Posts Tagged ‘Sudan’

Africa Cup of Nations 2013: 2nd Leg Qualifying Round-Up

Posted: October 15, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in African Football
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Zambia are back…just!

Taoussi finally attains balance in Morocco’s attacking ranks

To some people, football is a foreign film without subtitles. One of those people is Eric Gerets. For all the blinding achievements of his managerial CV, the simplicity of finding the equilibrium between an exposed defence and a superabundance of attacking players seemed to be a crippling problem for the Belgian during his time in charge of Morocco.

His successor Rachid Taoussi not only tried to attain balance by dropping several attacking midfielders and going back to basics, but also brought effervescence that was contagious on Saturday as he patrolled the Marrakech touchline like the ebullient uncle cracking jokes at a family wedding. After a nervy opening 20 minutes, for an hour or so thereafter the Lions of the Atlas had imperious control of midfield as they pinned  Mozambique inside their own half and pummelled them without respite; captain Houssine Kharja drove from midfield with malevolent intent; Abdelaziz Barrada showed Adel Taarabt how to play football without gewgaw; Oussama Assaidi’s half-time introduction added incision and end-product; the substitution of Younes Belhanda for Nordin Amrabat brought more impetuous into Moroccan forward line as they went in search of more goals; and Youssef El Arabi’s futsal dynamism sealed the aesthetics and added further variation in attack.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2013: 1st Leg Qualifying Review

Posted: September 10, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in African Football
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DR Congo coach Claude Le Roy visualising the moment his team lift the 2013 Cup of Nations.

DR Congo could be the most exciting team at AFCON 2013

With $50,000 offered by TP Mazembe chairman, Moise Katumbu, to share between them for each goal they scored, DR Congo mercilessly dismantled Equatorial Guinea 4-0 to collect their jackpot. It was the irony of ironies; after all, it was Equatorial Guinea who were paid astronomical amounts for victories and goals scored when they co-hosted the Cup of Nations earlier this year.

DR Congo’s impending qualification would have been exactly what the DR ordered. Assuming that I’m not tempting fate and their passage to the finals is assured, DR Congo could be the most exciting team at ACoN 2013. For the past few years, DR Congo have had the resources to mount a serious challenge for the continent mantelpiece, and, like the past two winners Zambia and Egypt, they have a core group of players plucked from one club (TP Mazembe), which gives them the domestic/club coherency which is increasingly becoming a prerequisite to flourish in the tournament.

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AFCON2012: Best Group Stage Moments

Posted: February 7, 2012 by jameseugene in African Cup of Nations 2012, African Football
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We have our first video up! This video is to highlight the best moments in the African Cup of Nations Group Stage. It has everything from net-breaking free kicks, red cards and even the emotional Sudan goal. While you’re watching it: like, comment and subscribe to our channel (and we will subscribe back). Another video for the knock-out stages will be up soon hopefully, as well our writers’ Top 10 goals of the tournament!

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Passionate Arabic Commentary

Posted: February 6, 2012 by thearabscot in Arabic Commentary
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Passion. A word used often in relation to football; be it to describe fans, players or managers. Rarely however in the English speaking world is it used to describe commentators. A bit of a shame that, considering the unbridled fervor of the fans and players when a goal is scored, or their unspeakable furor when a wrong call is made, or their misery when their beloved team is on the receiving end of a harsh scoreline. In the commentary, naturally you want at least a proportion of these emotions relayed by the commentator. However, when it comes to Arabic commentary, you get the full shebang, no holding back. The emotion is raw and the style of the delivery is unquestionable.

The legendary enthusiasm of Arabic commentators showcases their admiration for the beautiful game, and for this reason today I will begin my series on clips of Arabic commentators. What better way to begin this with a topical piece of absolutely brilliant commentary from Al Jazeera commentator Swar Althahb. His excitement at the goal, which saw Sudan qualify for the quarter finals of the Nations Cup by recording their first win at the competition in 42 years, readily palpable when his voice breaks with sheer joy.

Soak it up:

Mazda drives Sudan through to the knockout stages

Posted: January 31, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in African Cup of Nations 2012, African Football
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West Africa’s dominance of African football is unquestionable. You only have to look at the only African national teams which have reached the World Cup quarter-finals – Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal – or the winners of the African Player of the Year (around 75% originate from the region) to get an idea of the status quo. West Africans are bison-like in their sheer athleticism, with some of the best sprinters in the world being of West African descent. It isn’t limited to athletics only, the likes of Ronaldinho and Michael Jordan and probably any other powerful, black athlete’s origins can be traced to West Africa.

East Africans, meanwhile, are more famous for producing distance runners with their much smaller and lighter frames and the same goes for the North and South countries on a smaller scale. East Africa has never qualified for the a World Cup and only boasts two African Cup of Nations winners. The solution to overcome the genetic deficiencies – as Egypt have shown in the hat-trick of Cup of Nations wins from 2006 to 2010, despite not possessing the power of the West Africans – is to work on technique on the ball and cohesion as a team, attributes which will conquer pace and power for eternity.

But that’s easier said than done. It’s an approach that requires vasts amounts of money, money which some North African nations and Southern African nations have been able to afford and money which East Africans have been unable to afford. Apart from Sudan; the land of oil. In a way, they have used the same blueprint as the North Africans and shown that it is possible for teams with lighter frames to succeed – success is relative, here, being the only East African team at this year’s Cup of Nations shows that Sudan are doing something right.

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