Stay humble, don’t stumble against Pharaohs – Duarte
BURKINA FASO coach Paulo Duarte,
is preaching humility in the Stallions’ camp after their good showing in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), topping Group A before cruising to the semi-finals. The Stallions take on Egypt today at 9pm here in the last four. The other semi-final will see Ghana clash with Cameroon in Franceville tomorrow.
The Burkinabe reached this stage after beating Tunisa 2-0. That win brought hope to their fans, who crammed into Stade de l’Amitie, that this generation can finally be Africa champions. The Stallions’ best performance was losing in the final in South Africa four years ago. That side fought hard to get their talisman, Jonathan Pitroipa, to feature in the final after he was sent off in the semi-final for simulation, even though he had been brought down.
They won that appeal. Pitroipa played in the final, but the Stallions lost to Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
In this edition they have had to do much of their work without him as he was injured early in their second group match. A torn muscle ruled him out of the tournament, making way for Prejuce Nakoulma to shine. Nakoulma ran the Tunisian defenders ragged. Once the Carthage Eagles’s defenders were tired, Duarte introduced the giant Aristide Bance, who delivered the first blow with his powerful free-kick.
“We want to win every match we feature in,” Portuguese coach Duarte said. “I want my players to remain humble regardless of who our opponents are and what we have done in the past. This is a tough competition. We have to work hard to get something out of it. What has pleased me is that we have been growing with each match since our first game against Cameroon. The players went up a gear with each match after that.” Duarte is in his second stint with the Stallions. He has done better than what he did in his first stint, being eliminated in the group stage of the 2010 Afcon. He laid the foundation for Belgian coach Paul Put who replaced Duarte in 2012 and took the Burkinabe to the final of the 2013 Afcon for the first time in their history. But Duarte’s project wasn’t sustained and the Stallions bombed out of the group stage in the last edition without a win. “I know this team very well. I am like a tenant kicked out with a month to go and the people who occupied the house after me destroyed everything I built. I am back to fix their mistakes and take this team to the next level,” Duarte said.
“I am doing this for the people of Burkina Faso. They deserve to be happy. I am glad we have reached this stage.”
The Burkinabe have responded well despite Pitroipa and Jonathan Zongo being ruled out of the tournament early.
Egypt have also had their own injury concerns. Goalkeeper Ahmed El-Shenawy picked up an injury early in their clash with Mali to make way for Essam El-Hadary to become the oldest player to feature at the Afcon finals.
Sherif Ekramy is another Egyptian on the injury list, joined by England-based Mohamed Elneny.
The Arsenal midfielder’s absence will test the Pharaohs’ depth. But it could also be a blessing in disguise, slowing the team down during crucial moments.