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/ 15 February 2008
First things first: the best team won. Many, including myself, dismissed Egypt’s chances of defending their crown because of a ropey qualifying campaign and because they lost a number of important players from their 2006 squad. But the Pharaohs showed that their domestic league continues to cultivate quality footballers.
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/ 10 February 2008
Hosts Ghana scored three times in the last 20 minutes to beat Côte d’Ivoire 4-2 to finish third in the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday. Boubacar Sanogo, making his first start of the tournament, scored twice in nine minutes to give Côte d’Ivoire a 2-1 half-time lead.
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/ 8 February 2008
Holders Egypt and Cameroon will meet in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final after two remarkable semifinals on Thursday condemned hot favourites Côte d’Ivoire and hosts Ghana to elimination. Defending champions Egypt ended Ivorian dreams with a 4-1 win in Kumasi, prompting thousands of celebrating fans to pour on to the streets in Cairo.
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/ 7 February 2008
Hosts Ghana kick off a high-calibre Africa Cup of Nations semifinal programme when they take on Cameroon at Accra’s Ohene Djan stadium on Thursday at 5pm GMT. The Black Stars will have to make do without suspended captain John Mensah, banned for one match after being sent off in Ghana’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Nigeria.
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/ 5 February 2008
African soccer’s governing body has denied telling Didier Drogba and Frederic Kanoute that they had to attend last week’s African Footballer of the Year award ceremony to have a chance of winning. Côte d’Ivoire striker Drogba opted not to travel to Togo and Mali’s Kanoute, who did go, was declared the winner.
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/ 4 February 2008
Côte d’Ivoire overwhelmed Guinea in the closing stages to triumph 5-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations Cup quarterfinal on Sunday and equal the record winning margin for the tournament. Next up for Côte d’Ivoire are either defending champions Egypt or dark horses Angola in the semifinals on Thursday.
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/ 2 February 2008
Mali and Sevilla forward Frederic Kanoute was named Africa Player of 2007 on Friday, beating Chelsea clubmates Michael Essien and Didier Drogba to become the first European-born player to earn the honour. Nigeria’s Cynthia Uwak was chosen as the best women’s player ahead of South Africa’s Modise Portia.
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/ 2 February 2008
Côte d’Ivoire are the favourites to go one step better than two years ago and win the Africa Cup of Nations. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba captained the Elephants to three straight wins in a tough Group B that included Nigeria, Mali and Benin. They next play Guinea in the quarterfinals on Sunday in Sekondi.
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/ 1 February 2008
The 2004 champions Tunisia and Angola sealed the last two quarterfinal places at the African Nations Cup on Thursday. The pair fought out a goalless draw in Tamale to head Group D which earned Tunisia, table toppers on goal difference, a quarterfinal tie with four time winners Cameroon on Monday.
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/ 30 January 2008
Didier Drogba marked his 50th international cap with a goal to help Côte d’Ivoire beat Mali 3-0 in Accra on Tuesday to finish the opening round of the African Nations Cup as Group B leaders. With qualification to the last eight already in the bag, Côte d’Ivoire were intent on finishing top of the table.
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/ 30 January 2008
Nigeria scraped into the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals on goal difference after beating Benin 2-0 on Tuesday to set up an appetising clash with hosts and arch-rivals Ghana. The Super Eagles pipped Mali, thumped 3-0 by Côte d’Ivoire in the other Group B game, after both finished level on four points.
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/ 28 January 2008
The deluge of goals in the first week at the Africa Cup of Nations has been matched only by the flood of scandals and dramas off the pitch. Ahead of the decisive round of opening round games starting in Accra on Monday, Didier Drogba’s Côte d’Ivoire are the only one of the 16 teams to have secured their place in the quarterfinals.
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/ 26 January 2008
Côte d’Ivoire became the first side to qualify for the African Nations Cup quarterfinals on Friday but fellow heavyweights Nigeria’s hopes were left hanging by a thread. The Elephants from Côte d’Ivoire brushed aside Benin 4-1, with Didier Drogba getting his first goal of this year’s tournament, to go top of Group B and assured of a place in the last eight.
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/ 20 January 2008
Downtown Accra is decorated with ”Go Ghana” banners as this lively city of nearly three million people prepares for the start of the continent’s most storied soccer tournament. A million visitors are expected in the West African state for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on Sunday with a sold-out opener between the host nation and Guinea.
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/ 19 January 2008
The West African state of Ghana is about to take its place in the international spotlight as hosts of the 26th Africa Cup of Nations. It’s been a bit of a scramble, but the former British colony is all set for the biggest show of its short life, one that promises to upstage even last year’s celebrations to mark 50 years of independence.
