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, Foé collapsed in the centre circle with no other players near him.
The fateful moment
After attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch, he was stretchered off the field, where he received mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen.
Medics spent 45 minutes attempting to restart his heart, and although he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium’s medical centre, he died shortly afterwards.
A first autopsy did not determine an exact cause of death, but a second autopsy concluded that Foé’s death was heart-related as it discovered evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy— a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise.
Foé’s widow Marie-Louise stated that he had been ill with gastric problems and dysentery before his final match, but he was adamant to play in his adopted hometown of Lyon.
Cameroon manager Winfried Schafer had wanted to substitute him minutes before his collapse, observing that the player seemed fatigued, but he signalled that he wanted to continue.
Post his death
Foé was given a state funeral in Cameroon and his death caused a profound shock. Numerous tributes to his joyous personality and infectious humour were expressed in the media. Also Thierry Henry and other players pointed to the sky in tribute to Foé after Henry had opened the scoring against Turkey in France’s Confederations Cup semi-final that evening.
Pointing to the sky in his tribute
Keegan announced that the club would no longer use the number 23 shirt Foé wore during his successful season at Manchester City’s and at the club’s former ground, Maine Road, there is a small memorial to him in the stadium’s memorial garden, and on the walls of the players’ tunnel are plaques paid for by supporters, with their names, dubbed the Walk of Pride.
Just before the final of the 2003 Confederation Cup
The first plaque on the wall is for Marc and reads ‘Marc Vivien Foé – 1975–2003’. His first club Lens gave his name to an avenue near the Stade Felix Bollaert.
Lens and Lyon also decided to withdraw the number 17 shirt that Foé wore for five years at Lens and a year at Lyon. However, when fellow Cameroonian Jean II Makoun was transferred to Lyon, he took up the number 17 shirt, explaining that it was “in memory of Marc, for me and for the whole Cameroon, this will be for something.”
After France won the cup