THE COCOA DERBY FOR THE AFCON FINAL

Story written by Patrick Kamanga

THE COCOA DERBY FOR THE AFCON FINAL

First and foremost, the sports-afficionado apologizes profusely for the wrong assessment titled “The Finals before the Final” in a previous post where he mistakenly made the wrong pairings for the AFCON semi-finals.

One of those match-ups, Cote D’ Ivore versus Ghana was perhaps a premonition because it’s definitely every African football fan's dream final. The two Central African losing semi-finalists met in a derby of their own to decide the third place finish, where the D.R Congo beat Equitorial Guinea via post match penalties. The Congolese repeated their feat of beating a host country in a third place playoff, as they did in Burkina Faso in 1998, likewise on penalties!

The two finalists are the world’s principal producers of Cocoa, a raw material for the production of the popular global sweet indulgences, chocolate and of course, the cocoa beverage. 

Apart from their obvious passion for the beautiful game, Cocoa production, to the Kente cloth, the two nations have more in common than sets them apart. For one, they are both populated by a majority Akan speaking ethno-linguistic group who traverse their borders, with 12 million residing in Ghana and another 8 million in Cote D’ Ivore. The Akan people are a remnant of the pre-Colonial Asante Empire whose capital was at Kumasi in Central Ghana and span from the south eastern half of present day Cote D' Ivore to the west, through to present day Togo to the east.

 Another interesting coincidence is that though both nations’ national anthems might differ in words or choice of language, they definitely share the same tune.

After independence, both nations followed divergent courses politically, socially as well as matters football! 
Cote D’ Ivore developed fast under their first post independence leader, the late Felix Houphoute Boigny and became an economic success story from the 1960’s through the ‘70s. Inspite of their great economic fortunes then which drew migrants from all over West Africa, the Ivorians were slow starters as far as football was concerned and didn’t really make a mark until the 1984 AFCON under Coach Marshall Yeo which they played hosts. Coach Yeo’s exemplary effort guided the Elephants to their only trophy in 1992. They have since made it to three more AFCON grande finales including the current one.

Their golden generation also made three consecutive World Cup appearances from 2006 but never made it past the preliminary rounds, a disappointing record considering the level of talent the team they had within its ranks. 
After President Boigny’s demise in 1993, the Cote D’ Ivore disintegrated socially and economically culminating in a 5 year civil war from the year 2000. 
Where the Ivorian football’s golden generation failed to achieve in terms of soccer accolades, they made up with a big triumph socially and politically by saving their nation when they succeeded in reconciling the warring factions; the government from the south and the rebels from the north. Former Elephant's Captain Didier Drogba, in particular is credited with taking the initiative of appealing and convincing the rebels to put down their weapons, as well as softened the government’s stance bringing both parties to the negotiating table where a peaceful transition was agreed. As a peace gesture, an AFCON qualifier between Cote D’ Ivore and Madagascar was even played in the rebel held northern town of Bouake, 300km from the Capital of Abidjan in October 2005.

In stark contrast, the Ghanians on the other hand had a tumultuous start politically and economically but made head-ways in the game of football. The Pan-Africanist policies pursued by Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah and the strong arm tactics with which he pursued his domestic agenda made him very unpopular. He was deposed in a bloodless military coup in 1966, ushering in an era of instability that saw the nation retrogress from one low to another. During this chaotic period, successive military coups saw seven Presidential changes.  The period of instability ironically coincided with Ghanaian football’s golden era which saw them win four AFCON titles; 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. 

This period of dominance also saw Ghana blaze new trails in the continent by progressively establishing youth football structures and coaching links with West Germany where Ghanaian coaches acquired plenty of technical know-how, which would prove pivotal later. This great period saw Ghana deservedly earn the moniker, “the Brazil of Africa.”

Further irony is that when political stability was finally attained after a flight Lieutenant in the Ghanaian Air Force; Jerry Rawlings consolidated power from the last coup in 1982, the Black Stars’ fortunes dwindled and they disappeared for a decade only to resurface at the 1992 AFCON edition, where they coincidentally lost to Cote D’ Ivore. 
Modern Ghanaian football started taking shape when they won the FIFA under 17 World Cup in 1991. This was followed by a football final lose to Luis Figo’s Portugal at the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona. From 2006 Ghana has been to three consecutive FIFA World Cup finals making it as far as the quarter finals in 2010. Ghana has reached every AFCON semi-final since 2008, were losing finalists to Egypt at the 2010 AFCON and are at their 9th overall final appearance, a record only second to Egypt!

