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Why I Love…the Africa Cup of Nations

A football
  • Posted at 4:28pm
  • 21 January 2008
  • by GeoffEllis-RT
  • 4 comments

No football tournament is more entertaining than the Africa Cup of Nations. It's got all the swagger, recklessness and naivety that was squeezed out of our game about the time goalkeepers stopped wearing roll-neck, woollen sweaters.

In the wide-open spaces of the African tournament, players have the freedom to express themselves and ball skills flourish. It makes you want to eavesdrop on the coaches' final instructions as teams take the field. You can just hear them saying "Have fun, guys" or possibly "We've got the juju over this lot," but never, "Remember, lads, keep your shape".

The result: players are free to bound like antelopes across the savannah. It won't stop BBC3's football commentators talking about indiscipline and lack of organisation. But honestly, don't they know it's the joy of taking part that counts? The Africa Nations is all about individualism, freedom and flair. Africa is the new South America.

The fact is that pointless ball-juggling is fantastic when you're not emotionally committed to the outcome of a match. Then you can enjoy a winger going past the full-back, stopping, waiting for him to catch up and going past him again. And defenders: why hoof it into row Z when, with a flick, a nod, a little bit of keepy-uppy and an optimistic wallop upfield, you can turn defence into attack? All with only a 65 per cent chance of giving the ball away in your own penalty area.

That's cruel, but not as much as the tackling. These guys take no prisoners. A moment's loss of concentration, the opposition are surging forward with four attackers menacing two defenders. And boom! In it comes like an intercontinental ballistic missile. The hip-high, studs-up, lunging tackle that's specifically outlawed by the Geneva Convention.

This is football as it should be played - a game not for men, but for artists and warriors. And brilliant to watch.

Eight reasons why I love the Africa Cup of Nations:

Great nicknames: We all know Cameroon are the Indomitable Lions, but Benin's victory over Mali on 21 January raised the prospect of "Eagles feed on Squirrels" headlines (not to be confused with the Super Eagles, Nigeria).

Crazy guys I: No-one is likely to rival Zairean defender Alunga Mwepu at the 1974 World Cup, who sprinted from his position in a defensive wall to boot the ball away with Brazil poised to take a free kick. But expect regular outbursts of devil-may-care and even anarchic behaviour on the pitch, as well as off.

Crazy guys II: Fans are bolder, brighter and louder. Look out for more drums and body paint than every stage production of The Lion King. Ever.

Touchline drama: Egypt striker Mido rowed with coach Hassan Shehata after he was substituted in the 2006 semi-final; it looked like they were coming to blows when Egypt scored and the confrontation turned to congratulations. Incidentally, Shehata is one of just four African coaches at the tournament. Most are European, like Claude Le Roy, now with Ghana. The Klaus Kinski look-alike has previously managed three African nations and Cambridge United.

Fashion show: At the 2002 tournament, Cameroon resembled basketball players when they sported sleeveless tops. Fifa insisted that sleeves be sewn on. Two years later the Indomitable Lions sported tight-fitting, one-piece strips that made them look like skiers headed for tropical climes. Fifa put a stop to that, too. Curiously, at the same time, Fifa president Sepp Blatter said women footballers should "wear tighter shorts".

Juju: How many teams will have their own shaman on hand to perform animist rituals? You'll see at least one back-page headline involving the words "witch doctor" and "animal sacrifice". Don't discount this as meaningless nonsense - Western sports reporters really believe in this stuff.

Innovation: The first Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in 1957 with three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Since 1968, it has been held every two years. Uefa only launched its European Football Championship in 1960.

Celebrations: Cameroon's Roger Milla pioneered the dance-around-the-corner-flag goal celebration, now a favourite the world over. More recently, Nigeria's Julius Aghahowa came up with seven backflips topped off with a backward somersault to set the goal standard for flamboyant football celebrations. In other words, let's get ready to rumba.

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Comments

  • Posted on 07 February 2008
  • at 9:58pm
  • by misterforde
swagger, recklessness and naivety wide-open spaces of the African tournament "We've got the juju over this lot," players are free to bound like antelopes across the savannah a game not for men, but for artists and warriors But expect regular outbursts of devil-may-care and even anarchic behaviour Don't discount this as meaningless nonsense - Western sports reporters really believe in this stuff. Condemned by you own words, Sir
  • Posted on 25 January 2008
  • at 5:09pm
  • by Constantinoff

Agree

  • Posted on 22 January 2008
  • at 10:20pm
  • by bobbyfletch85

I'm just really miffed the BBC haven't put it on BBC2 like they did last time. I enjoyed watching it before - African teams don't fanny around, they just get stuck in and go for goal. If I was defining it I'd say - the exact opposite of the Italian League. None of that diving, rolling around and super slow pace. It's guts and glory.

I was looking forward to this year because the standard was always going to be better than previous tournaments. Before, there were a handful of familiar names - Kanu, Okocha and Geremi. Now there's about twenty or so big names from Africa and they've all turned up!

Come on BBC. You have the cheek to give put BBC THREE garbage Little Miss Jocelyn on but keep the African Cup stowed away on demand? Unbelievable.

  • Posted on 22 January 2008
  • at 7:49am
  • by matleeds

Are there any white players in the tournament? South Africa maybe?

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