With this summer’s arrival of Alex Song being the cause of much excitement around Upton Park at the moment, it seems only fitting to pay tribute to the former Hammers’ defender and cousin of Alex, Rigobert Song. Although the two Song’s are linked as cousins, Alex largely refers to Rigobert as his ‘uncle’ for his added years of experience and father-like style. The two have both represented some of the Premier League’s top teams, Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, as well as being main stays in the Cameroonian national team set up.
Rigobert Song’s time at West Ham was largely uneventful however. He was drafted in by Harry Redknapp as part of the ill-fated contingency that were intended to fill the void left by Rio Ferdinand, who had left to join Leeds for a record £18 million at the time. He made 24 appearances for the Hammers between 2000 and 2002 without scoring any goals. During that time the Cameroonian captain signed on loan for F.C. Koln in the Bundesliga before making a permanent switch to French football with RC Lens. Rigobert finally found some momentum with Turkish giants Galatasaray, where he became a fan favourite and an integral park in his team’s Champions League defensive line-up.
Because he never really seemed to settle in club football, the cousin of Alex Song developed most of his fame on the international stage. Between 1993 and 2010, Rigobert Song amassed a total of 137 caps for his country whilst playing as team captain for most of that time. He has represented Cameroon in two World Cups, at both Japan/South Korea in 2002 and South Africa along with Alex Song in 2010. Rigobert’s final memory that he left the world of football with was his dangerously blonde hair/beard combo that would also be picked up by his younger cousin.
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