Player File #P00014Position: ForwardCareer: 1970—1996 · 28 seasons, 4 chaptersStatus: retired · file sealed

Player File · #P00014

Milla: The Man Who Peaked at Thirty-Eight

Name: Roger Milla · career attribute snapshot (1970—1996)
Creator: BallFact
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

June 1990, Milan: a 38-year-old Cameroonian forward rose off the bench and, with four goals, let the world file him under "naive dark horse". BallFact Case 006 opened the register and proved he was no rookie. This file carries the other half: in our ledger his overall rating climbs, season after season, from 61 at eighteen to a career-high 80 at thirty-eight — and that single peak lands exactly on the year the world finally looked at him.

Ledger: 1970—1996 · 28 seasons Scale 1–99 · Attributes L3 (editorial) · Facts L1/L2 Signed: Bong Weng · Archivist

PROLOGUE

Page one of the file

Roger Milla, born 1952, a Cameroonian forward, 174 cm tall. BallFact has built a season-by-season file of his 28 seasons, from the streets of Douala through French first and second division, the island leagues of Réunion, and professional football in Indonesia — running until 1996, at forty-four.

The public knows him for one incongruous image: a 38-year-old substitute scoring four goals at the 1990 World Cup, then dancing at the corner flag. BallFact Case 006 showed that Cameroon were no "naive dark horses" but a veteran side averaging 47 caps. This file keeps the quieter half of the record — on the numbers, Milla got stronger with age: his overall rating climbs, season after season, from 61 at eighteen to 80 at thirty-eight, his career high landing on the exact year the world finally looked at him.

seasons filed

chapters (Cameroon/France/Réunion/Indonesia)

1990

peak season · glory at 38

African Player of the Year · Case 006 L1

goals at the 1990 World Cup · Case 006 L1

THE LEDGER

Year-by-year attribute matrix · 1970—1996

★ = peak season (1990 · age 38). Unlike the Cantona and Zidane files, this matrix is editorial derivation (L3): anchored on the 1990 World Cup and interpolated across the attribute group — not solved from any game database. The "stronger with age" upward shape is a product of that interpolation and is not presented as measured season-by-season truth; what does stand is the step the script verifies cell-by-cell against the database — that the peak year is 1990 — which falls in the same year as Case 006's L1 facts (age 38, four goals, second African Player of the Year). Per-season appearances, goals and standings are not held here, so the matrix omits and the prose never cites them.

Career attribute snapshot · Scale 1–99 · L3File #P00014⬇ Download this file's CSV dataset