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/ 18 January 2008
There has been much debate about whether the African Cup of Nations should be held at the end of the European season so that there is not a club-versus-country clash. Two football experts discuss the pros and cons. The continental showpiece kicks off in Ghana on Sunday.
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/ 11 January 2008
French striker Nicolas Anelka has joined Chelsea from English Premier League rivals Bolton, the clubs announced on Friday. A statement on Chelsea’s website said: ”Chelsea Football Club and Bolton Wanderers can confirm that terms have been agreed between the clubs for the transfer of Nicolas Anelka.”
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/ 11 January 2008
It is breakfast time in the slums of Jamestown, outside the Ghanaian capital, Accra. From within corrugated tin shacks and under slum tarpaulins comes the metallic clatter of early morning chores and the promise of plantains and hot milk. Defying their mothers, the local children are already on the beach playing football.
Shaun Wright-Phillips scored a goal and forced an own-goal in injury time to give 10-man Chelsea a 2-1 win over Everton on Tuesday in the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals. Wright-Phillips, who put Chelsea ahead 1-0 in the first half, duelled in front of the net for a high ball with Everton’s Joleon Lescott, who inadvertently knocked the ball into his own goal.
Premier League clubs are waiting for Tuesday’s opening of the month-long January transfer window, some seeking to tweak their squad as they press for the title and others hoping to add players in the fight to stay in England’s most lucrative competition.
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/ 28 December 2007
Louis Saha expects Manchester United’s superior squad to give the champions a decisive edge as the Premier League title fight hots up. Sir Alex Ferguson rested Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs, Anderson and Patrice Evra against Sunderland on Wednesday but United still coasted to an emphatic 4-0 victory that took them back to the top of the table.
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/ 27 December 2007
Champions Manchester United begin the second half of their Premier League title defence at the top of the league on Saturday but manager Alex Ferguson will be hoping for better luck at West Ham United. United were imperious in a 4-0 thrashing of Sunderland on Wednesday to move a point above Arsenal.
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/ 26 December 2007
Arsenal have enjoyed Christmas Day at the top of the Premier League standings — and are hoping that history repeats itself and keeps them top at the end of the season. The club at the top at Christmas have won the league for the past three years — Manchester United last season and Chelsea in 2005 and 2006.
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/ 25 December 2007
Chelsea have been warned by Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill that his side are out to do the double over them on Wednesday and dent their English Premier League title hopes. The third-placed Blues could fall nine points behind leaders Arsenal if Villa beat them for the second time this season in the Boxing Day holiday clash.
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/ 17 December 2007
Arsene Wenger has the destiny of the Premier League in his control but the Arsenal manager expects a four-way battle before he gets his hands on the title. Wenger’s side remain one point clear of Manchester United at the top of the table after William Gallas clinched a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
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/ 9 December 2007
Ryan Giggs’s 100th league goal saw Manchester United on the way to a 4-1 win against bottom-of-the-table Derby County to keep up the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday. Victory at Old Trafford, where Carlos Tevez scored either side of halftime, left second-placed United a point behind the Gunners
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/ 28 October 2007
Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez fired Manchester United back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday, as Chelsea served warning that their own title challenge is still alive after the departure of Jose Mourinho. United’s 4-1 demolition of Middlesbrough at Old Trafford continued a rich vein of form for the champions, who have won eight consecutive matches in the league.
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/ 25 October 2007
Former British European Cup winners Liverpool and Celtic suffered another blow after both lost in the latest round of Champions League matches on Wednesday. Liverpool have just a point after three matches — having gone down 2-1 to Besiktas in Istanbul — while Celtic have three points following a 1-0 reverse away to Benfica.
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/ 19 October 2007
When Avram Grant sent his Chelsea players away for international duty last week, he must have thought he was beginning to get the troubled club back on track. The storm of controversy generated by Jose Mourinho’s dramatic exit and Grant’s ascension as his replacement had finally dissipated after wins over Valencia and Bolton.
AC Milan and Liverpool were upset in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Chelsea won 2-1 at Valencia with a late goal from Didier Drogba. Defending champion Milan lost at Celtic 2-1 after a 90th-minute goal from Scott McDonald. After the goal, a fan ran onto the field and made contact with Milan goalkeeper Dida.
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/ 28 September 2007
Avram Grant did his best to be charitable towards Jose Mourinho this week. The new Chelsea manager said that ”nobody at the club was happy” about his predecessor’s departure. He agreed that the timing last Wednesday night was inopportune and he seemed to suggest that the Portuguese had his sympathy.
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/ 22 September 2007
A new era without Jose Mourinho gets under way at Old Trafford for Chelsea on Sunday, as they play their first English Premiership match under new manager Avram Grant against Manchester United. Mourinho’s time at the Stamford Bridge helm came to an end in the build-up to their visit to the current champions.