The adage that says “familiarity breeds contempt” perhaps best illustrates the relationship between these two soccer loving West African giants! As indicated in an earlier post, a slump in cocoa prices at the World market in the mid 1980’s was perhaps the precursor to one of the most violent football related clashes ever witnessed in the continent between Ghanaian and Ivorian football fans in 1993-94.  

Derbies by their very nature draw plenty of raw emotions

With the above background its obvious then that football is more than just a game between these two and an impression comes out that none of them is going to relent and therefore the 2015 AFCON final is gearing up to be one very explosive encounter.

Most pundits have billed Cote D’ Ivore as favourites but a careful assessment reveals otherwise. 
The Elephant's formidable armour isn’t without defect as their two previous opponents, Algeria and D.R Congo revealed. Their defense has been carved open numerous times and they have the sensational form of goalkeeper Sylvain Gbouhou to thank for getting this far. The Elephants have also shown a tendency of relying on the brilliance of their big stars Yaya Toure, Seydou Doumbiya, Wilfred Bony and Gervinho. Cote D' Ivore's fastidious coach, Frenchman Herve Renard has also cleverly concealed their defects with intelligent tactical arrangements that have shored them up thus far. However, will they hold up against a well drilled Black Stars outfit that has fired in 6 goals with no reply, while stifling their opposition in their last two games where they almost didn't allow as much as glimpse at their goal? 
The clincher to this query is both opponents games against Guinea's Sylli Nationale. 
In their second group game, Guinea cleverly unlocked the Ivorians numerously with poor finishing and of course Gbouhou saving the Elephants from an embarrassing defeat. In contrast, the Ghanians shackled and Guineans in the quarter finals rendering their passing game useless on the day. On the other end, they ruthlessly put the Sylli Nationale to the sword.

Ghana have grown since their opening group game lose to Senegal in the first round, into an all round outfit that is compact, defends well as unit, are able to maintain tactical discipline, have lethally precise goal machine which has a devastating counter attack courtesy of their speed demons; Andre Ayew, Asamoah Gyan, Christian Atsu and Jordan Ayew.

Ghana comes in as my favorite to win the ultimate prize because they have shown tremendous will power, which proves character, are more disciplined and have more hunger than the Ivorians courtesy of their long wait which saw them last win the AFCON in 1982. 
33 years is a long long time to wait!

NO MORE FREEBIES!!

Story written by Patrick Kamanga

NO MORE FREEBIES!

The irate Equito Guinean mob throws objects at a helicopter

African football witnessed its lowest moment when the second semi-final game between host country, the Equitorial Guinea and Ghana descended into ugly scenes and had to be stopped when the home fans were unable to neither contain their anger nor come to terms with the carnage that was unraveling in front of their eyes. Ghana’s Black Stars dismantled them for three, in a largely one sided affair.

A Ghanian player takes cover

What remains to be seen is what punitive measures continental football body, CAF, is going to take to ensure such scenes are not witnessed in the future.

CAF came under the spotlight after another controversial quarter-final tie between the hosts and Tunisia which likewise ended in ugly scenes as the North Africans felt hard done by extremely poor and blatantly biased officiating by the match referee from Mauritius, Rajindraparsad Seechurn who has since been banned for six months. The Tunisians had a few reasons to want to skin the ref alive, who had to be escorted by a security cordon after the game. The Tunisians on their part have had a fine of $50,000 slapped on their faces for violent conduct of their players plus an order to furnish CAF with a written apology from the Tunisian Football Federation for unsubstantiated and unsavory allegations made or else face harsher sanctions.

Feeling the heat and caught between a rock and a hard place, Hayatou in a catch 22!

It must be hard being Issa Hayatou right now! He is in a quandary!  A real conundrum indeed because as the head of CAF, Hayatou must appear to be fair and impartial, which if he does would require a very severe penalty upon the perpetrators, his best buddies the Equitorial Guinea!

By refusing to budge when designated hosts Morocco asked for more time and even guidance from the World Health Organization in regards to the Ebola virus epidemic, he dug himself a hole. The epidemic  which was raging in three West African countries, then still at its heights with one of AFCON participants Guinea thick in the mix, it’s hard not see Morocco’s point. With the tournament in danger of cancellation for lack of a host, the Gulf Kingdom of Qatar was in fact lined up as a measure of last resort. 

