Ex-Cameroon midfielder Mbami Modeste dies aged 40

Modeste Mbami, a former Cameroonian footballer who played for Olympique de Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain before retiring at Le Havre, has died at the age of 40. The cause of death, according to reports, was a heart attack.

He rose to prominence in Ligue 1 in the early 2000s before returning to France to finish his career; he also played in Spain and Colombia. He definitely established himself as one of the top defensive midfielders in the competition when playing with PSG from 2003 to 2006, where he won two Coupe de France (2004 and 2006).

There is one accomplishment that marked him as a hero more than others, and that is the gold medal he earned with Cameroon at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney: the Indomitable Lions won on penalties 5-3 over Spain in the final, but it is in the encounter against Brazil that Mbami leaves his mark.

Mbami was also in the Cameroonian national football team that disappointingly failed to qualify for the 2006 German World Cup as they finished second in their qualification group behind the Côte d'Ivoire.

In November 2019 he turned down a coaching job with the Cameroon national team. Modeste Mbami made 37 appearances for Cameroon from 2000 to 2009 and scored three goals.