Recently in Africa Cup of Nations 2010 Category

Algeria's coach Rabah Saadane announced his preliminary roster of 25 players for the World Cup. The USA is one of their Group C rivals along with England and Slovenia. The Fennecs will get to test their World Cup squad in friendlies against Ireland and the UAE before departing for South Africa.

Goalkeepers: Fawzi Chaouchi (Entente Setif), Lounes Gaouaoui (ASO Chlef), Mbohi Rais Ouheb (Slavia Sofia/Bulgaria), Mohamed Amine Zemmamouche (Mouloudia Algiers)

Defenders: Habib Belaid (Boulogne-sur-Mer/France), Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth/England), Madjid Bougherra (Rangers/Scotland), Rafik Halliche (Nacional/Portugal), Abdelkader Laifaoui (Entente Setif), Carl Medjani (Ajaccio/France), Djamel Mesbah (Lecce/Italy), Antar Yahia (VfL Bochum/Germany)

Midfielders: Djamel Abdoun (Nantes/France), Riad Boudebouz (Sochaux/France), Adlane Guedioura (Wolverhampton Wanderers/England), Fouad Kadir (Valenciennes/France), Medhi Lacen (Racing Santander/Spain), Yazid Mansouri (FC Lorient/France), Mourad Meghni (Lazio/Italy), Hassan Yebda (Portsmouth/England), Karim Ziani (VfL Wolfsburg/Germany)

Forwards: Rafik Djebbour (AEK Athens/Greece), Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena/Italy), Karim Matmour (Borussia Mönchengladbach/Germany), Rafik Saifi (Istres/France).

Saadane has kept his faith in the back four that saw duty in the recently concluded 2010 ACN, where in the semi-final they were pounded by Egypt in a humiliating loss, 4-0.

Wingback Nadir Belhadj whose attacking forays have helped Pompey score some important goals. Ranger stand out Madjid Bougherra, whose impressive performances as central defender has made him a fan favourite and a Liverpool target. He is also a team mate of Maurice Edu who could find himself in the USA line up. The hero of Khartoum Antar Yahia, whose goal led the Fennecs over the Pharoahs in that bitterly contested match. His club VfL Bochum is most likely to be relegated.

In midfield the heart and soul is VfL Wolfsburg's Karim Ziani whose exciting link up with Edin Dzeko and Grafite was a huge factor in their Bundesliga success. Ziani built on his success at L'OM, making a name for his midfield creatiivity. Adlane Guedioura, a towering presence in midfield- on loan to Wolves has impressed with his performances such that Mike McCarthy maybe considering a permanent three year contract. Hassan Yebda also on loan to Pompey has had an impressive career at Benfica. Karim Matmour listed as a forward in the Borussia M'gladbach website is Michael Bradley's understudy as an attacking midfielder, recently coming on when the US player was suspended.

Given the impressive names in midfield and in defense, the attack is decidedly low wattage.

Saadane is relying on 35 year old Rafik Saifi of French Ligue 2 club, Istres. He is the only one scoring with a degree of consistency with 19 goals. The other strikers Abdelkhader Ghezzal of Siena and Rafik Djebbour have 6 goals between them.

Saadane also faces a goalkeeping quandary. Algerian custodians have proven notoriously unreliable in the past.

Fawzi Chaouchi was the other hero along with Yahia in that match at Khartoum, and his stellar goalkeeping kept the Pharoahs at bay. At 25 years of age, he is considered the future of the Fennecs but Raabane's other choice, Lounes Gaouaoui at 32 years of age has far more experience with 48 caps. A bit of trivia: He appears to hold the record for a surname with the most vowels in a row.

Differences in personality remains the issue - Chaouchi is hotheaded and impulsive while Gaouaoui is the calmer and more collected goalkeeper. In the ACN, Chaouchi undid all his good work at Khartoum by aiming a headbutt at referee Coffi Codjia in the semi-final and was suspended from the competition.

One wonders if Issa Hayatou, the CAF president would have acted in the same arbitrary and high handed manner as he did with Togo if god forbid, the same horrific attack took place against the Cameroonian team during the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations.

