Tag: Coupe d’Afrique des Nations

Côte d’Ivoire wins the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations

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Cote d'Ivoire wins the African Cup of Nations 2015 (Source: BBC)
Cote d’Ivoire wins the African Cup of Nations 2015 (Source: BBC)

Yesterday’s final was the culmination of years of hard work for the so-called golden generation of Ivorian footballers. Yes, yesterday, Cote d’Ivoire defeated Ghana in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in penalty kicks. The Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire had been a strong team on the African continent for many years, and this generation was meant to win at some point. This was the last chance for many members of the Elephants team. So sad that Didier Drogba, one of its key players for so many years, could not be amongst his teammates to raise that trophy as well, for he made us proud for so long. My hat goes out to Yaya Touré, Kolo Touré, Gervinho, Boubacar Barry, Wilfried Bony, and all the other team players. The hero of the game for Côte d’Ivoire, was their goalkeeper Boubacar Barry who had replaced the regular keeper, was in pain throughout, but scored the winning penalty after making a crucial save from the Ghanaian keeper.

African Cup of Nations' Trophy
African Cup of Nations’ Trophy

Truly, Ghana was the better of both teams for the first 120 minutes with more chances of scoring, but penalty kicks decided otherwise. It was actually quite a disappointing final to watch: no real outstanding moments from both sides. However, we raise our hats to all members of the Ghanaian squad, and hope to see them again at the next CAN, and in the finals. Thanks for a good cup.

CAN 2015: Ghana vs. Cote d’Ivoire, May the Best Team Win!

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CAN 2015

African Cup of Nations' Trophy
African Cup of Nations’ Trophy

That’s it! The CAN 2015 final will be Ghana vs. Côte d’Ivoire on Sunday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. This is a remake of the 1992 African Cup of Nations’ Final which saw Côte d’Ivoire win against Ghana in Senegal in penalty kicks. These were the times of the great Ghanaian player Abedi Pele (whose two sons, André and Jordan, are in the current 2015 squad), and Ivorians Gadji Celi (now a famous singer in his country and throughout Africa) and one of Africa’s great goalkeepers Alain Gouaméné.

Cote d'Ivoire
Cote d’Ivoire
Map and Flag of Ghana
Map and Flag of Ghana

If Ghana wins, this will be their fifth trophy, and they will be the second most titled winner of the CAN, after Egypt; right now, they are tied with Cameroon having won the trophy 4 times since its creation. If Côte d’Ivoire wins, this will be their second win in the history of the cup. Will Sunday’s final be a remake of 1992? Or will the Black Stars of Asamoah Gyan and the two Ayew brothers claim victory over the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire?

CAN 2015: Who will win the African Cup of Nations?

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CAN 2015Now that the first round of the African Cup of Nations has gone through, several countries have qualified for the next stage: Congo and Equatorial Guinea qualified in Group A, Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Group B, Ghana and Algeria in Group C, and Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea in Group D.

CAN 2015 Fixtures
CAN 2015 Fixtures

There will be some Brazzaville–Kinshasa rivalry as the two Congos are set to face each other in the first quarter final on Saturday, while the host Equatorial Guinea will take on Tunisia. Ghana and Guinea will face each other in the third quarter final, while Côte d’Ivoire will meet Algeria in the last one.

African Cup of Nations' Trophy
African Cup of Nations’ Trophy

In soccer, all teams have the same chances, but very often, experience and/or good discipline/organization always pays. Algeria, as Africa’s top team in the FIFA world ranking, is a big name this year; even though they did not perform so well in the first round, they are expected to do better. However the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire have the most experience at this stage of the competition. That will be a good game to watch. The same story applies between Ghana and Guinea: Ghana has been the better of the two teams and also has a more experienced squad with Asamoah Gyan at their helm. Between the two Congos, a slight edge is given to DRC with their secret weapon in the person of Yannick Bolasie. Between Equatorial Guinea and Tunisia, any guess is a good one, even though having the host nation advance further in a competition is always a good thing. With this said, which team do you think will advance to the semi-finals, and which team will lift this year’s African Cup of Nations’ trophy?

