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Wednesday 31 December 2014

The Best & Worst of Africa in 2014

Vincent Enyeama Lionel Messi Nigeria Argentina
The Goal Nigeria team look back over the last 12 months and pick out Africa’s best and worst moments of 2014
OPINION
By Solace Chukwu, Ed Dove & James Ezimoha
The Best of Africa in 2014
Algeria's World Cup campaign
The Fennecs successfully exorcised the ghosts of past disappointments at World Cups to progress from Group H, a first in their history.
Credit must go to coach Vahid Halilhodzic, under whom a promising bunch became true household names. Yacine Brahimi went from being an excellent dribbler with no end product, to a star on the continent; the likes of Sofiane Feghouli and Abdelmoumene Djabou were similarly electric in Brazil, and Rais M’Bolhi was a revelation in goal.
Algeria were organised and obstinate against dark horses Belgium, leading for over an hour before a late turn-around. For the second game against Korea, they switched tack and produced one of the most devastating performances of the tournament.
Their true highlight though, was their Round-of-16 display against Germany, whom they dominated for large spells. They may have gone no further, but there was no shame in losing to the eventual world champions.
Solace Chukwu

Enyeama’s Genius
All in all, it’s been a disappointing year for Nigeria, as the promise of 2013 has not been extended into a prosperous 2014.
Indeed, the side have struggled offensively, they lost their way ahead of the World Cup, rarely sparkled in Brazil, and ended the year by missing out on the 2015 Cup of Nations.
Two years after winning the continental crown, they won’t even be present to defend it in Equatorial Guinea.
Amidst the malaise and the dross, however, Vincent Enyeama has stood out as a beacon of consistency and excellence.
The goalkeeper was influential at the World Cup as Nigeria were the last team to concede a goal and delivered outstanding performances against Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He was absent for the Super Eagles’ dismal 3-2 home defeat to the Republic of Congo in Afcon qualifying, but returned to make two stunning saves in the return leg in Pointe-Noire.
The Cup of Nations will be poorer for his absence.
Ed Dove

Guinea’s fairytale qualification
Guinea qualified for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations against all odds, and one man who led the charge was their captain Ibrahima Traore.
The Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder defied club sanctions after appealing vehemently to represent his country, amidst heavy fears of contracting the deadly Ebola virus, and fought hard with fellow countrymen, away from home, to secure a place in next year’s tournament.
Michel Dussuyer led the West African nation to ten points in a group that housed four-time champions Ghana, Uganda, and the Emmanuel Adebayor-led Togo.
Their qualification was an unbelievable achievement, which gave the country and its people something to cheer about, and also unite them in their fight against the deadly virus.
The Syli Nationale, through their dogged and hard fought qualification, proved that football, as a sport, can be a useful tool in bringing people together even in the face of a nation-wide economic downslide and contagious health hazards.
James Ezimoha
The Worst of Africa in 2014
Alex Song’s elbow
Drawn in a very manageable group against host Brazil, Croatia still getting to grips with new management, and Mexico who needed a play-off to qualify, there was hope Cameroon could qualify behind the host nation.
It was not to be, as time and again the Indomitable Lions conspired to shoot themselves in the foot. However, this incident in Cameroon’s 4-0 loss to Croatia took the cake.
As a Cameroon attack broke down, Croatia sprung quickly. Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic got in front of the chasing Alex Song inside his own half. In a moment of jaw-dropping silliness, the West Ham United man proceeded to bring down his elbow on Mandzukic’s back. The referee had no choice than to send Song off.
On the best of days, Mandzukic is no speedster, and there was no provocation whatsoever. It served as the lowest of low points in Cameroon’s forgettable World Cup campaign.
Solace Chukwu

The Elephants’ collapse
“Finally”, I thought to myself, “the Cote d’Ivoire will end a decade of disappointment with a spot in the World Cup Last 16.”
The feted Golden Generation of the Elephants have persistently failed to claim the Cup of Nations title, while their two previous World Cup appearances ended in the group stage.
In 2014, with a favourable opening pool, reduced expectation and an opening victory against Japan, it looked like the West Africans would finally progress to the knock-out stages.
What the side boast in quality, however, they cannot match with backbone, or so it seems.
Against Greece in their final decider, they needed a draw to progress, and looked to have secured it after Wilfried Bony’s 74th-minute equaliser.
However, in the dying seconds, Giovanni Sio brought down Giorgios Samaras in the box, and the former Celtic hitman made no mistake from the spotkick.
The wait goes on for the Ivorians, but the Golden Generation of Didier Drogba, Didier Zokora, Kolo Toure and Co. will never get another chance to advance to the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Ed Dove

Nigeria’s Great Failure
The defending champions, Nigeria, failed to qualify for the 2015 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, sending many into a state of shock and shattering millions of hearts.
The first sign of the looming disaster was an unexpected 3-2 loss in Calabar to the determined Republic of Congo led by French tactician Claude le Roy, followed by a lacklustre 0-0 draw with South Africa, which many expected them to win.
However, the Eagles rallied to get their Afcon campaign back on track and did just that with a crucial 2-0 away win Pointe Noire to get their destiny in back into their own hands.
It went down to the last game as Nigeria needed to beat Bafana to qualify. Three points were not negotiable. But…the rest, like they say, is history.
Stephen Keshi and his boys failed over 160 million people, and the pain would hurt for a long time.
James Ezimoha

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