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Monday Football
11 February 2008
by Jerrad Peters

African Nations Cup
Egypt won a second successive African Nations Cup in a cagey, 1-0 affair, in a partially filled stadium, in a match-up that nobody wanted. Dull? Hardly. Wearisome? Absolutely not.

The final in Accra was just one of seven matches to have produced one goal or less. The other twenty-five generated 94-goals – an impressive average of 3.76 goals-per-game. By comparison, EURO 2004 averaged 2.48 goals-per-game and the 2006 World Cup just 2.3. That the football in Ghana over the duration of the competition was exciting goes without saying. And the championship match was no exception.

Egypt brought an attacking impetus from the get-go. Throughout the opening half, Cameroon appeared at a loss to match The Pharaohs’ speed. And with Samuel Eto’o playing as a lone striker, the Indomitable Lions were anything but in the attacking third. In fact, they rarely ventured beyond the half-way line unless it was to chase a long-ball played to Eto’o.

Carlos Kameni should be applauded for keeping a clean-sheet through the opening period. The Cameroon and Espanyol goalkeeper was superb on the night. Mohamed Aboutrika’s lash from 35-yards on the quarter-hour drew the first of several brilliant saves from the 23-year-old. And Emad Moteab was similarly stopped from just inside the box before Aboutrika’s attempt on the rebound soared over the bar.

Moments earlier, Geremi had nearly found a breakthrough for Cameroon. The 29-year-old set-piece specialist was denied by Egyptian ‘keeper Essam Al-Hadari, however; and the Group C runners-up created little else as the initial 45-minutes drew to a close.

Otto Pfister must have unloaded on his players during the interval. The Indomitable Lions had a noticeable spring in their step upon the restart and raised the tempo of the match noticeably in the first ten minutes. But, as he had done throughout the tournament, Hassan Shehata made the necessary adjustments and quickly had Egypt in the ascendancy once again.

That adaptability, as much as anything else, was the principal component of Egypt’s success in Ghana. Whichever side they faced, whatever tactics were drawn to defeat them merely provided Shehata a pretext for altering his own strategy and beating the opponent at its own game. He did it time and again. Champagne football might have flowed at its finest against Cameroon in the group phase and Cote d’Ivoire in the semifinals; but an organized, responsible approach was necessary in beating Angola in the quarterfinal and Cameroon on Sunday. Whatever the opposition brought, Egypt matched and then exceeded. And for that, there is only Shehata to credit.

The manager was rewarded in the 77th-minute. After Hosny Abd Rabo had struck the woodwork shortly after the hour-mark, the constant Egyptian pressure was always going to be reimbursed. Finally, they got the break they needed. Cameroon captain Rigobert Song, a stalwart throughout the competition, suffered a rare lapse in concentration as Mohamed Zidan’s pass trickled through the box to the feet of Aboutrika. The 29-year-old Al-Alhy playmaker made no mistake; and a disconsolate Song covered his face with his shirt.

From there, Egypt were not to be denied a record-extending sixth title. And with the likes of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and ex-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in attendance, Ahmed Hassan lifted the 2008 African Nations Cup.

Cameroon defender Bill Tchato commended the winners, telling the BBC, "We showed a lot of heart but congratulations to Egypt. We came up against a team that deserved to win."

Patrick Mboma, a longtime forward for the Indomitable Lions, was similarly reflective. “They have a team based on local players,” stated the 37-year-old. “They know each other very well.”

Mourinho, meanwhile, viewed the entire tournament as a stepping-stone for African football. “Both Nations Cup semis were played at a high level,” he told the BBC, “but now Africa can take it to the next stage.” Pausing, he qualified his comment by saying, “By the next stage I don’t mean win the world Cup. That would be too drastic. But an African team could get to the quarterfinals or even the semis.”

The 45-year-old also made several, general observations regarding the tournament. “There has been color, enthusiastic crowds, positive atmosphere,” he said.

And he could not have been more right. While the three weeks of continental competition produced the usual sideshows and extracurriculars – an allegation of match-fixing, criticism of the event’s organization, a mid-tournament managerial resignation, and controversy surrounding the presentation of last season’s African Player of the Year award – the festive environments of Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi only enhanced the superb quality of the football being played.

To anyone who watched the matches on television or attended them in person, several things quickly became clear. For one, the African Nations Cup is not the European Cup or World Cup. The level of organization and immaculately streamlined scheduling such as Germany provided in 2006 is decidedly absent. And that’s terrific. It’s the most organic event on the FIFA calendar. It’s football for people – not multi-national corporations, sponsors, or shmoozers.

And it was to the people that the hero, Aboutrika, dedicated Egypt’s win. “It is a great feeling to score for the country,” he said, “but it’s not about me scoring goals. It’s about all the players and the 80-million people supporting us back home.”

Those 80-million can take pride in being the undisputed power of African football. In addition to retaining the Nations Cup, The Pharaohs have played an astonishing stretch of 20 competitive matches without a loss. In fact, their last defeat came at the hands of Cote d’Ivoire on June 19, 2005 in Abidjan.

It is a streak which can be attributed to the reign of Shehata. “We tried to take the game with good football, for Egypt and the fans” the manager told the BBC after the final whistle on Sunday. “And it proved enough to win.”