African Cup of Nations 2015: Let the Fun Begin

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CAN 2015We feared for our beloved Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) when Morocco, the host declined to host! It was like, what? Why wouldn’t you want to host an event you signed up to host years ago? Thankfully, Equatorial Guinea stepped in to host the 30th edition, CAN 2015, 2 months to the event. We raise our hats to the host country, Equatorial Guinea, because it is a real feat to organize such a continental event in such short notice. So, for the next month, we will all be vibrating to the rhythm of the African Cup of Nations. We will watch some of Africa’s most renowned teams, and some not so well-known, and some of the continent’s best players display their greatness. We hope that every game will be amazingly good, and that every single player on the field will give their very best for their country. Yes… the African Cup of Nations is truly an African event to showcase the grace, endurance, and play of Africans on their continent. What more to applaud?

Nigeria wins the African Cup of Nations 2013

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Super Eagles lifting the trophy
Super Eagles lifting the trophy

I watched Nigeria’s victory yesterday with great delight. I must admit that after they defeated Cote dIvoire in quarter-finals. I already felt that Nigeria would be the winners and honestly, the Stallions of Burkina Faso were no match to the Super Eagles of Nigeria.  I am also delighted because this was Nigerias first victory since 1994 (19 years), and Stephen Keshi has become the first man to win the African Cup of Nations both as a player and as a coach. Truly the victory should be dedicated to him, and his hard work. He started coaching Togo and qualified them to the world cup  in 2010, and once the Togolese were qualified they sacked him to hire a European coach. Keshi went on to coach Mali, and now his beloved country Nigeria. At first the Nigerian federation did not want to give him the job, but it is hard to deny Keshi’s greatness. They finally gave him the job, and then did not pay him for 2 months prior to the cup (the Nigerian federation would have never dared doing that to a European coach).

Stephen Keshi, Nigeria's coach
Stephen Keshi, Nigeria’s coach

I am truly happy for Keshi, who, this week again, mentioned the fact that Africans coaches were just as good as European coaches, and could manage African teams and lead them to greatness. He did just that to a team which had known no real success since 1994 he redeemed Nigerias super eagles, and showed to everyone that Africans could and should trust African coaches just like the Egyptians used to trust Hassan Shehata who led them to three successive African Nationss cup (2006, 2008, and 2010). Truly, I dedicate this victory to Stephen Keshi, and to all the African coaches who love their country and only dream of being given the chance to take their countries to greatest heights.

Just for fun, somebody said on BBC, that “whenever Cameroon is not at the cup, Nigeria wins“… I didn’t know that we were the “bête noire” of Nigeria. I guess everyone knows their strongest opponents… even footballers!

African Cup of Nations 2013 – onto semi-finals

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CAN 2013
CAN 2013

My prediction for the first day of the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations was right on: Ghana did beat Cape-Verde by a 2-0, and Mali edged out the host country South Africa 1-1 by penalty shoot out (3-1), and advanced to the semi-finals.

The Africa Cup of Nations/ La Coupe d'Afrique des Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations/ La Coupe d’Afrique des Nations

However, on the 2nd day, all went wrong. The cup’s big favorite, Côte d’Ivoire, were edged out by valiant Nigeria by 2-1.  The Super Eagles of Stephen Keshi maintained the pressure on the Elephants throughout the game, and came out the stronger side.  All hails to Stephen Keshi who managed to line up a strong offense, and defense, to take down the mighty favorites Côte d’Ivoire of Didier Drogba.  Unfortunately, this ends up the dream of the ‘greatest generation’ (as Didier Drogba, Bonaventure Kalou, Kolo Touré, Yaya Touré, Boubacar Barry, etc are known) of Côte d’Ivoire to ever lift up the African Cup of Nations.  Although I am sad for Didier Drogba who has been one of Africa’s greatest players of the past decade (and one of the world’s best forwards), I salute Nigeria’s hard work which got them through to the semi-finals.  After lifting cups in Europe, Didier never got a chance to lift an African trophy… quite sad…

Lastly, Burkina Faso beat Togo 1-0 to find themselves in their first ever semi-final.

