Apologies for this being late I accidentally pressed draft rather than submit.
AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS PREVIEW 2015
UK TV Schedule http://www.live-footballontv.com/africa ... on-tv.html
Welcome to the African Cup of Nations 2015: The Torunament they tried to Cancel!
I can’t believe it’s been two years since I last posted the Preview for the last tournament where Nigeria ran out winners, Ivory Coast finished runners up without conceding from open play and I don’t think I ever completed Group D of my preview.
The build up to the tournament has been seriously low key this time around as the big news overshadowing the tournament was hosts Morocco withdrawing and trying to cancel the competition due to the outbreak of Dele Adebola in other areas of the continent.
In true fashion of African Football administration Morocco never actually responded to the CAF as to whether they still wished to host the tournament and for all the know they might be expecting the arrival of 15 nations over the coming days. One thing is for sure you can bet that more than a few Premier League managers were hoping for the cancellation of the tournament.
One would like to think that CAF acted quickly and in the interest of football to switch the tournament so quickly but one suspects that the much needed television and sponsorship revenue had final say on the tournament. The CAF asked Egypt, Ghana, South Africa and Sudan to host and all declined to do so. Angola then emerged as the new hosts but dented any future Olympic bids when they declared they were unable to do so as the new government budget did not include any tournaments. Step forward Equatorial Guinea who took on the role has hosts, and ensured that the whole tournament was not split between Craven Cottage and Loftus Road*, taking one step up from when they were joint hosts two tournaments ago with Gabon.
Sadly it does mean that the footballing spectacle that would have been a Moroccan tournament has been replaced by a nation with few resources other than the cold hard cash that comes with being a newly minted oil nation.
*It would have been actually been held in Qatar.
Qualification: With the change to odd numbered years for tournaments meant that instead of a two year qualification process it was completed in three months as Nigeria, Togo (well Adebayor) and Egypt were the most high profile casualties.
Group A
Equatorial Guinea
Qualified: As Hosts (Having previously been disqualified in qualifying)
Coach: Andoni Goikoetxea (Spain)
Best: Quarter Finals (2012)
FIFA Ranking:
Expelled from the Preliminary Qualification stages for “finally being tripped up for years of shipping in mercenaries to play for their national team” according to Word Soccer magazine this month. Expect to hear some Latin sounding names as they’ve ‘dubiously’ sourced players from Colombia, Spain and Brazil. The party line will be ‘former Spanish colony’ but the reality is ‘newly rich oil state’.
Player(s) to Watch: Ruben Belima (Real Madrid Castilla)
Burkina Faso
Qualified: Group C Runners-up
Coach: Paul Put (Belgium)
Best: Runners Up (2013)
Burkina Faso will look to go one better than last time when they were defeated in the final. They almost reached the World Cup last year and have kept the core of their team from the last tournament. Interestingly coach Paul Put is banned in Belgium for match fixing.
Player(s) to Watch: Jonathan Zongo (Almeria)
Gabon
Qualified: Group C Winners
Coach: Jorge Costa (Portugal)
Best: Quarter Finals (1996, 2012)
Finished top of the group and unbeaten in qualifying Gabon may be the tournaments dark horse. Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks a dangerous player and they will want to at least register a tournament best. My over-riding memory of Gabon is a friendly they played against Brazil before they hosted three years ago on a pitch which resembled the Serengeti with long grass, bare patches and a stream running through the middle.
Player(s) to Watch: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund)
Congo
Qualified: Group A runners-up
Coach: Claude Le Roy (France)
Best: Winners (1972)
The Congo are competing in their first tournament for 14 years and are led by experienced coach Claude Le Roy who has been working in Africa for more than 30 years and has been to seven previous tournaments. Congo had interesting qualification process where they inflicted Nigeria’s first home competitive defeat for 33 years but were also defeated at home by South Africa and Nigeria. In typical African Nations fashion they only advanced past Rwanda in the Preliminary stages after they were caught fielding a players with a double identity.
Player(s) to Watch: Thievy Bifouma (Almeria)
Group B
Zambia
Qualified: Group F Runners-up
Coach: Honor Janza (Zambia)
Best: Winners (2012)
Winners in 2012, 19 years after their team flying to a World Cup qualifying match crashed killing all 30 passengers, they were the ultimate Cinderella story and they’ve still managed to keep the core of their squad together until they failed to Qualify for last year’s World Cup. Since then they’ve had an overhaul of their squad and Herve Renard departed leaving home qualified coach Honor Janza in charge. They finished second in the group behind Cape Verde Islands after they failed to win the first three games.
One to Watch: Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton)
Tunisia
Qualified: Group G Winners
Coach: George Leekens (Belgium)
Best: Winners (2004)
Tunisia have a strong but inexperienced squad with no one in the squad more than 50 caps and no-one called Hatem Trabelsi in sight. They went unbeaten throughout finishing top of a group ahead of Senegal and Egypt. Expect the game against Cape Verde islands to be intense as Tunisia only qualified due to sanctions placed against them.
One to Watch: Wahbi Khazri (Bordeaux)
Cape Verde Islands
Qualified: Group F Winners
Coach: Rui Aguas (Portugal)
Best: Quarter Finals (2013)
I must admit, I’m loving the fact that their coach got his first head coaching position in more than a decade in part because his wife is from the Cape Verde. They qualified as group winners despite losing two of their three away games and are the smallest nation to ever qualify for the Nations Cup. In 2013 they reached the quarter finals against expectations and have the strength to go even further this time.
One to Watch: Heldon (Lille)
DR Congo
Qualified: Best Third Place Team
Coach: Jean Florent Ibenge Ikwenge (France)
Best: Quarter Finals (2013)
The DR Congo reached the finals despite being in a group that contained Cameroon and Ivory Coast. Have some Premier League experience in Mulumbu and the emerging Yanick Bolasie. They also have a one time Football Manager wonerkid in Distel Zola.
