World Cup Cult Heroes: Roger Milla - Cameroon

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 10 Feb 2026 04:49 CST
• 4 min read

News

The World Cup is the most famous international tournament in sport and the biggest stars in football history have lifted the iconic trophy since its inception in 1930.

The likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi have all produced decisive moments in the tournament's history, while Germany icon Miroslav Klose remains the all-time top goalscorer with 16 strikes in 24 matches.

Although the spotlight is typically on the most well-known stars at every World Cup, each tournament unearths a hidden gem or a cult hero figure who captivates the hearts of the masses and leaves with their reputation at an all-time high.

Thanks to his exploits in 1990, as well as 1982 and 1994, Cameroon’s Roger Milla is arguably the biggest ever World Cup cult hero.

World Cup Cult Heroes: Roger Milla (Cameroon)

Roger Milla’s first World Cup in 1982 was fairly uneventful and certainly didn’t suggest he would go on to become one of the tournament’s most loved players of all time. He started all three of Cameroon’s group stage matches, but was unable to register a goal contribution as they crashed out despite drawing all three of their fixtures.

Eight years later, having already retired from international football, Milla received a phone call from the president of Cameroon, Paul Biya, asking him to return to the national team set-up for the 1990 World Cup.

Milla duly obliged and the rest is history. He netted four goals and provided two assists in five games as Cameroon reached the quarter-final stage before being knocked out by England thanks to an extra-time penalty converted by Gary Lineker.

His goals were vitally important too. He scored a brace during a 2-1 group stage win over Romania, while he also found the back of the net on two occasions as Cameroon knocked out Colombia in the last-16.

Each one was celebrated in iconic fashion, with Milla dancing by the corner flag while basking in the Italian sun. His fancy footwork captured the hearts of the watching world as a 38-year-old Milla proved age is just a number.

When later asked about his legendary celebrations at Italia 90, Milla told SuperSport: “It was instinctive, really, it was the sun that sent me there! It was a good place on the pitch to dance.

“Today’s goal scorers aren't celebrating for the spectators but for their egos. The fans come to the stadium to have fun, to dance... playing football and celebrating is the same, it is dancing.”

He became the oldest World Cup goalscorer at Italia 90 before breaking his own record four years later at USA 1994 after netting against Russia aged 42 years and 39 days old.

Cameroon became the first African nation to ever reach the World Cup quarter-finals in 1990 and it was their charismatic striker who helped the entire continent dream of glory on the global stage.

All four of his goals at Italia 90 came off the bench and Milla cemented his status as a legendary super-sub just one year after playing amateur football on an island off the coast of the Indian Ocean.

In 1989, Milla was turning out for Jeunesse St Pierroise on an island called Reunion, while also working as a radio pundit. Recounting the story to BBC Sport in 2014, the Cameroon legend said: "I went there for a bit of a rest.

"Then I started playing for a little club run by my friend just for a bit of fun and that is what led to me coming back for the World Cup."

And we're all glad he did.

What happened to Roger Milla after the 1990 World Cup?

Milla’s contributions at Italia 90 were immense and he returned to former club Tonnerre Yaounde in his native Cameroon after the tournament. He spent four years back at the club, before moving to Indonesia following the 1994 World Cup.

After retiring from playing in 1996, Milla eventually returned to Tonnerre as their head coach in 2007 and he spent four years in the role before leaving in 2011.

Across his entire career, Milla scored over 400 goals and, in 2007, he was named as the best African player in the last 50 years by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

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