Events that have taken place in this year’s edition of the Africa Cup of Nations have changed the image of the tournament. Who would have predicted Burkina Faso to be in the finals of the tournament?
This tournament has come 11 months after the last one. It had the defending champion being eliminated in the very first round. The host, South Africa and the tournament favourite, Ivory Coast, were eliminated in the last 8 stage. It is also the first time that the tournament is played in the same year as the FIFA Confederations Cup. It is also new that after final of the Afcon, the same nations have less than 60 days before a Word Cup qualifier. This could also explain why only one coach, Rachid Taoussi of Morocco, may leave his position, contrary to the traditional practice of having half of the coaches fired before the final match of the tournament. Last but not least on the list of surprises, debutants Cape Verde went through the first round to be eliminated in the quarterfinals.
In previewing the tournament, I indicated my expectations about the last four teams, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and one outsider. Ivory Coast failed to make the last four after they were ironically were eliminated by Nigeria, in the quarterfinals. Burkina Faso took full advantage and became ‘the outsider’ earning them a final spot against Nigeria.
It is worth noting that the group of death (Group D) is not represented in the final. Interestingly, they were eliminated by the two teams from Group C who are to contest the final.
Their never-say-die attitude, even in the face of what at times seemed like an apparent defeat, has seen them through and that’s the same kind of attitude Nigeria will have to overcome if they are serious about winning their third Afcon championship.
We will have, in the final, the rematch of the first group stage encounter between Burkina Faso and Nigeria, who played to a 1-all draw earlier in the tournament. This time around, there’s a lot at stake. It’s more a Goliath versus David battle with two-time Afcon champions, Nigeria up against Burkina Faso, who have reached the final for the first time.
It is interesting that both Group A and D teams were nowhere to be seen in the semifinal stages.
However, I still strongly feel it would have helped the game of football on the continent to see the teams playing with more creativity, more innovation, and prepared to take more risks. As things stand, it is increasingly becoming more difficult to see any particular player that stands out. It is un-African to be rigid, dogmatic, and to rely only on tried and tested methods and repeated actions.
Except for Ethiopia, who lack experience at this level, I did not see any team applying itself in an African way of play; that is with creative energy, improvisation, individual skills to solve on-the-spot situations, non-coached or non-coachable solutions, etc.
Those who may not agree with this assertion will at least agree that all top teams all over the world have at least one player of outstanding quality. This is a player who has the ability to make a difference in a game. This is a player who is able to rise above the game and show his true self when it matters most. This is a player who not only takes his team to the final, but brings the cup to his team. This is the player who, when everything else is equal, makes the difference. We all know them by name. Such players have been missing for a while the recent Afcon tournament, but more especially in this tournament in particular. One can only hope that this will be reversed in 2015, in Morocco.
But the big question right now is ‘whose cup is this?’
It has been an interesting ride for Burkina Faso up until they eliminated Ghana in the semifinal despite having the odds, including a referee, stacked against them. After a clear goal being disallowed and a player sent off when in fact a penalty should have been awarded could have demoralised most teams, but this bunch of players never stopped fighting and it paid off.
Their never-say-die attitude, even in the face of what at times seemed like an apparent defeat, has seen them through. That’s the same kind of attitude The Super Eagles will have to overcome if they are serious about winning their third Afcon championship. That said, I would still maintain that this cup will not have a new name engraved onto it after the final. I still expect Nigeria to come out imposing as they did against Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals and Mali in the semifinals.
But after all is said and done, what is even more important is that Africa will provide FIFA with the name of the team to feature in the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, in June.
On the bench it is Nigerian-born Stephen Keshi versus Belgian-born Paul Put. Can Africa give FIFA an African team with an African Coach?
Zipho Dlangalala was a professional player for Amazulu FC (1987-1988) and Zulu Royals (1990). He’s also a former Safa Coaching Instructor, with a strong academic background having studied coaching in Brazil and Netherlands among other countries.
– By Zipho Dlangalala
