MONTREAL – The Ambroise Oyongo saga is over – at long last.
The Cameroon international trained with the Montreal Impact first team – and met with the local media – for the first time on Friday morning following two-plus months of negotiations after an offseason trade from the New York Red Bulls prompted a prolonged holdout.
All smiles, Oyongo looked like a man on a mission – a mission to mend fences.
“I remained calm because I knew that, if there was such a situation, it would get sorted out,” Oyongo told reporters.
The situation was one of confusion – at best – and at worst, acrimony.
Various reports claimed that Oyongo and his representation didn’t believe his Jan. 27 trade from the Red Bulls was valid.
The situation was only complicated
by claims from the Cameroon Football Federation that his contract was void due to the fact that he initially came to New York on a short-term loan from a Cameroonian club. New York, however, had purchased his rights, making the subsequent trade viable.
On Friday, Oyongo insisted that he hadn’t spoken publicly about the situation, despite various reports throughout the African media.
“If [my agent] had to say things that were a little mean – he was under pressure – then, if I were him, I would apologize if, really, it hurt some people, MLS or the Montreal or Red Bulls supporters,” Oyongo said. “I’d say that I’m really sorry about that. You know, there are moments in life when you’re under pressure, and that’s not easy to manage.”
Oyongo didn’t address the details of the situation, nor did he comment on an Afriksports report that a wage increase facilitated his decision.
“It was tough getting here because there was this situation with my contract that needed to be solved – not with the club, but with MLS, and I think that my agents sorted that out with them,” Oyongo said. “It took me here. Today, I’m here. The club needs me, and I’ll try to give everything I can because now I’m late.”
The Impact, throughout the process, argued that Oyongo was getting bad advice. Head coach Frank Klopas thus felt at ease to finally greet Oyongo at the Impact’s new training facilities.
Klopas was clement to Oyongo, even noting he once failed to report to Greece’s AEK Athens because of a contractual situation during his 20s – an admission that elicited laughter from the assembled press.
“Whether the advice you’re getting is not right or whatever, he’s a young player,” Klopas said. “I think that’s all behind us right now. For sure, he has to come, and he has to prove himself here to the group, but he’s a humble kid with a good attitude.”
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He has ambition, as well.
The Afriksports report also quoted Oyongo as saying that “playing in [MLS] is nothing but a stepping stone.”
One of Oyongo's agents told various outlets that his client, convinced that he would be an important part of New York Red Bulls in 2015, had declined offers from European clubs after last season. Oyongo tried to put the matter to rest somewhat, arguing that any move to any club is a steppingstone.
“Right now, I’m coming here to be better,” Oyongo said. “For you to be seen, you have to play, you have to show your talent, you have to be the best. Now, certainly, there will be offers. You can choose to stay. It depends on your choice, on how you're welcomed. If you're fine somewhere, I don’t see why you should go somewhere else.”
Oyongo is joining a group that has gone through massive emotional ups and downs in four short months, reaching the CONCACAF Champions League final while finding success hard to come by in MLS play. Despite the controversy, the group apparently welcomed him with open arms.
“It always depends on how you get on, with whom you get on and how much time it takes,” defender Wandrille Lefèvre said. “I’m no fortune teller. I don’t know Ambroise yet. Obviously, it’ll also be up to him to get himself in a situation where he can be accepted into a group that’s been together for four, five months. But I’m convinced that he’s a good guy, and what’s more, he’s a good footballer.”
Throughout the process, Oyongo trained on his own and was a part of the Cameroon national team at this year’s African Cup of Nations. And he said he’s ready to go if the call comes – even this Saturday at Stade Saputo against Real Salt Lake (4 pm ET; TSN).
“We’ll see on the field in a bit,” Oyongo said. “Then, the coach decides. If he tells me that I’m playing tomorrow, I play tomorrow. I’d be ready [to play 90 minutes].”
Added Klopas: “I would assume, according to plans, from what I hear, I think he would be available the next game. But you never know. We’ll see today where he is and where some of our guys are. If he’s healthy and ready, I would have him available, depending on what I see today.”
