FactFile: Guinea

Guinea were once one of the leading footballing sides on the African continent,. Producing the winners of the African Champions Cup and seeing their senior team ‘Syli Nationale’ reach the final of the 1976 MTN Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in Ethiopia.

But since, the west Africans have got no further than the quarter-finals at the Nations Cup, although they have qualified for a second successive finals tournament.

It will be Guinea’s eighth appearance at the MTN Africa Cup of Nations finals since they first entered the qualifying competition in 1963.

Their best result to date was runners-up slot at the 1976 event in Ethiopia, where a final round league format was used to determine the winner and Guinea were edged out by Morocco.

In Tunisia in 2004, Guinea managed only for the second time to get past the first round of competition but lost in the quarter-finals in a dramatic finish against Mali, where they took the lead but conceded a last minute goal to go down 2-1.

A growing number of players based in Europe have turned Guinea into a much more intimidating opponent and provided them with an opportunity to create some upsets at the final tournament in Egypt.

Guinea are coached by the Frenchman Patrice Neveu, whose strict disciplinarian approach had seen many regular players left out of the squad for the MTN Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Honors

Amilcar Cabral Cup Winners: 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 2005

Star Players

Player Profile: Pascal Feindouno

Signed as a teenager with Girondins Bordeaux after moving from Conakry and scored the goal that secured the French Ligue 1 title for his club in 1999 although he was just a bit part player in that campaign. Bordeaux then never offered him a prolonged run in the first team and instead sent him on loan to Lorient.

Player Profile: Fode Mansare

Scored on his debut for his country in their first international against Liberia in 2002. Started his career on the island of Corsica at Ajaccio but was signed as a promising 17-year-old by Montpellier. Moved to Toulouse at the start of the 2005/06 season after Montpellier were relegated to France’s Ligue 2.

Player Profile: Dianbobo Balde

Born in Marseille to Guinean parents. Started his career at Olympique Marseille but never played for the first team. Got experience at Mulhouse, Cannes and Toulouse before his surprise move to Glasgow Celtic in 2001. Popular defender with the Scottish giants where the fans have voted him as their player of the season