Battle for African glory
Will it be Mane or Mahrez who lead their country to Africa Cup of Nations success?
THE two medals that Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez came to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) with are quite special for the Senegal and Algerian internationals. After a titanic battle for English Premier League supremacy, with Liverpool and Manchester City pushing each other every week, Mahrez’s City finished as the champions of England with a monstrous 98 points. Mane’s Liverpool licked their wounds and consoled themselves with the Uefa Champions League, the sixth time the Merseyside club became European champions. Mane would give up that medal in a heartbeat for the one that no Senegalese has ever won.
“To win for my country, which has never won a Cup of Nations, would be magnificent. I am even ready to trade in my Champions League success to win the Africa Cup of Nations,” Mane said before the start of the Afcon. “The return to Dakar (with the trophy) would be extraordinary. That is my craziest dream.”
That dream is 90 minutes away from turning into a reality. The Lions of Teranga face Algeria tonight at 9pm in the final of the Afcon at Cairo International Stadium. Senegal’s hopes will rest on their talisman Mane, who has a more than capable supporting cast in the side that’s looking to go one better than the team that lost in the final 17 years ago.
Aliou Cisse captained that team and he is now the coach of this generation. He said that the current crop is better than his generation. His words will fire up Mane and his teammates. While Cisse’s generation looked to the eccentric El-Hadj Diouf for inspiration in Mali, the current crop is led by a humble Mane. The attitude and the approach is different because the leader’s personality is different.
Standing in their way is a team led by a man who has seen his side get the better of Mane’s team. Mahrez played an instrumental role in City’s victory over Liverpool. He will be key in Algeria’s plans to win the Afcon at the expense of Senegal.
His magical touch is the reason why Algeria are here. Mahrez’s welltaken free-kick against Nigeria took his country to the final for the first time since 1990. It was Mahrez’s cross that William Troost-Ekong deflected into his own net in the 2-1 win over the Super Eagles. With extra-time looming, he stepped up and delivered in style with his goal in referee’s optional time. That goal and their gruelling journey to the final has Algerians believing that another Afcon trophy is coming their way.
“We have been very good in this tournament. We have scored 12 goals and conceded two, we already have the confidence to challenge for the title but the game against Nigeria gave us more confidence to play the final,” Mahrez said. “It will be another battle, another tough match but I think that we are capable of winning it. We played Senegal in the group stage. They are a good team. We will see.”
Algeria beat Senegal in the group stage to finish on top of their group. Senegal was their biggest challenge before Nigeria and they passed both with flying colours. Another victory tonight would make this a spectacular season for Mahrez. But Mane has found a way to bounce back from disappointment to upstage a team Mahrez plays for. While City are the champions of England, Mane’s Liverpool are champions of of Europe. He can now add champions of the whole of Africa into his CV by leading Senegal to glory for the first time in the Afcon.