GHANA 2008: The roll call

WITH the completion of the final qualifying games over the weekend, the list of the fifteen best football nations who would be joining Ghana in January is complete. The battle for the coveted trophy and title of the best football nation in Africa would be keener than ever. Egypt, the defending champions defeated Botswana 1-0 to pick the final ticket. Earlier, Mali had stunned Togo 2-0 in Lome to pick the top spot in their group. Benin also beat Sierra Leone 2-0 to pick the best 2nd placed team ahead of Uganda. It must be heartbreaking for the Cranes of Uganda and the entire nation. The last time and probably the only time Uganda made an impact at the Nations Cup was when Ghana hosted it in 1978. Watching the qualifiers and the progress the Cranes were making (including beating Nigeria in Kampala), I almost thought history was about to repeat itself. Uganda emerged the toast of the continent when out of nowhere, they topped Group B based in Kumasi by beating the then defending champions Morocco by an incredible 3-0 score line in the final group game. They went on to defeat Nigeria 2-1 again in Kumasi and finally capitulated to our own Black Stars in the final.

After the tournament, names like goalkeeper Ssali and Philip Omondi became household names in Kumasi. Ssali had to “donate” his fellow yellow and black jersey to Ayoma of Kotoko who wore it with considerable pride. My wish was for Uganda to qualify and also get drawn to play in Kumasi but alas wishes they say are not horses. My biggest disappointment over the weekend was Togo's inability to qualify to next door Ghana. Apart from the commercial gains we stood to reap from the thousands of Togolese who would have made it across our borders, it is also a lost opportunity for this generation of Togolese stars. It is not always that you find a Togolese star on top of the goal scorers' chart in the English Premiership. This is the real golden generation of Togolese football. They qualified this small nation (in terms of population) to their first World Cup where, but for internal wranglings, they would have performed better than they did. At the last Nations Cup in Egypt, countries who felt it was their birth right to have qualified for the World Cup, especially Senegal who were in Togo's qualifying group, were out to prove a point. Unfortunately the pressure got to the likes of Togo and Angola and they failed to shine.

Ghana 2008 would have been the ideal platform for Togo to stake its claim to be among the elite of the African game. Somehow, they contrived to lose at home to Mali. If this generation of Togolese players fails to deliver at the Nations Cup level, it may take the nation probably another twelve fifteen years to produce another “Golden generation”. Countries like Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco etc have all gone through this cycle. In world football, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Uruguay and France have all gone through this cycle. Germany may be the only exception to the rule but judging from the lack of stars in their current national team, they may be going through their slump now. For Mali, I would say congratulations and only hope they can get enough of their fans to Ghana. Mali themselves have a golden generation of their own. In 1999 during the African youth championship in Ghana, Mali produced the most entertaining side of the tournament, earning a berth to represent the continent in the World Youth championships in Nigeria. Seydou Keita emerged the Golden Ball winner and many predicted greater things for the team.

Just like the Luis Figo led golden generation of Portugal which included the likes of Fernando Couto, Paulo Bento, Sa Pinto, Joao Pinto, Rui Costa and co. Thus when this Malian generation collapsed at the feet of Cameroon at the 2002 nations Cup which they hosted, many thought they had let a great opportunity slip by. In 1972, Mali produced one of the finest sides seen in African football led by the great Salif Keita. The team got to the finals in Yaoundé only to lose 2-3 in a thrilling final to N'pele led Congo Brazzaville. A look at the current team shows real strength in important places. As a strong believer in the midfield as the driving force of any team, Mali is truly blessed. In Mahamadou Diarra, Momo Sissoko and Seydou Keita, they have one of the best midfield combinations in world football. In Frederick Kanoute, they have arguably Africa's most consistent goal scorer in the last two seasons. If the Malians should find their rhythm, expect them to make it at least to the last four.

A lot of pundits are expecting the defending champions Egypt to do well but I think they will be disappointed. Egypt have not been good travelers in the Nations Cup history. The only exception was in Burkina Faso 1998. I have always maintained that had Nigeria been at that Nations Cup, Egypt would not have won it. This is debatable though but the class of Nigeria between 1994-1998 was incomparable in Africa. In addition countries like Cameroon and Ghana were in transition. The CAN in 1998 was one of the strangest in recent years. Talking about Nigeria, watching them play the qualifiers was excruciating. I watched them against Uganda, Niger and Lesotho. If Nigeria wants to maintain their high profile image in recent editions, then an urgent shake-up is required as the current team lacks balance. It is packed with so many strikers that midfield roles are given to strikers. You need to watch their games to see how strikers like Utaka, Makinwa and Obinna are used. Berti Vogts has a lot on his plate if he has to create a winsome, well balanced team for Ghana 2008.

The draw will be held this Friday and after that I would discuss the groups thoroughly with special emphasis on Namibia and good old Sudan. Till then……. Back to my Editor.