Benjamin Roger Massing (20 June 1962 – 9 December 2017) was a Cameroonian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He played professionally for Diamant Yaoundé,

Créteil Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Cr� ...

in France, and

Olympic Mvolyé Olympic Mvolyé, also known as Olympique Mvolyé, is a Cameroonian association football, football club based in Mvolyé. Olympic enjoyed some success in the 1990s as they won the Cameroonian Cup twice in 1992 and 1994 and then went on to compe ...

. At international level, he played for the Cameroon national team which he represented at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Football career

Diamant Yaoundé

Massing started his professional career with Diamant Yaoundé, a Cameroonian football club based in the country's capital, and finished the 1986–1987 football season with the team.

US Créteil

In the 1987–88 season, Massing signed for French club

US Créteil The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

from where he was picked up for

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

's squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Massing was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the opening game for a foul on

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Claudio Caniggia Claudio Paul Caniggia (; born 9 January 1967) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as forward or winger. Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both ...

, in a 1–0 shock win for Cameroon. Massing also appeared in the quarter-final loss to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(2–3) where he was booked, conceding a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

for committing a foul on

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has ...

. Massing earned 21 international

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and also took part in three Africa Cup of Nations, including the 1992 edition while playing for

between 1992 and 1993.

Death

On 9 December 2017, Massing died in

Edéa Edéa is a city located along the Sanaga River in Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It lies on the Cameroon National Railways Authority, Douala–Yaoundé railway line. Its population was estimated at 122,300 in 2001. Th ...

, Cameroon at the age of 55. His half-brother,

Georges Mouyémé Georges L. Mouyémé-Elong (born 15 April 1971) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as forward. At club level, he played for Saint-Lô, Troyes, Angers, and Paris FC in France, for FC Homburg and Eintracht Trier in Ger ...

, is also a retired footballer who played for French clubs Troyes and

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

, and represented Cameroon at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the 1996 African Cup of Nations.

References

External links

* * *
Cameroon stats at 11V11
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massing, Benjamin 1962 births 2017 deaths People from Littoral Region (Cameroon) Cameroonian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Diamant Yaoundé players Olympic Mvolyé players Ligue 2 players US Créteil-Lusitanos players Cameroon men's international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1988 African Cup of Nations players 1990 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players Africa Cup of Nations-winning players Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in France