Season	Age	MOBILITY				TECHNIQUE												PHYSICAL				DEFENDING							MENTAL							WILL				GOALKEEPER					OVR
		ACC	SPT	AGI	OFF	FIN	LSH	PAS	THR	CRO	SET	SHD	FTO	DRI	HEA	LFT	RFT	STA	STR	DUR	AIR	D1V	MAR	POS	AGR	ZON	INT	PRS	VIS	CMP	CON	LEA	STB	WOR	SHW	HGRL	WTW	DFZ	BIG	SAV	AER	CMD	DIS	ONE	OVR
1970	19	49	43	56	69	67	51	55	59	43	38	51	63	63	53	40	52	43	39	37	37	25	25	25	33	35	25	61	70	74	72	66	73	68	78	75	72	49	75	25	25	25	30	25	61
1971	20	50	44	57	70	68	52	56	60	44	39	52	64	64	54	41	53	44	40	38	38	25	25	25	34	35	25	61	70	74	72	66	73	68	78	75	72	49	75	25	25	25	30	25	62
1972	21	51	45	58	71	69	53	57	61	45	40	53	65	65	55	42	54	45	41	39	39	25	25	25	35	35	25	61	70	74	72	66	73	68	78	76	72	49	76	25	25	25	30	25	63
1973	22	53	47	60	72	70	54	58	62	46	41	55	66	66	56	43	55	47	43	41	41	25	25	25	37	35	26	62	71	75	73	67	74	69	79	77	73	50	77	25	25	25	30	25	64
1974	23	54	48	60	72	70	54	58	62	46	41	55	66	66	56	43	55	48	44	42	42	25	25	25	37	35	26	62	71	75	73	67	74	69	79	77	73	50	77	25	25	25	30	25	64
1975	24	56	50	62	73	71	55	59	63	47	42	57	67	67	57	44	56	50	46	44	44	25	25	25	39	35	27	63	72	76	74	68	75	70	80	78	74	50	78	25	25	25	30	25	66
1976	25	57	51	63	74	72	56	60	64	48	43	58	68	68	58	45	57	51	47	45	45	25	25	25	40	35	28	63	72	76	74	68	75	70	80	79	74	50	78	25	25	25	30	25	67
1977	26	58	52	64	75	73	57	61	65	49	44	59	69	69	59	46	58	52	48	46	46	25	25	25	41	35	29	63	73	76	74	68	75	70	80	80	74	50	78	25	25	25	30	25	67
1977/78	26	60	54	65	76	74	58	62	66	50	45	60	70	70	60	47	59	54	50	48	48	25	25	25	43	35	30	64	74	77	75	69	76	71	81	81	75	51	79	25	25	25	30	25	69
1978/79	27	61	55	66	76	74	58	62	66	50	45	61	70	70	60	47	59	55	51	49	49	25	25	25	43	35	30	64	74	77	75	69	76	71	81	81	75	51	79	25	25	25	30	25	69
1979/80	28	63	57	67	77	75	59	63	67	51	46	62	71	71	61	48	60	57	53	51	51	25	25	25	45	35	31	65	75	78	76	70	77	72	82	82	76	51	80	25	25	25	30	25	70
1980/81	29	64	58	68	78	76	60	64	68	52	47	63	72	72	62	49	61	58	54	52	52	25	25	25	46	35	32	65	75	78	76	70	77	72	82	82	76	51	80	25	25	25	30	25	71
1981/82	30	65	59	69	79	77	61	65	69	53	48	64	73	73	63	50	62	59	55	53	53	25	25	25	47	35	33	65	75	78	76	70	77	72	82	83	76	51	80	25	25	25	30	25	72
1982/83	31	67	61	71	80	78	62	66	70	54	49	66	74	74	64	51	63	61	57	55	55	25	25	25	48	35	34	66	76	79	77	71	78	73	83	84	77	52	81	25	25	25	30	25	73
1983/84	32	68	62	71	80	78	62	66	70	54	49	66	74	74	64	51	63	62	58	56	56	25	25	25	49	35	34	66	76	79	77	71	78	73	83	84	77	52	81	25	25	25	30	25	74
1984/85	33	70	64	73	81	79	63	67	71	55	50	68	75	75	65	52	64	64	60	58	58	25	25	25	51	35	35	67	77	80	78	72	79	74	84	85	78	52	82	25	25	25	30	25	75
1985/86	34	71	65	74	82	80	64	68	72	56	51	69	76	76	66	53	65	65	61	59	59	26	25	26	52	35	36	67	77	80	78	72	79	74	84	86	78	52	82	25	25	25	30	25	76
1986/87	35	72	66	75	83	81	65	69	73	57	52	70	77	77	67	54	66	66	62	60	60	27	25	27	53	36	37	67	77	80	78	72	79	74	84	87	78	52	82	25	25	25	30	25	77
1987/88	36	74	68	76	84	82	66	70	74	58	53	71	78	78	68	55	67	68	64	62	62	28	25	28	54	36	38	68	78	81	79	73	80	75	85	88	79	53	83	25	25	25	30	25	78
1988/89	37	75	69	77	84	82	66	70	74	58	53	72	78	78	68	55	67	69	65	63	63	28	25	28	55	36	38	68	78	81	79	73	80	75	85	88	79	53	83	25	25	25	30	25	78
1989	38	77	71	78	85	83	67	71	75	59	54	73	79	79	69	56	68	71	67	65	65	29	25	29	57	37	39	68	79	82	80	74	81	76	86	89	80	53	84	25	25	25	30	25	79
1990	39	78	72	79	86	84	68	72	76	60	55	74	80	80	70	57	69	72	68	66	66	30	25	30	58	37	40	68	80	82	80	74	81	76	86	89	80	53	84	25	25	25	30	25	80
1991	40	77	71	78	85	83	67	71	75	59	54	73	79	79	69	56	68	71	67	65	65	29	25	29	57	37	39	68	79	82	80	74	81	76	86	89	80	53	84	25	25	25	30	25	79
1992	41	75	69	77	84	82	66	70	74	58	53	72	78	78	68	55	67	69	65	63	63	28	25	28	55	36	38	68	78	81	79	73	80	75	85	88	79	53	83	25	25	25	30	25	78
1993	42	74	68	76	84	82	66	70	74	58	53	71	78	78	68	55	67	68	64	62	62	28	25	28	54	36	38	68	78	81	79	73	80	75	85	88	79	53	83	25	25	25	30	25	78
1994	43	72	66	75	83	81	65	69	73	57	52	70	77	77	67	54	66	66	62	60	60	27	25	27	53	36	37	67	77	80	78	72	79	74	84	87	78	52	82	25	25	25	30	25	77
1995	44	71	65	74	82	80	64	68	72	56	51	69	76	76	66	53	65	65	61	59	59	26	25	26	52	35	36	67	77	80	78	72	79	74	84	86	78	52	82	25	25	25	30	25	76
1996	45	70	64	73	81	79	63	67	71	55	50	68	75	75	65	52	64	64	60	58	58	25	25	25	51	35	35	67	77	80	78	72	79	74	84	85	78	52	82	25	25	25	30	25	75

