Scotch Tagwireyi and Connie Selebogo
Will it be a group of talented players who click together or a well-drilled and determined team that does the trick when 16 African countries meet in Ghana and Nigeria this week for the 22nd African Cup of Nations?
The 16 nations have gathered their best local- and foreign-based players to compete for the ultimate soccer honour on the continent.
If world governing body Fifa’s rankings are anything to go by, the decision on which team to put your money on is not an easy one. Fifa ranks Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Zambia and South Africa far above pre- tournament favourites Nigeria.
These six teams have both the talent and determination to become the 22nd champions. This certainly raises prospects for a highly competitive and entertaining tournament.
According to the president of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF), Issa Hayatou, the teams which qualified are the best in Africa.
“We are satisfied,” he told Panafrica News Agency. “Since we [CAF] reformed the qualifying system we have reduced the element of chance. The qualifiers have been turned into championships. To qualify, a team must play eight games, which is sufficient to enable talent to emerge. In this way, teams which are not up to standard no longer have the chance to qualify.
“The problem lies with the teams’ performance during the final because one can have a great reputation and fail to perform at the right moment,” he says.
Although the tournament will be without some of the big names, such as Rashid Yekini of Nigeria, Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah of Ghana and Omam Biyak of Cameroon, it appears there are no major surprises. Many teams have maintained the same men from the previous tournament, held in Burkina Faso two years ago.
However, the return of Nigeria to the tournament after four years will be eagerly awaited. Nigeria did not defend their title in 1996 after a political clash with South Africa, which hosted that tournament. They missed Burkina Faso following a CAF politics-induced ban.
With Nigeria’s performance in the 1998 World Cup and with their wealth of talented players – most of them big names in the European leagues – they are not to be taken lightly.
Nkwankwo Kanu of Arsenal, Jay Jay Okocha of Paris St Germain, Finidi George of Real Betis, Celestine Babayaro of Chelsea, Tijjani Babangida of Ajax, Taribo West of AC Milan and Sunday Oliseh of Juventus – to mention but a few – are stars who justify Nigeria’s ranking as pre-tournament favourites – unless complacency and grumbling over bonuses get in their way.
But things are not all well in the Nigerian camp. The country will co-host the tournament five days after firing the chair of its Football Association, Anthony Kodjo, after a vote of no confidence from members of the regional associations.
The problem started when the Nigerian Minister of Sports, Damishi Sango, threatened to sack the chair and the general secretary of the football association if the country fails to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
What further complicates things is that their coach, Johannese Bonfrere, managed to get his team together only a few days before the tournament. And Bonfrere himself was appointed on December 1 1999, two months before the kick-off.
Nigeria, who have been seeded with Morocco, Tunisia and Congo in group four, will face Tunisia in Lagos on January 23. Home ground advantage may be another plus for the Nigerians.
The Moroccans, champions in 1976, are definitely strong contenders. They are currently ranked number one in Africa by Fifa and have some fine talents like Moustafa Hadji and Youssef Chippo of Coventry City in England.
Their offensive and dedicated play and a strong midfield should do the trick for them. Most of Morocco’s first eleven ply their trade overseas in countries like Romania, Holland, Spain, France, Portugal and England.
If their performance at France ’98 is anything to go by, the opposition should fear Morocco. They demolished Scotland 3-0 only to be denied a place in the second round by the controversial loss of Brazil to Spain. Many believe the results were fixed to exclude the African team.
Current African champions Egypt, in group three with Zambia, Senegal and Burkina Faso, are another force to be reckoned with. The four-time champions will break tournament tradition if they can successfully defend the title, as no team has ever done it since Ghana in 1965.
The Egyptians will use the services of Hazem Emam, Hassan Hossam and several other talented players who saw Egypt through the qualifying matches. With the tournament coming after the month of Ramadan, the Pharoahs have few obstacles to conquer.
The Egyptians will not underestimate Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Cameroon, says an Egyptian embassy representative. “They have high quality of performance and are also capable of winning. Nigeria will certainly contribute positively to the tournament, because of their high-quality performance and talented players who have gained international fame recently,” he says.
Egypt will face Zambia in their first match on January 23 in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.
Zambia have never won the cup but have been runners-up twice. This time the Zambians are determined to be the first champions in the new millennium.
Speaking at the “Chipolopolo” Soccer Fans Association fund-raising dinner dance in Lusaka, the Zambia Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Newsted Zimba, said: “I am sure time has come for Zambia to win the Africa Cup.
“We cannot continue to be a great African footballing nation without lifting the continental trophy. This time we should win the cup, and start the new century in great style – as Africa soccer kings.”
The minister said the government would do its best to support the Football Association of Zambia with logistics. Meanwhile, the Zambian national soccer team coach, Ben Bamfuchile, has assured the Zambians that he has picked the best squad for the tournament.
The 22-man squad is a combination of both Zambian local and foreign-based players.
The squad includes Dennis Lota, who plays for Orlando Pirates and is known in South Africa as tshisa mpama (hitting hard), Davies Phiri, who will be making his third successive appearance in the finals, and Mexico-based Kalusha Bwalya, who, at 37, will be the oldest player at this year’s tournament.
Four-time champions Ghana are the only team to have defended their title in the history of the African Cup of Nations, in 1965. The team will have home ground advantage, but will be without the services of Pele and Yeboah.
Ghana’s Italian coach, Giussepe Dossena, has assembled a predominantly foreign-based squad, with only four players from local teams. Although the Ghana national team has not been impressive recently, it is believed that Dossena has been nurturing a new generation for the past 18 months.
Dossena has picked the core of his team from the 1992 Barcelona Olympic bronze medal-winning side. These youngsters have also emerged as Fifa world champions twice and the African Cup of Nations may be a stage for emergence of some bright new stars from Ghana.
South Africa, champions in 1996 and runners- up in 1998, are also out for Africa’s ultimate soccer honour.
Although the team will miss active participation of Benni McCarthy, who was late for registration due to his previous withdrawal from the squad, Bafana Bafana coach Trott Moloto has assembled a squad of 22 local and foreign-based players.
Moloto’s squad have players who are already households names in African soccer, such as Helman Mkhalele, captain Lucas Radebe, Thabo Mngomeni, Quinton Fortune, Mark Fish and Shoes Moshoeu.
The injection of new blood such as Steve Lekoelea and Siyabonga Nom-vete is expected to boost the team’s performance. In the run- up to the 2000 finals, South Africa lost only once, 1-0 away to Gabon.
All in all, Nigeria still seem the best bet. If they manage to get through a tough first round they will have cleared their way.