There is enough circumstantial evidence that he would not have sanctioned the Cameroonian team. They would have been allowed to withdraw without penalty because of political considerations.

Issa Hayatou comes from a politically well connected Fulani family from the northern region of Cameroon. His brother Seydou Hayatou was a former prime minister of Cameroon under the present president Paul Biya, a Beti.

The Betis from the south have long been mired in a struggle for control of Cameroon with the Fulanis since the 1960s. Both tribes co-existed in an uneasy alliance till 1984 when Biya became the target of a coup attempt attempted by the Northerners backed by the predominantly northern Republican guards in charge of Biya's security. The coup was widely seen as a result of a fallout between Biya and his predecessor, Cameroon's first president Ahmadou Ahidjo, a Fulani. Ahidjo was forced to go into exile The failed coup saw a ethnic cleansing of the north in a gruesome backlash as the Betis consolidated power till the end of the decade.

Only recently since the turn of the millenium, have the Betis reached out to the Fulanis with Biya appointing several ministers from the Fulanis into lower level cabinet positions. Seydou Hayatou is still a powerful politician, most recently stepping down as Director of the Bank of Central African States. He reportedly harbours presidential aspirations.

Given that country's sensitive geo-political situation, an attack on the Cameroonian team would have destabilized the fragile nature of the Beti- Fulani axis with serious repercussions to the Hayatous political ambitions with futher marginalization of the Fulanis. It is a safe bet that Issa Hayatou would have had no words to say to the Biya government if they had decided to withdraw the team.

Seen here chatting with buddy Blatter - no doubt taking tips from him on how to make moronic decisions.More than 10,000 protested in Togo calling Issa "a shame to Africa"
More.

Shaibu Amodu will now coach Nigeria's homegrown players

Shaibu Amodu has been sacked as expected. The Super Eagles were suffering a crisis of confidence in Amodu and even with their third placed finish in the CAN, looked far from self assured.

Jay Jay Okocha reflects a growing consensus that a foreign coach needs to replace Amodu. To this end Ronnie Shehata with his successful tenure as Pharoahs coach was sounded out about taking over. But the problem may not be Amodu as much as a dysfunctional NFF that interferes with every facet of football including player selection.

Be that as it may, Guus Hiddink has proven exemplary in providing short term shock therapy. So it is natural that he is on top of Nigeria's list to replace Amodu.He is also being courted by Turkey but unlike that country, Nigeria is going to the World Cup. The Super Eagles also have extremely talented players but not neccesarily the work ethic and the defensive intensity. Hiddink has an established reputation in these areas. After Russian complacency cost them a World Cup spot, he might be looking to burnish these credentials elsewhere.

An option is yet another Dutchman, Clemens Westerhof, who coached Nigeria to their 1994 Africa Cup of Nations title and to the second round that year in the World Cup. He now works as a administrator of a Nigerian football academy. Most Nigerians see him as their best coach. But Westerhof seems to have grown wary of the corrupt and sectarian nature of Nigerian football and has refused such calls.

Another candidate is Ghana's former coach Ratomir Dujakovic who took that country to the 2006 World Cup and the second round. Others mentioned are Bruno Metsu who coached Senegal to the 2002 World Cup, former England U-21 manager Peter Taylor, and Bayern Munich's Louis Van Gaal.

The rush to foreign coaches is not unanimous as there are others in the Nigeria camp like Lawrence Orairo who believe that Amodu should have been strengthened by adding assistants like Samson Siaisia and Stephen Keshi.

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The Togo government has filed a complaint in a French court against the organizers of the Africa Cup of Nations and the Federation of the Forces for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda-Military Position (FLEC-MP), whose leader Rodrigues Mingas lives in France and is a citizen.

Mingas claimed responsibility for the attack on the Togo squad which killed two their team members and their Angolan bus driver. The attack had unintended consequences. "We did not target Togo, but the Angolan army," he told FRANCE 24 on Monday. "We are fighting for the complete liberation of Cabinda, against Angola's illegal occupation."

