A profile of Cameroon ahead of the African Cup of Nations - including past record, recent form and information on their players and coach.

PAST RECORD

Cameroon have missed just one of the last 13 finals and are seeking to equal the record of five title wins by Egypt. Their triumphs came in 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002; they were runners-up in 1986.

RECENT FORM

Cameroon did not take advantage of FIFA dates in October and November for friendly matches, their last international of the year being the final qualifying game for the 2008 Cup - where they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat in Equatorial Guinea.

They played just six games in 2007.

COACH

German coach Otto Pfister was handed a two-year contract by Cameroon in November, taking the tally of his national team coaching jobs to 10.

In Africa he was national coach at Rwanda, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Senegal, Ivory Coast, Zaire and Ghana, with whom he reached the final of the 1992 Cup of Nations, which they lost on penalties, and Togo.

He has also worked at club level in Lebanon, Tunisia and in Egypt, where he won the 2000 African Cup Winners' Cup with Cairo club Zamalek. This year he took Al Merreikh of Sudan to the African Confederation Cup final.

The 69-year-old Pfister spent most of his playing and early coaching career in Switzerland and has maintained a residence in Zurich since 1959.

PLAYERS

Samuel Eto'o has recovered from a knee injury to return to form for Barcelona. He was top scorer at the last edition of the finals in Egypt.

Captain Rigobert Song set a record for the most number of Cup of Nations finals appearances in Egypt. He has played 27 games for Cameroon since the 1996 finals and will play in a record-equalling seventh tournament in Ghana.

Midfielder Jean Makoun plays in his third successive finals but the first in which he will be the driving force in the Cameroon midfield. Clubs across Europe have long been watching the talented 23-year-old player.

Along with Eto'o and Song, Newcastle United captain Geremi is the only squad member still remaining from the team that won the Cup of Nations title in both 2000 and 2002.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Kameni Idriss Carlos (Espanyol, Spain), Hamidou Souleymanou (Denizlispor, Turkey), Janvier Mbarga (Canon Sportif)

Defenders: Rigobert Song (Galatasaray, Turkey), Andre Bikey (Reading, England), Timothee Atouba (Hamburg, Germany), Bill Tchato (Qatar Sport, Qatar), Benoit Angbwa (Saturn, Russia), Gilles Augustin Binya (Benfica, Portugal)

Midfielders: Geremi (Newcastle United, England), Alexandre Song (Arsenal, England), Achille Emana (Toulouse, France), Jean Joel Epalle (Bochum, Germany), Jean Makoun (Lille, France), Landry Nguemo (Nancy, France), Modeste Mbami (Marseille, France), Paul Tchamba Essola (Arsenal Kiev, Ukraine), Stephane Mbia Etoundi (Rennes, France), Alain Nkong (Atlente, Mexico)

Forwards: Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona, Spain), Bertin Tomou (Excelsior Mouscron, Belgium), Mohamadou Idrissou (Duisburg, Germany), Joseph Desire Job (Nice, France)

Reuters