Sports Features of Sunday, 3 February 2013
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THE COACH | PAUL PUT
As a result Belgian coach Paul Put was given the reins in March 2012, taking over from Paulo Duarte, as they look to improve their record in the competition.
The 56-year-old started his coaching career with Belgian sides Geel, Lokeren and Lierse, before he was banned for three years by the Royal Belgian Football Association for his alleged involvement in a match-fixing scandal. From there he coached the Gambia national team between 2007 and 2011, before he was appointed to lead the Stallions.
The Burkinabe will be counting on star striker Moumouni Dagano, who currently plays for Al-Sailiya Sport Club in Qatar, and is the country’s top goal scorer of all time.
They also have a number of top players who ply their trade in the Ligue 1 in France like FC Lorient forward Alain Traore, Stade Rennais midfielder Jonathan Pitroipa, as well as Lyon defender Bakary Kone, who will all be expected to bring their international experience to help the side reach the knockout stages in South Africa.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
Burkina Faso narrowly edged Central African Republic (C.A.R) on a 3-2 aggregate to book their place at the 2013 Afcon after a nervous return leg in Ouagadougou, where the Stallions toiled until the final minute before scoring the winner. The Burkinabe were exempted from the first round following their participation at the 2012 Afcon. They lost the first leg of the second round by a lone goal in Bangui and came from behind to win the return fixture 3-1 after conceding an early 7th minute goal through David Manga of Serbian club FK Partizan.