Pierre Nlend Womé (born 26 March 1979 in Douala) is a Cameroonian football who currently plays for Canon Yaoundé as a defender. A journeyman, Womé is a versatile and skillful left wingback who has played for 11 clubs in five countries, being only one of eleven players to have played in the top divisions in Italy, Spain, England and Germany respectively (the others are Jon Dahl Tomasson, Abel Xavier, Gheorghe Popescu, Florin Răducioiu, Pepe Reina, Christian Poulsen, Maniche, Marko Marin, Eduardo Vargas and Obafemi Martins).
Career
After spending his youth career at Fogape Yaoundé and the relatively eminent regional side Canon Yaoundé, Womé moved to Italy from Cameroon in the summer of 1996 to start his professional career. He began his senior career at Vicenza Calcio and spent almost seven years playing in Italy until moving to English Premier League side Fulham FC in August 2002.[1] He was sold to Bologna F.C. 1909 in a co-ownership deal for 6 billion lire in 1999,[2] until Roma acquired him for 2 billion lire in the same summer that Francesco Antonioli, Amedeo Mangone and Alessandro Rinaldi joined Roma for 10 billion lire, 13 billion lire and 6 billion lire respectively. In June 2000 Bologna acquired Womé outright for a fee of 1 million lire. During his time in England at Fulham, Womé scored once in the league, in a 3–0 win over West Brom in February 2003.[3]
After playing for some notable clubs, including RCD Espanyol, FC Internazionale Milano and SV Werder Bremen, Womé joined 1. FC Köln in the summer of 2008[4] and left the team on 30 June 2010.
In late February 2012, it was announced that Womé would join Coton Sport FC de Garoua in his homeland.[5]
International career
Womé was a regular starter in the left back position for Cameroon during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was a key member of the squads that won consecutive African Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002 and the Olympic gold medal in 2000. All three tournaments were won on penalty shoot-outs, and Womé was a taker in all three victories. In the Olympic gold medal match, Womé scored the fifth and decisive penalty to win the title for his country. He also scored from the spot in the 2000 African Cup of Nations final, but his penalty in the following tournament was saved by Senegal's Tony Sylva. Womé also played as Cameroon's first choice left back in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
On 8 October 2005, Womé missed a 95th-minute penalty during Cameroon's final World Cup qualifier against Egypt that would have sent the Indomitable Lions to the 2006 FIFA World Cup; unfortunately for Womé he cannoned the shot off the outside of the post and Côte d'Ivoire qualified at their expense.
During a press conference several days afterward, Womé said about the penalty: “No one wanted to take that penalty. No one. Neither Samuel Eto'o nor our captain Rigobert Song, because they knew what could have happened if they missed. I have always had the courage and I went to the spot.” He also claimed that some Cameroon fans wanted to kill him.[6]
On 19 March 2007, Womé announced his retirement from international football.[7] He later returned to the team in 2009 for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Morocco.[8]
References
External links
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