Sports

Countdown to AFCON 2012

Gabon National Team Set for war

 

By Moses Owopade

The Gabonese national team is no newcomer to the Africa Cup of Nations as it has made four appearances in previous editions.

Unlike co-host Equatorial Guinea, The Panthers, as the Gabonese team is nicknamed, will present a tougher challenge to its rivals and might just be one of the surprises in next year’s soccer rendezvous.

While the Panthers cannot boast of any achievements in the Nations Cup in its four appearances, the team however won the UNIFAC Cup in 1999 and won the UDEAC championship in 1985 and 1988.

They were paired alongside Cameroon and Morocco in the last qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the team was a great threat to Cameroon that finally qualified in that group. It also surprised Cameroon with a 1-0 win in the 2010 Nations Cup.

The strength of the team lies in the fact that it has a blend of players playing at home and in Europe. The team’s best performance so far was when it reached the quarter finals of the competition in 1996.It will thus want to use the advantage of host and up its performance.

The team improved greatly during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and that is a strength it can capitalise on and go far in the absence of big names like Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa.

Besides, it has some stars such as 34-year old Daniel Cousin, the team captain and star striker who plays for FC Sapins after plying his trade with other European division one sides.

Cousin has also played for English Premiership side Hull City, Scottish side Glasgow Rangers and Le Mans and Lens in France. He is one of the most experienced players and could be playing his last Nations Cup in 2012. Presently, he is the team’s most prolific striker and scored the lone goal in Gabon’s 1-0 win over Cameroon in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

Another known name in the Gabonese squad is Didier Ovono, the team’s goalkeeper who plays for French Ligue 1 side Le Mans. The 28-year old had a good performance at the 2010 Nations Cup. He also kept a clean sheet in their famous 1-0 win over Cameroon.

Other Gabonese stars include Bruno Ecuele Manga who plays for FC Lorient in France, Gilles Daniel Mbang Ondo of Norwegian side Stabaek.

Paired alongside Niger, Morocco and Tunisia, Gabon stands as one of the favourites in Group C. However, the central African team will face tougher challenge against two renowned North African teams, Morocco and Tunisia, whose clubs will play this year’s final of the African Champions League.

Gabonese teams have not been in active continental competitions and that could be a weakness against well organised sides like Morocco and Tunisia.With the hiring of German born Gernot Rohr and his assistant Jose Cobos,Gabon has the quarter-finals as main objective.

Rohr is the coach that helped Girondins Bordeaux(France) reach the semi-finals of the 1996 Uefa Cup with in his squad,players like Zidane,Dugarry and Lizarazu.

……….As Zambia gets standing order to win the trophy

 GOVERNMENT has challenged the Zambia soccer squad to lift the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy next year, saying it will be the best gift to the new Patriotic Front (PF)administration.

Labour, Sport and Youth Minister, Fackson Shamenda said with expectations high in the nation after the PF swept into power on September 20, Government expected the Chipolopolo to bring home the AFCON trophy. Shamenda said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that after the change of Government, it was only befitting for Herve Renard's men to produce their best-ever showing at the continental showpiece.

"We always expect the best from the national team. The morale is high after the change of government and the best gift is for the team to perform better. We expect them to bring the title to Zambia," he said. And Zambia Voluntary Soccer Fans Association (ZAVOSOFA) has questioned the rationale behind Renard's decision to set a semi-final berth as his ultimate target at the 2012 AFCON finals.

ZAVOSOFA patron Peter Makembo said for Renard to focus on taking the Chipolopolo up to the last four, it showed that the Frenchman, who guided Zambia to the quarter-finals at the 2010 edition, had no plans for the team to be in the finals.

Makembo said Zambians wanted the AFCON trophy and that it was demoralising for the coach to give himself a modest target at such an event, where continental powerhouses like Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria were missing. "Renard is targeting the semi-finals. He has no plans for the final. It seems he has no zeal to win the cup. He is not interested to take us to the final. What is his fear?," he said.

Makembo said if Renard had no plans to win Zambia the trophy at the 2012 edition to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon between January 21 and February 12, FAZ should engage local coaches to do the job. The best performances for Zambia, now making a 15th appearance at the AFCON, have been two runners-up spots in 1974 and 1994.

Zambia were handed a relatively fair group for next year's event where they were paired against co-hosts, Equatorial Guinea, 2002 finalists, Senegal and Libya in Group A to be based in Bata. Meanwhile, Shamenda also said the date for the commissioning of the newly-built Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola had not yet been finalised and that the hand-over would only happen once all necessary issues had been sorted out.

The picturesque $65 million structure has been constructed by Chinese firm, Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Company.