Roger Milla

Roger Milla (born Albert Roger Mooh Miller, May 20, 1952) is a Cameroonian former football striker. He was one of the first African players to be a major star 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 footballers have retired, by scoring four goals at the 1990 World Cup, the most memorable of those goals being in the match against Colombia when he dispossessed Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita 35 yards from goal, eventually going on to score leaving the Colombian goalkeeper stranded. He helped the Cameroon team reach the quarter-finals. He was named one of the 125 greatest living football players in 2004 by the legendary Brazilian football player Pelé.

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 another Douala club.

In 1974, by which time he had moved to Tonnerre Yaoundé and was awarded the African Footballer of the Year award.

In 1977, he was lured to Europe by the French club Valenciennes. However, he was kept on the reserves for two years. In 1979, he joined AS Monaco, but shuttled between the reserves' bench and the injury list. The next year, he joined Bastia, but still did not flourish. He finally found stardom at Saint-Etienne in 1984; he then starred for Montpellier from 1986 to 1989, and became a member of the club's coaching staff after retiring from French football. [source : Roger Milla]

Roger Milla's Pictures