Diawara making Afcon history with Guinea
THIS Africa Cup of Nations is far from over but it has already been a historic tournament for Guinea after they won a knockout tie for the first time, an achievement which left their coach Kaba Diawara in tears.
“For my staff and I, this is exceptional. It goes beyond football,”the former Arsenal striker tells AFP in an interview at the team’s hotel in Abidjan ahead of Friday’s quarter-final against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They have made it to this point after Mohamed Bayo’s last-gasp goal secured a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea.
“People might say why is he crying when it’s only the last 16, but it was the moment of truth for us.
“So, I couldn’t hold back the tears and my staff were the same. We were crying our eyes out.”
Guinea were runners-up in 1976, but that was an era when there were no knockout ties, and the final four played a roundrobin format to decide the winner.
They had already got out of their group at six separate Afcon tournaments this century without going further, including in 2006 when Diawara scored in a 3-2 defeat by Senegal.
This time, however, several factors are spurring on the Syli National.
For a start, this Cup of Nations is in Ivory Coast, a country bordering Guinea, and Diawara’s team was roared on by huge support against Equatorial Guinea.
“In Ivory Coast we are practically playing at home,” the 48-year-old Diawara says, sweat dripping from his head in the midday heat on a shady terrace overlooking Abidjan’s waterfront.
“There is a very big Guinean community. I even have a big brother who was born here, so in Ivory Coast we might as well be in Guinea. We speak the same language, and we have the same religion.”
‘WE ARE RESPONSIBLE’
The last-16 win sparked frenzied celebrations in the stadium, but Diawara felt compelled to call for calm among sup-porters back home.
That was after six people were reportedly killed amid celebrations in the capital Conakry following the team’s 1-0 de-feat of Gambia during the group stage.
Guinea is also reeling from another tragedy in December when 24 people died and hundreds were injured in a huge blast and fire at a fuel depot in Conakry.
“We are responsible,” Diawara says of the most recent disaster.
“It was because of our victory. People are so happy when the team wins that the celebrations become a bit stupid.
“Of course, there should be celebrations. Of course, there was the disaster (in
December), but that is exactly it, we want to avoid having to mourn more deaths.”
‘SPECIAL’ GUIRASSY
Diawara, who was born in France and played there for Bordeaux, Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, and Nice, took charge of the team before the last Cup of Nations in 2022, replacing Frenchman Didier Six.
He quickly made it his mission to tap into the large number of players with Guinean heritage born in Europe.
That means a squad that already contained midfielder Naby Keita, once of Liverpool, has since been strengthened by the likes of defender Mouctar Diakhaby and striker Serhou Guirassy, both former French youth internationals.
Guirassy has only started once so far here due to injury, but the 27-year-old is the big star, having scored 17 goals in 14 games in the Bundesliga this season for Stuttgart. — SuperSport.