Ghanian fans take cover

Now enter tournament saviours, the Equitorial Guinea. What a relief that must have been, it must have felt like finding a secluded private corner away from a crowded street, to relieve a nagging butt itch in the middle of the sweltering January heat!

Anyway to cut a long story short, it’s hard not to see where the allegations of bias have their origins from.
Knowing how important their intervention at saving the tournament was, the Equito-guineans have been acting like the continent owes them or better even, they own Hayatou!

Even the demeanor of the Equito-guinean players during this encounter against Ghana oozed of arrogance and a sense of entitlement. Sensing the overwhelming task of overcoming a formidable opponent, they resorted to feigning injuries and other unsportmanly behavior. They constantly pressurized the Gabonese match referee on numerous occasions, expecting favours as well as leniency, obviously expecting a penalty here or a red card there; then a hop and skip, they are in the final. 

The image Equito-Guineans were hoping to savor, a dream AFCON triumph

Its been far too easy a ride with free access to games courtesy of their President Teodora Obiang, throw in the sense of being indebted to plus the two previous games that went their way due to soft penalties then, baaammm! they find themselves in the semi-finals!! 
With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why the Equitorial Guinean football fans were expecting a free ride to the final game and perhaps another freebie, a shot at the ultimate prize, the AFCON!

As CAF and its chief are now finding out, when someone is too generous or overly kind to you, beware, there might be a catch laying in wait.                   

FINALS BEFORE THE FINAL!

Story written by Patrick Kamanga

FINALS BEFORE THE FINAL!

Like their other previous clashes, the titanic battle between the Algeria’s Desert Warriors and Cote D’ Ivore’s Elephants did not disappoint. Expected to be a tight tactical game of wits between the two French coaches; Christian Gourcouf and Herve Renard, the cagey affair opened up into an end to end cliff hanger as both teams raised their game perhaps sensing the importance of the moment. 

French connection; Renard outfoxed the more experienced Gourcouf

This was a third meeting between these two giants, the first being in 1990 when hosts Algeria blew away their West African rivals 3-0 enroute to their first ever win, with the Ivorians returning the favour by the same margin two years later in Senegal.

Is Cote D’ Ivore’s 3-1 win over Algeria therefore a good omen? Perhaps! The Ivorians have been improving with every match and have shown great character coming from behind severally in their two one all draws against Guinea and Mali, then produced a tactical masterstroke in their final group game to overcome fellow West African giants, Cameroon.

Apart from their tactical discipline, what worked for them in their decisive win over Algeria was the return of the mercurial AS Roma forward Gervinho, a key player who had received a red card in their opening group game. With team Captain Yaya Toure positioned deep in a protective role as the anchorman, Gervinho's presence was instrumental and was the key! His intelligent runs into enemy territory as well as the link-up play he provided, holding the ball well on many occasions thus giving teammates the time to position themselves or regroup made a world of difference. 

Gervinho made all the difference

Another player who has been pivotal for the Ivorians is goalkeeper Sylvain Gbouhou, a big unit who has been phenomenal throughout the tournament. He has been a revelation because the goalkeeping position in particular, has ironically been a major glaring weakness for the Ivorian national team for the longest time, since Alain Gouamene, a veteran of many campaigns left the stage at the 2000 edition. Gbouhou perhaps made the save of the tournament when he denied Arbi El Soudani a deserved equalizer by blocking his point blank shot with Algeria on the ascendancy in the second half. Gbouhou’s unbelievable save proved pivotal and was what swung the pendulum in their favour because it came at a time when the Ivory Coast were soaking up wave after wave of attack during a period of sustained pressure by Algeria. Moments later, Yaya Toure’s pin point free kick from outside the eighteen was cleverly headed by new club mate Wilfred Bony, who gingerly spun the ball into the roof of the net beyond Rais M’bouli flailing hand in goal. Bony had been relatively quiet for most of the tournament apart from a few flashes of genius, one of which was a Ronaldhinho style “elastico” nutmeg against a Guinean defender but there was no holding him back on the night. His two headers were clinical and typical of a top striker at the height of his powers, a sight that must have made the his Manchester City paymasters, the Al Mansour brothers and Coach Manuel Pelligrini gleaming at the very prospect of unleashing him upon the English Premier League!

