It is so ugly to watch…
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is well underway in Cote d’Ivoire, with the tournament having kicked off last week. I know there are countries that have started so well, while others were not so lucky. For example, Ghana lost their opening match to Cape Verde 2-1 and not many would have predicted that. The last time Ghana won this trophy was in 1982 and then you look at Egypt, who have won the tournament seven times – which makes them the most successful team in this tournament – and they go on to play to a 2-2 draw against our neighbours, Mozambique. When I look at that game, it was so unbelievable because the Mozambicans made me eat humble pie! How they suffocated the Egyptians and didn’t care about the big names and experience they had was just out of this world. The scoreline was not a true reflection of the game. What a soft penalty for the Egyptians, who equalised through a VAR decision that awarded them a penalty. Also, a very tricky penalty because when I saw the slow motion, yes, of course, the defender kicked the opponent instead of the ball, in a critical phase, and they equalised through Mo Salah’s boot. I just looked at the match and couldn’t believe how well Mozambique did to get a point against Egypt. The host nation managed an impressive 2-0 win against Guinea-Bissau to set the tone for what should be an interesting tournament, in their opening match. I must admit, the hosts had no problems or challenges at all in this game. It was one-way traffic with Seko Fofana, who plays with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr FC in the Saudi Pro League, being one of the players to find the back of the net. When you look at Seko, he looks like Yaya Toure with almost everything he does and his physique. You can easily identify some of the yesteryear players from the current crop. What does that mean? It means the culture, personnel and identity is almost the same. I’m always a fan of teams or countries that can replace the previous with the current, without losing their identity or philosophy.
Bafana Bafana gr oup stages: That couldn’t be fur ther fr om the tr uth
We just hope and wish that Bafana will emulate the likes of Mozambique and Ivory Coast by starting on a positive note. I knew it was going to be tough because the 12th player for Mali, which is the supporters, is right under the nose of Ivory Coast. What I am trying to say is that where Bafana played Mali is closer to the border separating Mali and Ivory Coast. It is like South Africa and Lesotho, where someone can literally walk or just drive from one country to the next because of the close proximity they share. It is not a case of flying for hours and sometimes catching connecting flights, not at all. So, that means the Eagles have a better chance than most other countries of having their supporters dominating the stands. This is going to be a tough tournament, but the quality we have in our team should see us through. I just want to wish the boys everything of the best in the remaining games. I’m always of the view that the opening game is a must-win so that you put yourself in a favourable position, going forward. You win the opening game and that sets the tone for the remainder of the tournament and it builds your confidence. If you don’t win, at least get a draw rather than dropping all three points. Some people might think we are in an easy group, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Looking at Mali, they are no pushovers; the same goes for Tunisia, who have been impressive in their friendly games in their preparation for this tournament. You also can’t underestimate Namibia because they can pull a surprise.
Facing Tunisia and Namibia: They still have a scor e to settle
If I had it my way, we would win all three games and repeat what we did to Tunisia in 1996. By so doing, we would be putting ourselves in a good position to make sure that history repeats itself. I know this is not going to be easy because they’ve not forgotten about the ’96 edition of this tournament, so they still have a score to settle against us. What better way to do so than beating us and ensuring we don’t progress past the group stage? With our neighbours, Namibia, it is going to be a tricky one because they know everything there is to know about us. They have players who ply their trade in our DStv Premiership and Motsepe Foundation Championship and they are our neighbours. So, you can expect some rivalry and stiff competition because we’ve played against each other a lot of times. The last time we faced them at Orlando Stadium, they showed us flames with players who were not even active in their domestic league as it had been stopped. The only players who were enjoying league games was the group that was based here. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen when we meet Namibia in our second match in our group, with Tunisia as the last game. Guys, the first two games are vitally important because we can’t allow a situation where we go to Tunisia desperately trying to survive. We must go there having done enough in our two games so that we can just manage the last game. If we don’t secure enough points in the opening two games, we will be making our life tougher than it should be because, as I mentioned earlier, Tunisia have a score to settle against us and the last thing we need is to go to that game desperate for points.