One to Watch: Yousesf Mulumbu (west Brom)
Group C
Ghana
Qualified: Group E Winners
Coach: Avram Grant (Israel)
Best: Winners (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
For Ghana they have gone from World Cup Semi Finalists to being managed by Avram Grant in 5 years. The golden generation of Sulley Muntrai and Michael Essien have been replaced now and stuttered at the last World Cup with a strike over pay overhanging the actual football. Progression not helped further by being drawn into the toughest group but let’s be honest neither is hiring Avram Grant.
One to Watch: Jordan Ayew (Marseille)
Algeria
Qualified: Group B Winners
Coach: Christian Gourcouff (France)
Best: Winners (1990)
The mention of Algeria instantly reminds me of Ali Benarbia and that wonderful first season under Keegan. It also reminds me of Djamel Belmadi that fantastic final night under the lights at Maine Road when we beat Fulham 4-1. Algeria were considered among the favourites when it was being held in Morocco but apparently they’ve an awful record south of the Saahra and they’ve only ever collected one African Cup, the year they were hosts. Keep an eye out for Yacine Brahimi if you think City might give Porto more money this summer.
One to Watch: Yacine Brahimi (Porto)
South Africa
Qualified: Group A Winners
Coach: Ephraim Mashaba (South Africa)
Best: Winners (1996)
I’ll probably be strung up for admitting I’ve been to the swamp but I saw England play South Africa there in 1995 and all I can remember was people wanting to see Phil Masinga because he was the only player they knew. Mark Tinkler and Lucas Radebe were also Leeds players at the time but no one was interested in them. Tangent aside, the 2010 World Cup was discussion of legacy and it seems that they’ve built stadiums that people can no longer afford to attend which hasn’t helped the domestic game. The hosts of that tournament became the first not to progress to knockout stages and disappointed when hosting the last tournament, they is supposedly about to change and the former Bafana Bafana are back on the rise but the only player I can remember from the World Cup is no longer in the team.
One to Watch: Dean Furman (Just because he is ex Oldham)
Senegal
Qualified: Group G Runners-up
Coach: Alain Giresse (France)
Best: Runners up (2002)
I remember in 2002 when Senegal defeated France in the opening game of the World Cup and everyone at school erupted because…well I don’t know why. I assume, with the benefit of hindsight, it was because it convinced Liverpool to part with £17m for EL-Hadji Diouf and forever change the parking arrangements on Deansgate. I swear Salif Diao is still on Porstmouth’s books.
As for 2015 they’ve got Papiss Cisse, Mo Diame, Mame Diouf and Demba Ba with Premier League experience. Moussa Sow is always worth a few million quid if your West Ham on Football Manager.
One to Watch: Papiss Cisse (Newcastle)
Group D
Ivory Coast
Qualified: Group D Runners-up
Coach: Herve Renard (France)
Best: Winners (1992)
If you’ve just scrolled down here from the top I don’t blame you but read group C at least I think that’s been the best written so far. This is probably the entire interested for a lot of City fans as Wilfried Bony and some bloke whose name escapes me are involved. A team stocked with talent but haven’t managed to get the job done and I bet too many City fans won’t be disappointed if they come home after the group stage. It could happen as I think the Cote D’Ivoire rely on the older player too much.
One to Watch: Gervinho
Mali
Qualified: Group B Runners-up
Coach: Henryk Kasperczak (Poland)
Best: Runners-up (1972)
Mali have recorded back to back third place finishes in the last two tournaments and will have to play very well to advance past a group containing Cameroon and the Ivory Coast. Most famous for Fredi Kanoute and hosting the 2002 tournament when literally no-one scored ever.
One to Watch: Cheick Diabte (Bordeaux)
Cameroon
Qualified: Group D Winners
Coach: Volker Finke (Germany)
Best: Winners (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002)
First there was the sleevless shirts in 2002, then there was the onesie. In fact think about about African football and you think about Cameroon. First came in national conscience at Italia 90 the tournament credited with saving English football. Roger Milla, Rigobert Song, Samuel Eto’o and Lucien Mettomo cultivated a golden generation of Cameroon football. City fans will obviously have that connection due to Marc-Vivien Foe. Only one nation has a better record than Cameroon (no one has better fashion sense though) but it has been 13 years since they last lifted the trophy.
One to Watch: Stephane Mbia (cos QPR signed him and then loaned him out straight away)
Guinea
Qualified: Group E Runners Up
Coach: Michel Dussuyer (France)
Best: Runners up (1976)
They qualified despite not being able to play at home due to Ebola outbreak. Forced to play in front of empty stands in Casablanca they didn’t even gain the benefit of acclimatising to Morocco. On top of that they were subject to twice daily inspections from Moroccan officials. Despite a mostly European based squad they will do well to advance to the knock out stages.
One to Watch: Ibrahima Conte (Anderlecht)
Hopes for the Tournament:
Full Stadiums – there is literally nothing worse than watching an international tournament played in front of absolutely no-one and sadly as many African football supporters cannot afford to travel between counties this is usually more obvious than most competitions. What is interesting is that there are only four stadiums for the competition, one holding 35,000, one 15,000, one 10,000 and one 5,000 so for some games it won’t be too difficult to make it look full.
Plenty of Goals – Do you remember the 2002 African Cup of Nations held in Mali when there were literally seven 0-0 draws in a row? Only Cameroon managed to adapt and the tournament was only memorable because Kevin Keegan fell out with Lucien Mettomo for going and he played once all tournament (and scored). However 2004 Cup was held in Tunisia is remembered for being a superb tournament full of goals.
If you've made it this far I applaud you....to find something better to do.
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