The Elephants hope to invoke history and emulate the class of 1992

“Less is best and substance is always preferable to style” best describes this new generation of Elephants, as they are set to eclipse their star studded predecessors who stumbled numerously on the grand stage, earning the title of “perennial under-achievers!” This Ivorian team is increasingly looking like the real deal and they are now most pundits’ favourites to win the tournament, an opinion that the Ghanaians would love to have the last word about. 

Ghanians will want to have the last word

After their stellar show in Brazil, Algeria has largely been disappointing at this tournament and their key players simply never showed up mentally. Their most conspicuous flops were F.C Porto forward, Yacine Brahimi as well as Valencia midfielder Sofiane Feghouli. El Soudani and Islam Slimani played their hearts out mostly from the bench but the team as whole was disjointed and relied on individual brilliance rather than the strength of the collective unit.

Ghana’s Black Stars have grown from strength to strength and have exhibited a lot of character to overcome a disappointing lose to Senegal in their first game. They went on to register two “come from behind” victories in their subsequent games against Algeria and South Africa and headed into the knockouts as group leaders. 

Buoyed and full of confidence, they were on another level and simply outclassed their Guinean opponents at the quarterfinals.

Lessons well learnt, the hawk eyed Avram Grant produced a tactical master class

Listening to Ghana’s Coach, former Chelsea and Israel Manager Avram Grant in the pre-match press briefing, he seemed to have grown and learnt a lot from the 2008 UEFA Champions League final lose to Manchester United and he was not taking any chances. His tactical setup was spot on, deploying two holding midfielders to protect his defense. Well aware of the Guineans technical skills, their passing game and overall ability on the ball, the Black Stars were in no mood to compromise. They pressed their opponents, virtually suffocating and denied them any time and space on the ball. Guinea’s goalkeeper Naby Yattara epitomized the kind of day they were having as his frustration bubbled to the surface and turned violent when he blatantly shoved Ghana’s Christian Atsu to the ground to earn a yellow card. With his team three goals down, a “Kung Fu” style flying kick straight from a Jet Li movie by the same player on striker Asamoah Gyan who was then bearing down on goal in the dying minutes, earned him a straight red!

Overcoming the stigma of the Ebola epidemic that has ravaged their country and had them treated like pariahs during the qualifiers, then navigating through the preliminaries from a tough group where nobody even gave them a fleeting chance is testament enough of the Guineans’ potential. 

The new age Sylli Nationale were outclassed but will take plenty of lessons from the AFCON

Overall, the inexperience of the young Sylli Nationale was evident on the day as they were overawed by the occasion and simply couldn’t handle the pressure of playing a much more formidable adversary at this advanced stage in the tournament. The buildup to Ghana’s second goal summarized their state of mind as a series of blunders; a poor throw ball, then a panicked clearance by Baissama Sanko in defense miscued a clearance straight to the path of an Kwesi Appiah who was only too glad to oblige!  They however left the competition with their chins high knowing that the experience gained will come in handy in the coming years as they are clearly a team to watch in future tournaments.   

   

Ghana progressed to set up a semi final matchup with their western neighbours, the Cote D’ Ivore. The Black Stars versus the Elephants is a titanic battle of epic proportions, a repeat of the 1992 AFCON final in Senegal. Their two other meetings were during the group stage at the 1996 edition in South Africa, a bruising encounter which Ghana prevailed with a 2-0 victory.  The Ivorians returned the favour by the same margin at the 2000 AFCON. The two Cocoa producing nations are bitter rivals and this game with its high stakes with both sides desperate for continental honours, sets up a mouth watering encounter.

This encounter brings to mind the violent showdowns in 1993-94. With repercussions from a slump in cocoa prices at the world market from the mid 80’s having adverse economic effects perhaps the catalyst, tempers flared after Ghana’s Asante Kotoko eliminated Cote D’ Ivore’s Asec Mimosa in the semi-finals of the Africa Club Championship in November 1993 with the ensuing violence resulting in 40 fatalities. The crowd trouble boiled over into tensions and blanket revenge attacks which escalated into a mini-ethnic civil war. This created a refugee situation overnight as migrant populations in the hundreds of thousands from either nation were forced to decamp and troop back home across borders for fear of further reprisals. So regional derbies don’t come any bigger than this two giants in the African context and their rivalry is akin to Brazil versus Argentina in Latin America or Holland versus Germany in Central Europe. Fans should therefore brace for some major fireworks!