The line-up for Wednesday will be fun to watch: Ghana vs. Burkina Faso (you have guessed who will be my favorite to win that game: Ghana), and Nigeria vs. Mali promises to bring the heat up (Nigeria of Stephen Keshi being my favorite).

Who do you think will end up in the final of the 2013 African Cup of Nations? What do you think the scores for the semi-finals will be?

African Cup of Nations 2013

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The Africa Cup of Nations/ La Coupe d'Afrique des Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations/ La Coupe d’Afrique des Nations

Tomorrow, Saturday will mark the beginning of the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations.  I have to admit that just like last year, my two favorites are Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.  The Chipolopolo showed a very poor display of their skills this year, and the champions never advanced to the quarter-finals, the first time in 20 years that a champion (since Algeria) doesn’t make it through the first stage.

The game to watch (i.e. the clash of titans) in the quarter-finals, will be Cote d’Ivoire vs. Nigeria. Personally, after Nigeria so-so display, I rest fully on the elephants to send the Super Eagles packing.

The other game will be Mali vs. South Africa.  The Bafana Bafana of South Africa have not been a strong team since 1996, and so my hope is the greatest for them.  However, they have the home court advantage as the cup is taking place in South Africa. Mali, with Seydou Keita, looks a lot stronger.

CAN 2013
CAN 2013

Burkina Faso vs. Togo is a so-so game… Anybody’s guess on who will be the winner is good; I give the slight upper edge to Togo.

Lastly, Ghana vs. Cape-Verde will be a nice game to watch. First because this is Cape Verde’s first ever participation at the African Cup of Nations, and also because they have truly earned their place at the CAN, and have so far pleased by their work.  The Blue Sharks also happens to have a singing coach who brings joy to the players. This said, I believe Ghana to be the favorite and the strongest side, and I think Asamoah Gyan‘s teammates will be eager to clear last year’s defeat and finally lift the trophy.

I can’t wait to watch a Côte d’Ivoire vs. Ghana final… Elephants vs. Black Stars …the ‘great generation’ as Drogba‘s teammates are known, vs. Ghana’s greats…that promises (if it happens) to be a hot game!  I can already see fire on the mountain.

The African Cup of Nations

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The Africa Cup of Nations/ La Coupe d'Afrique des Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations/ La Coupe d'Afrique des Nations

The quarter-finals to the African Cup of Nations (Coupe d’Afrique des Nations) tournament took place yesterday.  The African Cup of Nations is a highly followed soccer tournament to which all African nations participate.  In essence, all African nations play qualifiers which ensures that about 16 nations on the continent will get a chance to play at the African Cup of Nations.  Since 1968, the tournament has taken place every two years, and every even year during the month of January and ends around mid-February: one month of intense fun.  If you are an avid soccer fan, as I am, you would love watching some of the greatest African teams and stars at their best (sometimes, at their worst too).  Recently, the pressure of big money FIFA has forced a change into the schedule of the CAN, forcing the tournament to now take place every odd years, so as ‘not to clash with the soccer world cup‘ (this change was forced by European big clubs/leagues to whom many African players belong).

CAN 2012
CAN 2012

The African Cup of Nations (CAN) tournament was first held in 1957 in Sudan, and only three countries participated: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.  Egypt has won the cup seven times, making it the record holder.  In recent years, Egypt won the cup three consecutive times. Cameroon and Ghana follow behind Egypt and have both won the tournament four times.  Cameroon and Egypt are not participating at this year’s African Cup of Nations, but Ghana is… and there is a strong chance that they might win the cup this year.  This year’s tournament, the 2012 CAN, is held in two countries: Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.  I believe that the final this year will be between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire: the Black Stars vs the Elephants.  Although my heart is with the Elephants of Didier Drogba, I have slight edge towards Ghana of Michael Essien.

My dream is to see an African cup of Nations where all the coaches of African teams would be African…  I might have to wait a long time to see this, but in the meantime enjoy!  Mali just knocked out Gabon in penalty kicks and will be facing Côte d’Ivoire in semi-finals (this promises to be a good game).  The face-off to the other semi-final will be Ghana-Zambia, as Ghana defeated Tunisia 2-1.  Let’s wait and see!