The Togo squad pulled out of the competition on the advice of the government and in a cruel and thoughtless decision, CAF banned the team for the next two Cups on the grounds of "political interference". Angola too has launched a protest on the grounds that the French government failed to curtail Mingas activities. The Paris prosecutor's office will conduct a terrorism inquiry examining Mingas role in inciting "acts of terrorism." .

It is gratifying to see Mohamed Zidan who I have always thought highly of as a player mature before your eyes. His pass to Gedo set up Egypt's winning goal against Ghana in the CAN final. Gone it seems are the days of a player who arrogantly refused a national call to play for his country focusing instead on his club career. After which Ronnie Shehata vowed never to play him again.

"Zidan refused to join the team when we needed him most, before the Nations Cup. You can never count on these kind of players."

Here is an interview which shows how much Zidan has changed for the better. He points to the lack of stars in the Pharoah's squad as a reason for their success.

What is the secret behind the success of this Pharaohs team?
A lot of people tend to ask that question, but honestly, there is no secret. I think the most important thing is that we don't really have any big stars in our team. By that, I don't mean we don't have good players, but in our team, we see each other as equal. Everyone is there to work for the team. We have one objective and that is to make Egypt the best. We try and develop ourselves every match and improve.

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Egypt beat Ghana, 1-0 as Mohamed Nagy Ismail Afash aka Gedo scored the winning goal to claim their 7th CAN title.

The Pharaohs dominated the individual player category as Ahmed Hassan was selected the player of the 2010 CAN, Essam Al Ahdary was selected as top goalkeeper, and Gedo claimed the top scorer title. There were five Egyptians in the Africa XI. Congratulations Egypt! .

Egypt's success as the most decorated African team comes amidst their generally poor World Cup track record. A bit of a head scratcher.

Togo have been banned from taking part in the next two African Cup of Nations tournaments in 2012 and 2014 for sitting out the tournament this year after the attack on their team bus.
The Confederation of African football (CAF) have imposted this ridiculous penalty on the team because of "government inteference" in the game.The Togolese government did not permit the players to return to the tournament.This concern for the safety of the team after three of them were killed has been construed as a violation of article 78 of Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010.
The CAF have also demonstrated a further remarkable level of insensitivity and stupidity by also imposing a 50,000 dollar fine on Togo as part of the penalty.It's quite an incredible idea of crime and punishment.

......decimating Algeria 4 - 0 in the process.Algeria ended the game with 8 men,losing the plot completely and making the game look as it were being played in the red sea.They picked up three red cards.Halliche (second yellow) for a foul in the penalty area,Nader Belhadj -straight red for a two footed lunge
(which means that he might miss out the opening game at the world cup) and goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi(second yellow) for kicking out at an Egyptian forward.
Egypt assistant coach Chaouki Gharib said: "We've played against three World Cup qualifiers in our five matches here, we've beaten them all and scored ten goals against all of them. "
Algeria coach Rabah Saadane attacked Benin referee Koffi Codjia for Halliche's red card.
He said: "The referee sent off our best defender, it was free fall after that. You have to look at the reality, it was the referee who turned the game upside down."

The other semifinal was a placid affair in comparision.Ghana went ahead of Nigeria with this goal from Asamoah Gyan.

The indomitable lions goalkeeper put up a less than indomitable and mostly unlionlike performance and let his team down quite badly in the process.
Egypt won the game 3 -1.All the goals of the game were scored by Egypt and all had a certain wierdness about them .The first one was a self goal.The second bounced over the head of the Cameroon goalie to go in,the third came off a lousy back pass and the fourth will go down as another call for video technology.The ball did not cross the line but the ref said goal and that was that.Take a look at Egypt's goal number four...

Drogba's dream of being king of Africa will have to wait again.In 2006 Ivory coast lost the finals to Egypt in a penalty shootout,in 2008 they lost 4 -1 in the semis to the Egyptians again and in 2010 they fell to a late,late injury time winner.Three times unlucky.
The Ivory Coast press have been less kind in their headlines.Most of them are saying things like ."Huge Disappointment","Broken Dreams","End of Illusions" etc
In the other game Angola were eliminated with Ghana going through to the semis with Asamoah Gyan scoring the only goal of the game.

