Vincent Aboubakar: Cameroon’s goal-scoring package takes football by storm
Formerly a little-known figure among many football fans, Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar has become the star of the Africa Cup of Nations 2022. Aboubakar is by far his best goal scorer to date – with five formidable goals. Jowhartakes a look back at his career.
As hot-tipped prospects such as Senegal and Algeria have underperformed in the group stage, hosts Cameroon look like one of the main challengers to take this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
This is largely due to their talisman captain and goal machine Vincent Aboubakar. The opening match of the tournament saw him convert two consecutive penalties with complete confidence. When Cameroon injected dynamics into a previously goal-shy Africa Cup of Nations with its 4-1 knockout of Ethiopia last week, Aboubakar led the way with two goals in three minutes – exemplifying the cutting speed and ruthless finishing ability that has taken the tournament by storm.
Cameroonian fans praised much for that achievement, comparing the 29-year-old to Lionel Messi and arguing that the faltering giants of club football, Barcelona and Manchester United, should take him up.
But Aboubakar has been an overlooked talent in club football. Born in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé in 1992, he started as a teenager and played for Coton Sport, based in Garoua in the north of the country. Aboubakar then made his big move to Europe in 2010 and joined the Ligue 2 team Valenciennes.
He made an early impression with a hat trick against Boulogne in the French League Cup. Yet in the next few years, Aboubakar’s form flagged. In 2013, he had only scored nine goals in 35 games for Valenciennes – and the club let him go on a free transfer to Lorient, another team in Ligue 2.
Here, Aboubakar sparkled – scored 16 goals in 35 appearances during his only season on the Breton side, and displayed all the power and skill that has captivated fans in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations. In 2014, this glittering form led to a breakthrough move to Porto – the Portuguese side that occasionally rises to capture the attention of football fans around the world, most memorably by winning the Champions League 2003-04 under Jose Mourinho.
Aboubakar struggled to get into the starting eleven during his first season in Porto, and made his biggest impact by coming off the bench as an understudy for star strikers Hector Herrera and Jackson Martinez. Aboubakar appeared more regularly during his second season, after Martinez’s retirement. Still, he was loaned out to Turkish Besitkas for the 2016-17 season.
The Cameroonian striker returned to form at the Istanbul club and played a key role in Besitkas on a cruise to the Turkish title. Aboubakar also excelled at European level – with a brace to push them to victory against a tough Napoli in the Champions League, Besitka’s first victory in the tournament in seven years. Aboubakar was equally important in his second round win over Olympiakos and scored in both legs.
Aboubakar’s fantastic performances for Besitkas led Porto to recall him in 2017. The Cameroonian striker scored a hat-trick against Moreirense FC shortly after his return, followed by another hat-trick a few months later in an attack on Vitoria FC that caused Porto to jump to the top of Premier League.
Aboubakar provoked the anger of Porto fans in September 2017, when Besitkas had just defeated them 3-1 at Dragao and he was filmed laughing in their locker room as they danced to celebrate their victory. He redeemed himself in the best possible way, by scoring more than 20 goals for Porto that season. But a ligament injury in 2018 took Aboubakar out of action for a year, which ruined his second game in Porto.
The Cameroonian forward returned to Besitkas 2020 and scored 15 goals in 26 appearances as they sailed to victory – with a position in an exciting 4-3 victory over Istanbul rival Fenerbahce. Aboubakar’s performances were highlighted by Saudi Professional League club Al-Nassr. Like many clubs in the Middle East, they are keen to strengthen their profile – and agreed to pay Aboubakar around € 6 million a year to join.
But Aboubakar’s best performances have undoubtedly been for his country – especially his goal in the 88th minute to give Cameroon the edge in the Africa Cup of Nations final against Egypt in 2017. That same year, he impressed in the FIFA Confederations Cup by scoring against then-World Cup winners Germany.
Now the talisman striker is Cameroon’s biggest asset as they try to build on their strong performance in the group stage and win the Africa Cup of Nations trophy at home. Nigeria looks like the biggest threat to that dream after beating its group stage opponents with three decisive victories. But none of their players come close to matching Aboubakar’s unmatched group stage record: five goals in two games, well ahead of all the goal scorers in the tournament so far.
