Egypt wins the African Cup of Nations

Yesterday, the 26th Africa Cup of Nations ended and a costly mistake from Cameroonian captain Rigobert Song, cost his team the Nations Cup Trophy. The Pharaohs of Egypt beat the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon by one goal to nil at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Ghana.
The African Cup of Nations finals is always an interesting event, and yesterday's match proved to be no different. It was intense and entertaining.

The Cameroonians played against a technically sound Eqyptian team, who put in all they had for the game. Even though both sides played well, the Egyptians constantly posed a genuine threat to the West Africans.
With a team which was made up of relatively unknown players, the North Africans managed to hold their own during the entire competition, and still went on to win in the finals.

The first half ended goalless with a fine performance from Samuel Eto'o. Cameroonian goal keeper Kameni also had a fine game but in the second half of the game, the players began showing signs of fatigue. All it took was a mistake from Rigobert Song for the Egyptians to score and secure their victory. Song graciously lost possession of the ball to Zidan and Abou Terika Egypt calmly tucked the ball into the net.
Egypt has now won the Nations Cup back-to-back, and this is no easy feat for any team.

On the whole, I would say the Egyptians fully deserved their win, because they played wonderfully and were consistent. They seemed to be all over the field at once, and their speed and skill with the ball was just too good. I feel bad for our fellow West Africans, but then every game must produce a winner and a loser.
I know Rigobert Song must feel bad for being the cause of the loss, but then we all make mistakes once in a while and getting blamed for such a loss isn't a nice way to end your international career.

Here in Nigeria, as far as some people are concerned, the Nations Cup ended when the Super Eagles were ousted by the Black Stars of Ghana, and since then, they have shown little enthusiasm for the later stages of the competition. During the finals, a guy who sat close to me even remarked, albeit jokingly, that Rigobert Song and Geremi Njitap were playing like Nigerians! (so much for national pride).
Vogts and the NFA need to hear such remarks. Maybe it'll finally set them thinking straight.

Nigeria vs Mali - Another Pathetic Result

The Super Chickens (sorry, Super Eagles) of Nigeria, in another pathetic performance this evening, succeeded in showing the whole world that they don't have what it takes to win the African Cup of Nations.

I watched the match in a "joint", and the barrage of invectives that was hurled at the Nigerian players and their coach was enough to make even a seasoned bus conductor flinch.

The players were at their laziest best, and the football was just terrible. Completely uninspiring, and a complete waste of time. Who on earth ranked these guys as the best in Africa? In my opinion, they don't even come among the first 15 teams. Enyimba would easily thrash them.

For those who felt the first half was bad, the second half was utter rubbish. The players were busy strolling round the pitch, and the Malians were having a field day, taking their time to punch holes in our seemingly non-existent defense.

One thing I couldn't help noticing was the constant look of amusement on the assistant referee"s face. The guy was always grinning at our feeble attempts at goal. I can't blame him anyway. The whole Nigerian team is one big joke.

Congratulations to Seydou Keita for his stellar performance, and (of course) congratulations to our own Yakubu Aiyegbeni for finally figuring out how to put the ball inside the net, even if it was an offside goal.

I just can't understand Aiyegbeni, but of course the same still goes for the whole team. I feel like channeling my fury at Berti Vogts, but fortunately for him, he's in Ghana.
Berti, if you can hear me, when you finish, don't even bother to come back to Nigeria. We'll ship all your leftover stuff to you.
I think this kind of result from a foreign coach will teach the NFA to appreciate Nigerian coaches.

I won't even waste any more of my time talking about those guys. I hope they actually get to watch replays of their game. They're a sad lot, our Eagles. Very sad.

Nations Cup Wahala - Here we go again

It's that time of the year when the streets empty in various parts of Africa and people congregate to watch the round leather game.

As our own Super Eagles file out to face the Ivoriens this evening, one question is paramount on the minds of the Nigerian populace; "Can the boys bring home anything?"
Opinions are divided concerning this. Some people are fanatical about the Eagles, and believe that they are quite capable of winning the competition.
Others are quite pessimistic, believing that the boys are up to no good.
The last category of people couldn't care less. They go about their business as if the competition is being held in Europe and they have nothing to do with it.

The Eagles have been quite consistent in the competition. In fact, a bit too consistent for my liking. They've been so consistent that they brought home bronze medals three times in the last three editions!
This does not mean that they're not appreciated, but getting to the finals would be a nice thing, and getting gold would be even better. We have done it before, and we can do it again.

I don't want to delve into all the problems of Nigerian football and why the Eagles might not win. That's just depressing stuff. For now, all I want to do is hope, and pray for them.

So, enough of blogging, I'm off to get myself a nice spot to watch the match with the guys.
Hopefully, our fans will soon be shouting; Gooooaall!!