6th February, 2013
The die is cast and the stage is set for the semi-final matches of the ongoing 29th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON. In one of the ties, the Super Eagles of Nigeria trade tackles with the Eagles of Mali at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban today.
The match promises to be exciting as Super Eagles’ Coach, Stephen Keshi, would be facing a team he once handled. Nobody gave his team the chance of getting to this stage.
Unlike the Nigerians’ Eagles that missed the 2012 edition of the AFCON, the Eagles of Mali for the second successive tournament reached the last- four at the expense of the hosts. Since the retreated Islamic insurgents usurped control in the historic Saharan City of Timbuktu, the people and government of Mali have not known peace, but the Seydou Keita-inspired side would seek to put smiles on the faces of their citizens by defeating Nigeria to book a final passage and go ahead to lift the coveted trophy.
The Malians would draw much inspiration from Keita, who came close to nicking the African Player of the year in 2011 and had been decorated as World and European club champion with his former club Barcelona FC of Spain. His team are battle ready to play a Nigerian team, who are entirely a young side. Six of the players in the Super Eagles ply their trades in the Nigerian Premier League, NPL.
Today’s clash would be a re-union between Keshi and some Malian players, who he once tinkered as their national team coach. However, Keshi, who is on the threshold of rewriting the history of the AFCON, having won it as a player with the Super Eagles almost two decades ago in Tunisia and targeting to win it as a coach, is already beaming with confidence going into today’s clash. He told whoever cares to listen that he knows the Malians like the back of his palm. “I know the Mali team but you never can tell. We’ll see how we’re going to handle the game.”
Both teams are already talking tough. Which of the Eagles that soars higher in this grudge match would eventually come out victorious and head into the final that would be played on Sunday.
Nigeria’s Emmanuel Emenike of Spartak Moscow of Russia, who is on three goals and tied with two other players, is confident that they would take the Malians to the cleaners. According to him, “We beat Ivory Coast that everyone was talking about and I think we will make it to the final this year. We will be making a big mistake if we take Mali for granted. We need to give them the respect that they deserve, because they fought hard to reach the semifinals.”
Responding to Emenike’s claims, coach of the Malians, Patrice Carteron admitted that they are the underdogs going into the tie.
“Nigeria beat Ivory Coast, who everyone had thought would win that game,” he said. “Now everyone thinks Nigeria will win the cup, so the pressure is on them.
“They’ve got good young players like Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike, and experienced players like John Obi Mikel – and they’ve got a good, experienced coach in Stephen Keshi.
“But we have the faith and we are so motivated because we want to give so much to the Malian people.
“This semifinal is not the end; it is the start of something.”
The last meeting between the two sides at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations ended in a 0-0 draw.
—Adebobola Alawode