World Cup 2014: Africa’s Time to

....Knock the Stuffing out of the World

By: Dela Ahiawor

On a hot summer day in Athens, Georgia, United States – Africa defied the heat to beat the world. The occasion was the ’96 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, where Nigeria’s Under-23 team, the Golden Eagles soared high to become the first African football team ever to win Olympic gold by beating Argentina 3-2 at the Sanford Stadium.

This was no mean feat because it was the first prestigious global title at senior level for any African team. As a matter of fact, the parallel between the Under-23 Olympic football tournament and the highest senior level competition, the FIFA World Cup is that both represent mature or senior level football in the world. Therefore Olympic triumph for an African team immensely augurs well for Africa’s bid to beat the world again at the highest level of football, by winning the most recognized sports prize: the FIFA World Cup trophy sculpted by Italian artist, Silvio Gazzaniga in Brazil.

Scoff at the analogy if you are a rabid critic or a cynic, but the reality is that Africa has left remarkable footprints on the world’s footballing psyche after the World Cup in 1974, the year the world ridiculed the quality of African football as a result of Zaire’s (now Democratic Republic of Congo) abysmal and toe-curling performance.

The Leopards of Zaire were routed 9-0 by Yugoslavia in a turkey shoot. With 5 goals scored in the first thirty minutes. Four years after, the world made a volte-face in 1978 , when the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia won Africa’s first game at the World Cup by beating Mexico 3-1 in Argentina.

Since then African football have been on the up and up, with manifestly impressive accolades at the different competitions that dot the rungs of the world’s football ladder, including the FIFAUnder-17 and Under-20 World Cups.

Ghana and Nigeria share six Under-17 FIFA Youth World Cups, adorned with one U-20 World Cup trophy in 2009 by Ghana - all these including Cameroon’s Olympic football gold at the 2000 Olympic games are historic and outstanding performances, and goes a long way to highlight Africa’s aggrandizement in the world of football.

In addition, turn-around performances at the World Cup since 1990 by Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana points the way for an African side to go for the better at the next finals. Although winning the World Cup remains elusive, the greatest relief is that Africa is no longer the object of derision in the realm of football.

As a continent abounding with football talents, Africa now has the world at its feet. The continent’s hotshot footballers are cosseted and coddled as never before, due to their invaluable contribution to the success of the various football leagues around the world. They have helped to raise the standard of football and also the profile of Africa’s national teams , hence the renewed optimism that the continent will beat the world again at the highest level anytime soon.

Legendary German Coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld affirmed this claim when he said Ghana is not far from becoming world champions ‘ the Black Stars can win if they put necessary measures in place.’ he said. Realistically, Africa’s current five allocations at the World Cup is an improvement on its two places in 1982. A decision informed by Cameroon and Nigeria’s brilliance at previous outings in the ’90s.

This year’s five World Cup finalists are all star –studded sides: Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’voire, Cameroon and Algeria all coming through rigorous qualifying groups on merit, and ever ready to make a claim for Africa’s triumph in Brazil.

As a departure from past experiences, Africa is not going to the finals as an also run or for reasons of political correctness at the global football showpiece but as worthy contenders. According to Roy Hodgson of England ‘an African team might have a better chance of winning the World Cup in Brazil next summer than an European one.’ Predictions like this may sound vain, apparently because same pronouncements by Sir Stanley Matthews of Britain and Pele of Brazil went awry. But Africa’s potential has never been in question. Nigeria could have proved Pele right by beating the world in 1994 just before the turn of the last century. ‘ They were very close, very close to going all the way.’ Sir Bobby Charlton , England’s 1966 World Cup Legend once said.

That potential is even much stronger now. But there is limited expectations of the teams going into the finals because many African soccer fans are awed by their European and South American opponents. The fact is, Africa does not need a special breed of humans to constitute its teams to enable it match up to the rest of the world. Triumphs at the juvenile level of football, the Olympics and sparkles at previous World Cups proves the continent’s mettle.

