‘Chiefs wanted me’
There was always an element of doubt about whether Alain Amougou would live up to expectations at Mamelodi Sundowns after arriving as a replacement for the ever-popular Nigerian Raphael Chukwu, who had left for Italian club Bari ahead of the 1999/00 season.
Most pundits had also chosen to ignore, or forget, that Amougou had been the reason why Sundowns were knocked out of the CAF Champions League earlier in the year by tiny St Louisienne from the Reunion Islands in a stunning upset.
Amougou struck a brace in the second leg that was played in the Indian Ocean nation and The Brazilians took note of the lively dreadlocked forward.
Upon further digging, they found out that the left footed striker was a Cameroonian born in France, who had been in Reunion on a six-month deal after contractual issues forced him to walk out from Turkish club Antalyaspor.
However, it was natural that questions would be asked about how a serious footballer would end up in Reunion after having played in France and Turkey.
“I was in Reunion because after the expiry of my contract in Turkey I didn’t want to renew. So, instead of signing in a country which I didn’t want to be in