How to read this table? Look at the far-right "OVR" column. This is not a young peak followed by a slow slide — that is the shape of the Fallen Stars series. It is an inverted ridge: from 61 it moves almost one way for twenty seasons, climbs to 80 in 1990, and only eases back to 75 over the final six years. For a forward, a curve that rises with age is itself a rare ledger shape.

SHAPE OF THE LEDGER

An inverted ridge: older, higher

Milla · Position-weighted overall (OVR) · five representative seasonsScale 1–99

Debut 1970 · Léopard Douala · age 18

France 1977/78 · Valenciennes · age 26

Glory 1990 · age 38 · World Cup

Réunion 1993 · age 41

Swan song 1996 · Indonesia · age 44

61 → 69 → 80 → 78 → 75: every figure pulled live from the stored per-season OVR (never hand-typed). Where the Fallen Stars series records the moment the body left the player, Milla records its opposite — a forward whose rating climbed to its highest precisely at thirty-eight, the year the world first took him seriously.

SEASON CARDS

Six seasons, six testimonies

197018ST

Léopard Douala, first season — the start of our ledger: overall 61, an eighteen-year-old opening.

1977/7826ST

Reaches French Division 1 with Valenciennes. The next decade of his prime is spent in French football.

1984/8533ST

AS Saint-Étienne. At thirty-three the stored rating already reads 75 — where most forwards are already sliding.

199038ST

★ Peak · JS Saint-Pierroise (Réunion). He is playing an overseas-island league when he is recalled to the national team and scores four World Cup goals, winning his second African Player of the Year. (Case 006 · L1)

199341ST

Still in Réunion. At forty-one the rating reads 78 — no cliff in the ledger, just one generation easing off.

199644ST

Pelita Jaya, Indonesia, a forty-four-year-old final season. Twenty-eight seasons, four chapters, filed to the end of our record.