The following are quick reminders: Nigeria had never progressed beyond the preliminary stage of the Olympic soccer competition but went ahead to beat South American giants; Brazil and Argentina to win gold. So, the point is no such thing as an invincible team in football. Winning in football is all in the mind and a little bit of luck. Jay Jay Okocha, former Nigerian midfield star and member of the ’96 Dream Team in a recent interview said ‘Preparing well for a tournament sometimes is not enough to win the World Cup, you also need a lot of luck in order to win. To further jog your memory, Africa’s giant killing didn’t start with Nigeria. In 1982, Algeria caused an upset by beating West Germany to become the first African side to beat an European side at the mundial.

Eight years on, in 1990, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon left the world gob smacked. Playing with nine men they defeated Diego Maradona’s Argentina 1-0 at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, the victory was masterminded by players from lower French leagues. They progressed to the quarter finals before losing out to England. The next quarter final berth was achieved at the 2002 World Cup, courtesy the Teranga Lions of Senegal. As first timers, playing the Les Bleus of France in the opening game was like running up against a brick wall, but the Lions pawed at the defending champions to register a 1-0 win. This feat is recorded as one of the most devastating quakes in world football.

The foregoing instances goes to support the potential of Africa being able to square up to any opposition it may encounter at the tourney, notwithstanding how erratic its performances have been over the years. The way forward, now that the World Cup is upon us, is to repose confidence in the five teams. All coincidentally making repeat appearances at this year’s tournament, after the same quintet also featured at the 2010 fiesta.

The Naysayers are spewing their vitriol as ever, that Africa will underachieve again. Fortunately, with invaluable experience gained from the last tournament, the teams should be heading to the competition to make amends. Of the five teams qualified for the finals only Ghana and Cameroon has quarter final ranking from previous iterations. The next target for Africa should be a transition from the group of eight to the last four or even the number one spot in one fell swoop.

Nigeria this time around has a fair draw .The Super Eagles are in no doubt Africa’s warhorse, strong and determined. They just have to be creative to get going. Their neighbors , Cameroon have pedigree though they have dipped in their performance for a while, but they are experienced enough to take care of themselves in a group that is made up of the host nation, Brazil, Mexico and Croatia.

The elephants of La Cote d’Ivoire have something to smile about, they are in a comparatively better group than in 2006 and2010.They have to do something before they die, and this is not beyond Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, the two can inspire the Elephants to glory on any given day. Algeria’s Les Fennecs or Desert Foxes can only draw inspiration from the ’82 feat of being the first African Nation to defeat Europe.

Out of the five World Cup finalists, the Black Stars of Ghana in particular are well poised to make Africa proud , because they boast real quality. They continue to improve at every outing and the expectation is that this year’s outing will be same. In fact many across the continent yearn for the Stars return to the finals, essentially because they also provide the vintage pizzazz African soccer fans relish .

Being drawn in a fiery group with Germany, Portugal and the USA is quite daunting. But the Black Stars of Ghana have the men and what it takes to squeeze their way through this group. Their heroic outing in the last tournament should put you at ease if you are already overtaken by a frisson of fear. It’s a third straight appearance with previous encounters with the USA and Germany in 2006 and 2010.

This should put the Stars and their handlers in a better position to strategize and garner all the necessary points in their preliminary matches and take the subsequent matches in their stride. They did this four years ago and notched up Africa’s third quarterfinal run , but were denied a place in the last four by a cruel fate. Luis Suarez’s hand ball in the Ghana versus Uruguay quarterfinal match, analyzed critically is a typical instance of sporting injustice and officiating chicanery that reared its ugly head at the last tournament.

These instances have tainted the beauty of the global showpiece and is also a contributing factor to Africa’s tardy progress at the World Cup .With a view to this, public opinion from now on must be strong in order to stem the tide of such occurrences in Brazil and beyond. For Africa to be able to prevail over the rest of the world , even in a distant terrain like Brazil , then fairness should be of the essence at the tournament, especially at the knock out stage of the competition. ‘I believe an African team will one day win the World Cup, and it could even be in Brazil.’ Okocha intoned.

The fact that Brazil has a clime akin to tropical Africa is comforting and also auspicious for the five teams heading to the tourney. With regards to the heat, the Americans and the Europeans think the host nation is hell. So, Africa has a comfort zone from which it will begin its campaign to knock the stuffing out of the world.

Winning is all in the mind! World Cup 2014 is another fine opportunity for one of Africa’s five finalists to cause a terrific splash in the world of football by defying the heat again to beat the rest of the world.

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