MADE IN AFRICA (CAN 2012)

     Away from the European football razzmatazz, from the top leagues in Europe and from the never- ending transfer market.  In-step the African Cup of Nations, the biggest football competition on the continent, it brings African stars scattered all over Europe under one umbrella. This year, it is no exception, the stars have arrived,the adrenaline is pumping and we can wait for the rumble to kick-start. Today @Gingerstiff highlights 4things about the Nation’s cup.

-SENEGAL STRIKE FORCE:Senegal have slipped on the ladder of greatness, since their remarkable debut at the 2002 World cup. They went back to the drawing board, mapped out strategies and have a proven squad now that can challenge for major honors. Senegal have one of the most lethal strike forces in African football not just on continental soil but proven goal scorers in European Football. A frontline that packages Moussa Sow, PapisCisse, Demba Ba, Niang should send shivers down the spine of any defender. In 2010-2011 season Cisse scored (31), Sow (31), Dembaba (28) goals, that is a staggering 90goals in the bag, now that’s scary! Definitelyoneof the clear favorite to claim the coveted prize, Senegal will depend on the effective strikers to hit top gear from day 1. Newly recruited Newcastle striker Cisse will be eager to show his new suitors, how well they spent on him. There are still the reliable Niang, the former Marseille striker might be playing his last competition alongside Henri Camara, and so to sign off with the Nations Cup medal will be perfect

-IVORIAN EGO: unarguably the most talented squad on the continent, their only weakness on paper seems to be between the sticks. This generation of players ply their trade for the top guns in European football …. Drogba andKalou (CHELSEA), Gervinho (ARSENAL), the Toure brothers (MANCHESTER CITY), Tiote (NEWSCASTLE), Boka (STUTTGART), Eboue (GALATASARY) e.t.c. Many wonder why such a talented generation of players have failed to conquer the continent,the quality is there, the talent is there, the cohesion is there but their major problem is their EGO. They underestimate their opponent, they believe their class and quality will win scare away opponent. I was listening to Mr. Gaye on Soccer Africa; he said “our boys will be on the phone till 3:00am talking to girls, claiming to be their sisters. When you ask them about their opponent, they give u that “they can’t beat us look”. They have proven players at the highest level, if they can outgrow their Ego and take every game seriously; they might just be doing themselves and their Nation a huge favor. I doubt that.
  

-UPSET: My biggest obsession in football, I love to see the so called “smaller teams” destabilize the flow of the competition. The Euphoria it brings to the competition is unimaginable; the tale of 90minutes will be heard by many generations unborn. I don’t need to hype Burkina Faso, I will let them do the talking on the field. The team is not littered with stars like the Ivory Coast, Senegal or Ghana but they have built a compact team hard to break down. Their main threat lies on wing play, with former Hamburg wing wizard Jonathan Pitroipa and Alain Traore. Pitroipa has been in superb form for Rennes this season,very tricky customer, comfortable on both flanks and very pacy, Traore has also been in red-hot form for Auxerre with 7goals, 2 assists in 17 games. The former Manchester United trialist alongside Pitroipa will carry the hope of a Nation on their shoulders. In a group with Angola and Ivory Coast, should be very interesting. Another team I believe will do very well is Bostwana and Mali, fingers crossed  

-LEVEL OF COMPETITION:Every team at this competition qualified through pain and tedious hardwork, dedication and 100% level of commitment, they deserve to be there. I fear for the class between teams, with the likes of Cameroun, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa et al out of this year’s competition the quality level might have gone down drastically. Imagine a competition without Samuel Eto’o, Alex Song, MIkel Obi, Goma, Abdutrika the list is endless, its either the level of competition in Africa has gone up or the Big teams just believed they could stroll over the lesser teams. From Monetary part of the competition, I also fear for Endorsement, the population of people that would have love to see their favorite stars, the viewers will definitely not be the same.