Albert Roger Miller, known as Roger Milla, is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was one of the first African players to be major stars on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team. He achieved international stardom at 38 years old, an age at which most forwards have retired, by scoring four goals at the 1990 FIFA World Cup and thus becoming the oldest goalscorer in World Cup history. He helped Cameroon become the first African team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. Four years later, at the age of 42, Milla broke his own record as the oldest goalscorer in World Cup by scoring against Russia in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Milla is also remembered for his trademark goal celebration of running to the corner flag and performing a dance. In the years that have followed, he has been recognised as a pioneer of the many unconventional and imaginative goal celebrations seen since then. In 2004 he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. In 2007, the Confederation of African Football named Milla the best African player of the previous 50 years.
Club career
Early years
Born in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé, he moved constantly as a child because of his father's railroad job. He signed for his first club in Douala as a 13-year-old. At 18, he won his first league championship with Léopard Douala. In 1976, by which time he had moved to Tonnerre Yaoundé, he was named African Footballer of the Year.
Moving to France
In 1977, he was lured to Europe by the French club Valenciennes. There he scored 6 goals in 28 league games over 2 seasons. In 1979 he joined AS Monaco scoring twice in 17 league games in one season. The next year, he joined Bastia where he scored 35 goals in 113 league appearances for the first team. He next moved to Saint-Etienne in 1984 scoring 31 times in 59 league games. He then starred for Montpellier from 1986 to 1989, where he later went on to become a member of the club's coaching staff after retiring from French football.
Later years
After leaving France in 1987 Milla moved to Réunion in the Indian Ocean where he played for JS Saint-Pierroise. He then returned to Tonnerre in Cameroon for four seasons. He closed out his playing days with two clubs in Indonesia from after the 1994 World Cup to 1996.
International career
Milla was capped 77 times for the national team, scoring 43 goals. Milla made his first appearance for Cameroon in 1973 versus Zairein a World Cup qualifier. He was a member of Cameroon's team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, having a goal disallowed against Peru in their first match. Cameroon went out with three draws from their three first-round games. Two years later, he was part of the squad competing at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. In 1988, at the age of 36, Milla celebrated his retirement from international football with a jubilee in Cameroon. However, in 1990, he received a phone call from the President of CameroonPaul Biya, who pleaded with him to come out of international retirement and rejoin the national team. He agreed, and went to Italy with the Indomitable Lions for the 1990 World Cup, where he would cause a sensation.
1990 World Cup
38-year-old Milla emerged as one of the tournament's major stars. He scored four goals in Italy, celebrating each one with a dance around the corner flag that has become a popular goal celebration ever since. Two of his goals came against Romania in Cameroon's second game, and two more came in extra time against Colombia in the last 16 to carry Cameroon to the quarter-finals, the furthest an African team had ever advanced at the World Cup. In the quarter-final match against England, Milla confirmed his super-sub legend by entering in the second half with Cameroon trailing 1–0 and drawing a penalty and then setting up a goal for Ekeke to give Cameroon a 2–1 lead, before England later scored two penalties, to win 3–2 after extra time. Due to his performances in Italy, he was once again named African Footballer of the Year. His second goal celebration against Colombia was the subject of the 2010 World CupCoca-Cola advertisement.
1994 World Cup
Milla returned to the 1994 FIFA World Cup at the age of 42, being the oldest player ever to appear in a World Cup until the 2014 tournament when Colombia's Faryd Mondragón entered in a group stage match versus Japan being 43 years and 3 days old, setting a new record. Mondragon's record in turn was beaten by Essam El Hadary in 2018. Cameroon were knocked out in the group stages; however, Milla scored a goal against Russia, setting a record as the oldest goalscorer in a World Cup tournament, breaking the record he had set in 1990. His final international appearance came in a friendly against South Africa in December 1994.
Post-playing career
He is now an itinerant ambassador for African causes. In 2004, he was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé in conjunction with FIFA's centenary celebrations.
Career statistics
Honours
Léopards Douala
Cameroon Première Division: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74
