Posts Tagged ‘Samba Diakite’

Samba meets Song as Aboutrika returns to the international stage

Posted: April 2, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in Africa Round-up
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0
The return of Aboutrika

The Egypt v Uganda friendly in midweek saw the return to international football of Mohamed Aboutrika. The Egyptian playmaker, one of the key members in Egypt’s 2006 and 2008 Cup of Nations triumphs, had announced his retirement in the wake of the Port Said tragedy, where 74 fans died. In his second match back, after a substitute appearance for club side Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League against Ethiopian Coffee (you read that right), Aboutrika was an aerial threat throughout and eventually made Uganda pay by, fittingly, scoring the winner in injury time as Egypt recorded a 2-1 victory.

Despite being named the BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2008, Aboutrika has an obscure profile in Europe, by choice: firstly, Al Ahly have received offers but he has opted to stay at the Egyptian giants, showing gratitude that they made him who he is; secondly, to a much lesser extent, Al Ahly are regarded as the best supported club in Africa and the Arab world, Aboutrika gets paid well enough, that’s for sure. Whilst it’s impossible to fully expand on the qualities of Aboutrika here – as a player and as a human being – he is one of the symbols of what is good about modern Egypt. It’s good to see him back.

(more…)

SFG Player of the Week: Samba Diakite

Posted: March 26, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in Player of the Week
Tags: , , , ,
0

Welcome to Sandals For Goalposts’ new feature: Player of the Week. After each gameweek, our team of writers, or even our readers (you’re more than welcome to contribute), will put forward an African or Asian player who has performed well over that particular gameweek with a terrific performance or something off-the-pitch that deserves special praise and recognition.

The French-born  Malian, who joined QPR on loan from AS Nancy in January with a view to a permanent move in the summer, made an unceremonious debut in a 1-0 defeat to Fulham, receiving his marching orders after just 33 minutes following a series of wild tackles as he adjusted into the hurly-burly of the Premiership. In a way, it exemplified the Mali international’s rawness and physicality. Anyone who watched Mali at the Cup of Nations would testify that they were the most physical team, often escaping with some horrific tackles that would have certainly been severely punished if the standards of refereeing were stricter.

The Malian showcased his rawness for the first 25 minutes in a remarkable 3-2 win by QPR against Liverpool last week, akin to a fan who has won a competition to play for a Premiership club for a single game with his over-enthusiasm, mistimed dribbles and misplaced places. For the rest of the game, though, he was a different player. He transformed into a hybrid of Yaya Toure and Cheick Tiote as he regularly stormed past the Liverpool midfield with a combination of heavy-weight boxer power and tenacity to bulldoze his way through the Liverpool midfield. He may be raw, he may look like an Alia Dia impressionist at times, but against Liverpool he showed why QPR have signed him.