Hosts Equitorial Guinea’s fairy tale run has not been without controversy. Credit must be given where it’s due because this tiny oil rich Central African nation pulled off the impossible in organizing a fairly decent tournament in 52 days, no mean achievement by any standards when no other country even wanted to imagine taking the responsibility! Qatar had even been put in place as the last option. 

President Teodora Obiang saved CAF's blushes

Most keen observers and neutrals however are tempted to think that the hosts have had dubious decisions go their way because they came to the tournament’s rescue, bailing out CAF after intended hosts Morocco pulled out at the eleventh hour. Ironically, they had been eliminated earlier in the qualifying rounds when they fielded an ineligible player, incurring CAF’s wrath. The team consists mostly of Spanish born players, who claim a modicum of Equito-Guinean affiliation with their naturalization then hastily expedited which in itself reeks of rigging and flies in the face of fair play rules. This notwithstanding, however, their earlier transgression was swiftly forgiven and swept under the carpet when President Teodora Obiang Nguema Mbasoga took matters into his hands and extended CAF a lifeline! In a further show of benevolence, the President has gone on to pay for match tickets thus enabling the local population to view the games on a free.

The penalty awarded late in Equitorial Guinea’s game against Gabon, with their opponents pressing for an equalizer equally seemed soft, effectively killing the game in their favour and thus sent them into the knockouts. The same was to happen late in the quarter final game against the much fancied Tunisians. Conspiracy theories or not, the Carthage Eagles have themselves to blame because they had the ability and enough quality within their ranks to kill off this game early and comfortably but seemed to have grossly underestimated their opponents and simply disregarded them, with dire consequences. They took a 69^th minute lead via forward Akaichi then complacently sat back. With the game in stoppage time, Tunisian full back Ali Maaloul simply needed to usher the Equito-Guinean winger Ivan Bolado away from goal towards the byline. Indiscipline and lack of concentration resulted in the most minimal of contacts, enough though to send the player tumbling and thus gave the referee ample reason to award the penalty which former Real Madrid youth player and dead ball specialist, Javier Balboa comfortably tucked in. Tunisia’s Belgian Coach, Georges Leekens should have calmed his players down and regrouped especially with their opponents having substituted their two fullbacks for attackers in their quest for an equalizer. Leekens was livid and too emotionally distraught just as his players were to even see the opportunity! Playing against an opponent whose defense had been stripped to bare bones, they should have kept going and taken the game to their adversaries. 

Javier Balboa curls a beautiful free kick to put Tunisia to the sword

With an equalizer at the death and the wind now under their sails, Equitorial Guinea however, sensing opportunity went on an extra time onslaught and a fair nudge by a Tunisian defender again earned the hosts a controversial foul just outside the eighteen. “Thank you very much!”, the gleaming Balboa seemed to say and duly obliged by carving in a beautifully crafted free kick that culled over the wall and beyond Mathlouthi in goal to send the hosts into the semis and the capacity crowd into pandemonium! With the Tunisians ostensibly enraged with the blatant decisions that went against them and now baying for blood with intent to shred Mauritian referee Rajindraparsad Seechurn to pulp, a hefty security cordon sufficed to escort him out of the field. 

The Mauritian referee required a human shield to escape the wrath of the enraged Tunisians

In the semi-final game against their Central African neighbours D.R Congo, the Equitorial Guineans have their plates full and shall require more than luck or even the graces of the men in black, to prevail. 

Equito-Guineans in seventh heaven after their controversial win

In a battle of the Congos, the D.R.C overcame a lackadaisical start and a two goal deficit early in the second half to produce arguably their best game of the tournament, to earn a 4-2 win over their cross river namesakes, the Republic of Congo. With their two capital cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville separated by the massive River Congo, the two rarely see eye to eye and it was surprising that the game was played in a calm temperament. After an impressive tactical battle against Algeria at their last group game, most neutrals were expecting the Leopard to come out with guns blazing from the start but eventually needed a jolt to wake them from their slumber, making a late four goal rally. 

The Leopards mauled their cross river neighbours

With the controversy surrounding the host’s passage into the semis, most viewers would probably put their weight behind the Congolese, hoping that they make it to their first final since 1974.

Florent Ibenge got the best of Claude Le Roy

The two semi-final games, both regional derbies promise plenty of fireworks and will essentially be the finals before the final!