Usually, you lose your job then your wife. Lothar Matthaus got it all wrong as his young wife had an affair which directly led to his not getting the Indomitable Lions head coach job, due to a veto issued by Cameroon’s President’s wife, Chantal Biya.
“Behind every great man is a woman” goes the age old adage. And Lothar Matthaus, a former German international footballer turned coach, has certainly learned the hard way.
Cameroon needed a fresh start after Paul Le Guen’s catastrophic South African campaign: Three matches, three defeats, two goals for, five against, a toxic atmosphere… Cameroon needed to turn over a new leaf! And the former Inter midfielder had, until last month, been tipped to succeed Paul Le Guen at the head of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon after their international disaster.
But, at the very last moment, just when the deal was about to be bagged, all hell breaks lose; at least for the soon to be Cameroon coach. Notwithstanding the involvement and recommendation of Horst Widmann, vice president of Puma, in the high profile recruitment effort, the deal has been broken and all contacts between the African team and the former German international have come to a screeching halt.
If the 49 year old former World Cup champion, Lothar Matthaus, is to be believed, the fault lies with… Chantal Biya, first lady of Cameroon. “My Cameroonian job is unfortunately lost because the wife of the President, who insisted on having me, heard my story”, Matthaus said during a lengthy interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Four-time husband Lothar Matthaus’ story is nothing but a sex scandal involving Liliana, his 22 year old wife. The former Ukranian model, whom he married a year ago in Las Vegas, has been rumoured as having an affair with another man. Pictures have been circulating lately over the internet showing the tall brunette, Mrs. Matthaus, with another man. Chantal Biya would have vetoed the arrival of the former Inter player.
Lothar Matthaus has been without a club since 2009 after his departure from Israeli club Maccabi Netanya due to economic reasons. Matthaus has been globetrotting since his retirement from football in 2001. He has coached Rapid in Vienna, Austria, FK Partizan in Belgrade, Hungary, Atletico Paranaense in Curitiba Brazil, Red Bull Salzburg, Austria and Maccabi Netanya, in Israel.
