With the exception of the 0-5 walloping of Syli Nationale (national Elephants) of Guinea by Drogba's Cote d'Ivoire Elephants, the quarter final games at the African Cup of nations have been hard-fought contests, leaving only some of Africa's finest for the semi-finals. The semi finals will set the stage for interesting record breaking possibilities among three proven heavy weight champions: Egypt with five Cup titles and seeking to make it six; Ghana tied at four titles with La Republique du Cameroun and each seeking to be even with Egypt at five; and Cote d'Ivoire will be fighting for its second. . Of all four teams also, two of them have had a perfect tournament so far, winning all four of their games and counting on maintaining the streaks.
Host country Ghana has remained invincible till this point of the tournament and its African roving coach, Claude Le Roy, and the nation would want to have the perfect tournament without losing a single of the six games. Getting there would require for Chelsea's defensive star player, Michael Essien and the rest of his Black Stars teammates to outshine and blind the Lions of La Republique du Cameroun on Thursday Febraury 7th, 2008 in Accra. But in two of their only encounters in the history of the African Cup of Nations both teams have tied each other.Therefore, each have a 50 percent chance of winning the day. However, they have come to a point where one of them must register a W on the win column against an L or loss for the other. How to secure a victory against the other is the nail-biting question that both coaches must be working on.
The more challenging task may be that of 70-year-old coach Otto Pfister, aka Mister Africa, of the Indomitable Lions of La Republique du Cameroun. The hair-splitting 3-2 victory of his team over the tactically superior Tunisian side at the quarter finals only strengthened the observers that have fingers pointing at a barren midfield and a scampering and over-indulging defensive lineup. After suffering a 2-0 deficit inflicted in the first half, the Tunisian side tied the game 2-2 by the end of 90 minutes of play. They were looking sharp and ready to take it to the weary Lions at prolongation. But Mbia saved the day for Cameroon, scoring his second goal of the day to give the Lions a 3-2 victory and maintaining their invincibility against the Tunisian side. Playing against tournament favorite will be a different ball game for the Lions, especially considering their 0-1 record of coming from the back to secure a victory.
Claude Le Roy is no stranger to Cameroon, having coached the side to victory at the 1988 African Cup of Nations and runners-up in previous edition in 1986. He, therefore, could be said to be familiar with the team. But there is not a single player in the current selection that played under Le Roy. However, the team plays much the same system as under Le Roy. This gives him and his side some kind of advantage. It is also note worthy that the Black Stars of Ghana have come back from behind in at least one game against Nigeria to win by 2-1 at the quarter finals. If nothing, this shows character and team fortitude, especially after losing its prominent offensive lineman and captain, John Mensah and playing ten against eleven for the star-studded Nigerian team. The match could very much be determined by who maintains a solid defense and a daring startling offense. Cameroon have the offense with Eto'o Fils, who lost his cool against Tunisia and head-butted the defender. Ghana will be counting on Essein, its defensive bulwark. It could be a rivalry for the history books.
The Pharaohs of Egypt will be facing the Elephants of Cote D'Ivoire in the second semi-finals game of the tournament. While the Elephants remain undefeated and have won all their opponents in the tournament, the Pharaohs pulled a tie against Zambia in the first round games. It was a battle to the end between Angola and Egypt, with Angola bowing out 1-2 against the much more experienced opponent that also holds the most African Cup of Nations titles. Whether this daunts Didier Drogba and his teammates is another matter to be seen. It is a fact that the mesmerizing play of the Elephants against Guinea will not be lost on the minds of the Egyptian players and coaches. Resting Drogba before the end of the game was a strategic decision and a forethought to what is to come. But besides Drogba, the Elephants have so far demonstrated a great sense of purpose and played with completeness in almost every department. And they will need it against Egypt.
The Pharaohs always seem to have their eyes set on the trophy. There is no exception to that goal now. They will be seeking to distance themselves in the run for title cup-holders even as Ghana and La Republique du Cameroon attempt to catch-up. But the Pharaohs will also be playing as the last standing team from North Africa. The team will also be making a statement about domestic versus international professional players. They are the team left in the tournament with the least number of European bound professional players. It will be an electric encounter in which the Pharaohs will need to dig further than archaeological finds to stop any dramatic invasion of their space by the Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire.
Innocent Chia
Citizen Journalist
Email: innochia@gmail.com
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