The campaign was marred with bitter feuding and in-fighting marked by the comings and goings of no less than three coaches during the qualifying stages.
Current manager Winfried Schafer, the German who led Cameroon to African Nations glory this February, was not even installed until after a place in the World Cup had been secured.
The man at the helm when the first steps towards Japan and South Korea were taken was Jean-Paul Akono.
Amazingly, he came under fire from sections of the Cameroon support despite winning his first four Group A games without conceding a goal.
But a shock 2-0 loss to Angola, Cameroon's only defeat in the group, added further fuel to the arguments of his detractors and saw him removed from the post in May 2001.
Akono claimed he had been manoeuvred out of the job by his predecessor Pierre Lechantre who was immediately reinstated to the position on a short-term basis.
"Public opinion has been manipulated by some people who wanted Lechantre back," said Akono after being sacked.