Schafer ready to stun homeland

No one will know any better than Winfried Schäfer how Germany will approach their decisive final Group E match here today, but, as Sven Goran Eriksson has found out, inside knowledge can be a dubious advantage. Eriksson admitted that knowing so much about the Swedish mentality coloured his tactical approach to England's opening game. The German-born coach of Cameroon understands the difficulty.

"What Sven says is very true, but that's why I've made sure it's not Winnie Schäfer playing Germany, it's Cameroon playing Germany," he said. "I don't want to talk too much about Germany for that reason. I want to talk about Cameroon and that's how I'll be approaching the game. It can't be personal."

So far, the record of coaches-in-exile against their own countries at this tournament is played two, won one, drawn one. Eriksson gained the draw, Bruno Metsu of Senegal the win against France. At stake today for Schäfer's Cameroon is a place in the last 16, the very minimum that is expected of the African champions, but beyond lies a very real chance for the former Karlsruhe coach to make an indelible mark on the fortunes of his native country.

Schäfer cuts an incongruous figure beneath the lights of the Shizuoka stadium, with his white tracksuit and flowing bottle blond hair. At 52, he still joins in the practice, reliving his years in the midfield alongside Günther Netzer at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Schäfer was the artisan to Netzer's artist, but they formed a formidable partnership that took Mönchengladbach to the Uefa Cup.

When his playing career finished at Karlsruhe, then of the Second Division, Schäfer became a coach, fashioning a side of industry and flair during his 11 years at the little industrial club that numbered Valencia and Roma among their scalps in Europe, and Oliver Kahn, Jens Novotny and Mehmet Scholl among the graduates of the youth academy. All three would have been in today's German team, but only Kahn, who could be the biggest barrier to Cameroon's ambition, has remained free of injury.

Schäfer's coaching career in Germany stalled after he left Karlsruhe. After brief spells at VfB Stuttgart, where the players voted 20-0 in favour of his dismissal, and Tennis Borussia of Berlin, Schäfer was cast into the wilderness. When Christoph Daum, the anointed successor to Berti Vogts as national team coach, admitted taking drugs, the German football association searched for a successor. No one thought of Schäfer. Instead, the call came from Cameroon, who had just fired their third coach in eight matches.

"Cameroon play thrilling football, but they need to improve on tactics and discipline," said Schäfer. "That's why they wanted a German coach and that's why I've taken the job." He was also unemployed and, according to those close to him, increasingly bitter at the indifference of his own country. Revenge could not come more tantalisingly wrapped. Germany have not failed to qualify for the second stage of the tournament since 1938.

The mathematics of the group are tortuous, but, given their inferior goal difference, Cameroon need to win to be sure of qualification. Only if Ireland fail to score two more goals than Saudi Arabia would a draw be enough.

Miroslav Klose, a potential winner of the Golden Boot, is fit for Germany, so is Rigobert Song, Cameroon's captain. "If it has to be that a German knocks out Germany, then, of course, we'll do it," says Schäfer. "I'm a Lion now."