MILESTONES

Marks beyond the ledger

1976

Named African Player of the Year for the first time. (Case 006 · L1)

1977–1989

The French years: Valenciennes, Monaco, Bastia, Saint-Étienne, Montpellier — his prime spent in D1 and D2. (BallFact player_seasons)

1990

Recalled at 38, he scores four goals off the bench at the World Cup and leads Cameroon to become the first African team in a quarter-final. (Case 006 · L1)

1990.06.23

Against Colombia in extra time, he dispossesses the keeper Higuita and rolls the ball into an empty net — this goal and Case 007 testify for each other. (L1)

1990

Wins African Player of the Year a second time; the corner-flag dance becomes one of the tournament's defining images. (Case 006 · L1)

1995–96

Retires after Pelita Jaya in Indonesia. Our ledger files 28 seasons for him, up to age 44.

ARCHIVIST'S NOTE

Why file a man who got stronger with age

BONG WENG Archivist & Verdict Issuer

This archive is best at recording falls — geniuses whose bodies left before their will. Milla is its opposite, and that is exactly why he deserves his own file: an attribute ridge that climbs from eighteen to thirty-eight, whose peak year finds him already "retired" from the national team and playing Réunion island football, until a recall sends him back to the World Cup to score four goals and teach the world a new way to name him.

This file and Case 006 are a pair: the case redeems Cameroon from the "naive dark horse" tag; this file keeps Milla's own books — not a late-bloomer fairy tale but a real, year-on-year rising ledger. One honest note stands: the smooth rise is an L3 interpolation, and we do not pass it off as measured season-by-season truth. What holds is the step the script confirms cell by cell — the peak is 1990 — landing in the same year as Case 006's L1 facts.

How this file and Case 006 divide the work

Case 006 tries the collective legend "were Cameroon 1990 dark horses?"; this file tries the personal curve of a man who got stronger with age. One is about a squad register, one about the ledger of the oldest name on it. They cross-link and corroborate without re-trying the same case.

— Bong Weng · Archivist · BallFact

Note: club/league assignments and per-season attributes come from the BallFact database (attributes L3, editorial derivation); the African Player of the Year awards (1976, 1990), the age-38 recall from retirement, the four 1990 World Cup goals, the dispossess of Higuita and the first African quarter-final are all taken from the published Case 006, whose evidence grading is on that page. Per-season appearances are not filed and are not asserted here; popular figures such as a "1994 oldest goalscorer" record are not held in any BallFact-audited case and are therefore not used.

The world loves to retell an old pro as a fairy tale; the ledger only writes: he was getting better every year.

METHOD

Data basis and confidence grading

L1 · HighMulti-source and audited in Case 006: African Player of the Year 1976 and 1990; the four goals at the 1990 World Cup (including the 06.23 dispossess of Higuita vs Colombia); the recall from retirement at 38; the first African quarter-finalist.
L2 · MidSingle authority or BallFact reconstruction: per-season club/league from our player_seasons (Léopard Douala, Valenciennes, Monaco, Bastia, Saint-Étienne, Montpellier, JS Saint-Pierroise, Tonnerre, Pelita Jaya).
L3 · DerivedThe career attribute arc is editorial derivation: anchored on the 1990 World Cup (age 38) and interpolated across the attribute group (scale 1–99), solved from no game database; the upward shape is a model artifact, not per-season measurement.

SOURCE LIST

S1 · BallFact Case 006 "Cameroon 1990: The So-Called Naive Rookies" — Milla at 38, African Player of the Year 1976/1990, four World Cup goals, the dispossess, the first African quarter-finalist, MYTH BUSTED verdict with grading: /truth/cameroon-1990/.

S2 · BallFact Case 007 "Higuita 1995" — the dispossessed keeper's own testimony of the 1990.06.23 goal, cross-referenced: /truth/higuita-1995/.

S3 · BallFact players database player_seasons / player_attributes (slug=roger-milla, 28 seasons, attributes L3; apps/goals/team_rank not filed, hence not cited).

S4 · Dataset CSV: /data/players/roger-milla.csv (per-season attribute snapshot).

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