Club ver sus countr y: This is r eally disappointing
Well, while domestic football is on standby with everyone glued to their television sets, watching and enjoying the ongoing Afcon tournament, there’s always a sticking point whenever African countries battle for supremacy. Why is it that whenever Afcon comes around, we always see club versus country? Europe don’t seem to acknowledge or respect this significant African tournament. In fact, they don’t give it the same respect they give their tournaments and it makes me wonder. These people don’t see Afcon the same way they see their UEFA Champions League or the Euros. Why do we have this club versus country whenever Afcon comes around? This is really disappointing and something that should be resolved by all parties concerned because it is not good for the game. During my heydays, we had this problem and it is a serious cause for concern that, to this day, the same problem continues to plague our football. You look at Andre Onana of Cameroon and Manchester United. The situation he finds himself in is not conducive for his national team. Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song would have surely loved to have his goalkeeper in camp with the rest of the team, so that he doesn’t start the tournament without him. However, that was not the case as he missed their opening game. United were not prepared to release him on time as the club and country resolved that he be given time to play for his club first, then join his national team after the first game. He has since joined the national team after playing in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, as agreed by the club and his country. Interestingly, if Cameroon gets knocked out, he will rush back to his club and prepare for the FA Cup match, but if they advance to the knockout stages, then it is a completely different story because he might be forced to miss out on a very important fixture for his club against Aston Villa. Look, it is good that the club and his country were willing to meet one another halfway because they both need the player. Lyle Foster’s situation has been widely spoken about, where his team Burnley FC asked coach Hugo Broos to excuse him from the national team, citing his mental health problems. The player is back in action for his club, and this has not pleased a lot of people. Abdul Fatawu, who plays for Leicester City and Ghana, wasn’t stopped by his club from honouring his national team call-up. In fact, he actually asked to be excused from his national team and participating at this year’s Afcon. As you are reading this column, some of you will have seen him being sent off through a red card while playing for his team on Sunday afternoon. That means he is now suspended from the very same club he chose over his national team. He will be missing club football, as he would have done if he had reported for national duty. The only time he will be back for his team will be towards the end of the tournament. I don’t know whether this is bad luck or what? I’m not sure what to say about this and maybe you can draw your own conclusion. You ask your national team to excuse you from the tournament because you want to focus on your club, the next thing you get red-carded and are suspended for almost the duration of the tournament you didn’t want to take part in. Your country is losing their opening game against Cape Verde and this is the same national team that helped you get the contract overseas. This is the same country that you should be proud of representing whenever you get a chance to put on the jersey. I would like to believe that something will be done about the club versus country issue and that the relationship between CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, and his FIFA counterpart, Gianni Infantino, will help us resolve this issue at some point. Surely they can do something about this because it is so ugly to watch this thing going on unstopped. This is going to create an even deeper problem between the players and their compatriots, where they will be accused of lacking patriotism or betraying their country of birth. Can you imagine what would happen if Ghana was to bow out of this tournament in the group stages? Can you imagine how the Ghanaians will look at Abdul and accuse him of letting them down? I don’t think there’s any player who wants to become an enemy to his own country. I really hope the next Afcon will arrive with this issue having been resolved because it is not good for the game. There’s another problem, where the Ivorians are divided on the dynamics of their team. When you look at their squad, most of their players were born outside of Cote d’Ivoire and that has led to some people questioning their understanding of the country’s struggles and what it means to wear that national team jersey. This is really interesting and I would like to hear your views on this because I’m not sure if it is safe to say such things about your current players and how they feel about it. I hope we are all enjoying the Afcon and that we will continue to support our national teams. Let us all show love to Bafana Bafana just like we did with the other sporting codes. This is our pride and the players who have been selected to represent us. I just hope they will bring back the memories of 1996.