Quarterfinals
QF1 - Sunday, Jan 24th, Angola vs Ghana
QF2 - Sunday, Jan 24th, Cote d'Ivoire vs Algeria,
QF3 - Monday, Jan 25th, Egypt vs Cameroon
QF4 - Monday, Jan 25th, Zambia vs Nigeria
A video clip of the soccer documentary Pelada to look at while we wait for the action to get underway..

The way things are looking for the four groups when reports last came in...

If two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria in chronological order.

1. Points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
2. Goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
3. Number of goals scored in the matches between the teams concerned;
4. Goal difference in all group matches;
5. Number of goals scored in all group matches;
6. Fair play points system taking into account the number of yellow and red cards;
7. And if all else fails by drawing of lots by the organising committee.

The dreaded Drogba wants to be "King of Africa" Enroute to this throne he scored the third goal in Ivory Coast's 3 -1 win over Ghana .

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In addition to providing emergency relief, these organizations are providing the following aid to those in need:

Underdogs Gabon beat the indomitable Cameroon team 1 - 0 in the second shock result of the tournament.Football pundits are having to swallow their words as the underdogs have been going around beating their more fancied opponents.Ghanaian sports journalist Kofi Agyepong had the following to say "One thing is clear; matches played at this tournament so far have proven the pundits wrong. You stick your neck out and you are caught on the wrong foot,"
He sounds like a bit of a contortionist but you can get what he is trying to say.The big stars like Eto'o and Drogba have yet to do any shining.Here's Daniel Cousin's goal for Gabon against Cameroon

Here's a trick that even mad Jens might think about twice before trying.The Mozambique goalie in the game against Benin in the ANC demonstrates a fairly lunatic way of collecting the ball..

Kodjovi Obilale, the 25-year old Togolese reserve goalkeeper is said to be in a serious but stable condition at the Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg,

At the games themselves defending champs Egypt beat Nigeria 3 -1 in what would have been the biggest game so far.(video)

They are ranked 73 places below Algeria and were always the underdogs going into this game having never won a game at the African Cup of Nations before.So their 3 - 0 win was a pretty good way to start winning...

Elsewhere Drogba failed to get his name on the scorecard as Ivory Coast played out a goalless draw with Burkina Faso ( Yes there is such a country.The name Burkina Faso incidentally means "land of upright people")

Didier Drogba wants the Togo tragedy to unite Africa:

"People have an opinion of Africa and it is not so good, but we have to let sport unite us all... They see us as being behind the rest of the world in financial and in sporting terms, but this year give us a chance to show people a different Africa.

"Africa has some problems, we all know that, but we all have a chance to make 2010 the special year that puts this continent on the sporting map forever. We have this Africa Cup of Nations and then there is the big prize of the World Cup."

Drogba echoes the sentiments of the late honorable Nesta Marley:

Meanwhile, the Mafia stirs up racist hysteria in Italy >>

An amazing game to kick-off the Cup of Nations tournament in Angola. Did Angola choke?

In other news, the Togo team went back to Togo for three days of mourning following the tragic deaths on the team. Will they be back? I hope the tournament organizers give them a break; it's the very least they can do.

Those who died in the attack are the Angolan bus driver, the team's spokesman Stanislas Ocloo and assistant coach Amalete Abalo.Nine were injured - two players, an assistant manager, physio, goalkeeping coach and another coach.Defender Serge Akakpo, was hit by two bullets and lost a lot of blood but his condition was reported to be stable after successful surgery.Reserve keeper Obilale was also seriously wounded and transferred to hospital in South Africa.The Togolese team which had initially decided to pull out of the tournament have now released this statement....

"In memory of the dead, the national team has decided to play in the African Nations Cup. We are all heartbroken, it is no longer a party, but we want to show our national colours, our values and that we are men. It was a decision taken nearly unanimously by the team which met during the night after having been reassured by the Angolan authorities. [The team is] a bit bitter, we are a little disappointed with the Confederation of African Football (CAF)...which couldn't arrange for a postponement of our first match so we could bury our dead. CAF puts its interests first and not those of the countries. They did not support us enough."

Talk about courage under fire.