On 26 June 2003, Cameroon-Colombia was played at the Gerland in Lyon. It’s the Confederations Cup, in the center of the field for the Africans is Marc Vivien Foe, twenty-eight years old. An iron physique, an old-fashioned midfielder like Desailly could be, capable of scoring many goals. The last one on Maine Road, for example: the old Manchester City stadium, demolished about twenty years ago, when the glamor of the sheikhs – and of Guardiola – was still very far from becoming reality. He was at home at Gerland, because he had played for years at Olympique Lyon, managing to win the club’s first championship, in addition to his experience at West Ham.
Foe was always a starter in important matches. It was, in fact, also against Colombia, in very hot Lyon. Heading off to tackle Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, who would later become a pillar of Inter, and collapsing to the ground with the ball far away. There are no cameras on him but, as for Morosini, the defibrillator on the sidelines is only a hypothesis. It is impossible to know whether he would have been saved or not, even if the FIFA doctor later said: “For forty-five minutes we attempted cardiac resuscitation. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”
Foe comes out on a stretcher, with no sense that he might wake up. The show must go on and Cameroon wins 1-0 with ten against eleven. The public prosecutor of Lyon will explain: “The player suffered from a probably congenital hypertrophic cardio-myopathy of the left ventricle, almost impossible to detect without a thorough examination.” In the other semi-final, between France and Türkiye, goalkeeper Coupet starts to cry. Today Marc Vivien Foe would be 49 years old.