The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations came to a
dramatic end on Sunday night when Ivory
Coast sealed a dramatic 9-8 victory over
Ghana on penalties.
The win brought to an end a 22-year drought for Ivory Coast, and
capped a tournament that was moved at the last minute and almost
overshadowed by violence.
But what did we learn? Here are five key lessons from this year's
competition.
1. Ivory Coast have finally ditched their chokers tag
After losing in the 2006 and 2012 finals (and limited displays at
the past three World Cups), Ivory Coast had been accused of
lacking mettle.
But anyone who saw how they responded to adversity in Sunday's
final - converting five penalties when a miss at any stage would
have lost the cup - may reconsider.
Ghana did little wrong in the final but this was a fully-deserved
success for the Elephants, who have finally won again despite the
departure of several members of their "golden generation" -
including Didier Drogba, Didier Zokora, and Emmanuel Eboue.
Many of the old guard were on the field in Bata - with Kolo
Toure, Tiake Siene and goalkeeper-turned hero Boubacar Barr all
appearing at a seventh Nations Cup.
The parallels with their sole previous success, in 1992, were
uncanny. As on Sunday, the Ivorians played Ghana, the game ended
0-0, there was a marathon shoot-out (22 on Sunday, 24 in 1992)
and the goalkeeper was the hero (in 1992, Alain Gouamene was
also at a seventh Nations Cup).
2. You can organise a Nations Cup in just two months
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) had spent nearly three
years preparing for a 2015 Nations Cup in Morocco when the
North Africans effectively pulled the plug in November over fears
Ebola would spread to the country.
That left little over two months to find a new host. With few
forthcoming because of continuing Ebola concerns, Caf asked
Equatorial Guinea, who had co-hosted in 2012, to step in.
They duly obliged and despite widespread doubts - especially once the
condition of the new venues Ebebiyin and Mongomo first came to
light - somehow managed to pull it off.
There were some problems, with teams lamenting the poor
accommodation - some hotels flooded, others with dangerous wiring -
but by and large, Equatorial Guinea turned the finals into an
improbable success.
Hicham El Amrani, general secretary of Caf, called the turnaround
"miraculous - nothing short of that".
3. Using a helicopter to clear a stadium does not work
Surprised?
Thursday's semi-final between hosts Equatorial Guinea and Ghana, at
the Estadio de Malabo, was marred by violence from the home
fans. Ghana supporters were attacked with various missiles and had
to shelter on the pitch.
One of the crowd control ideas in particular left a great deal to be
desired.
A helicopter was flown just 10 metres above fans, but failed to
disperse them. In fact, they simply whooped and cheered.
But what prompted the violence? Although the local enthusiasm for
beer is considerable, the anger seemed to stem from the genuine
belief that Equatorial Guinea really were going to win the
competition - and once this narrative didn't pan out, the ugly
recriminations began.
4. You can change your coach and squad at the last minute
Nothing about Equatorial Guinea's run to the semi-finals made any
sense.
A little over two weeks before the finals, they changed their coach -
bringing in Argentina's Esteban Becker, who promptly altered a
third of the squad.
Some of his new charges had not played a match for six months
prior to the first week of January, but he rallied the band of lower
division footballers to make the semi-finals at only their second
Nations Cup.
The manner of their quarter-final win over Tunisia still leaves a
sour taste in the mouth.
Referee Rajindraparsah Seechurn's decision to award the hosts the
most contentious of stoppage time penalties kept Equatorial Guinea
in the competition, but brought accusations of cheating from the
Tunisians.
5. Christian Atsu should be playing more at Everton
The Ghanaian winger, who scored one of the goals of the
tournament in the quarter-final victory over Guinea, was named
Player of the Tournament after a series of bright displays.
Ghana's Christian Atsu (left) vies with Guinea's Kevin Constant
the quarter-final
His performances belied his failure to make an impact at Everton,
where he is on loan from parent club Chelsea.
Ivory Coast's Gervinho knows what it is like to underwhelm in the
Premier League but he was a joy to watch, constantly zooming past
players as he relentlessly drove forward when in possession.
There were several big performances from his colleagues: Kolo Toure
marshalling an inexperienced defence superbly, Serey Die excellent in
his defensive midfield role, Max Gradel also shining before fading in
the final.
Perhaps the most unexpected performance though came from
Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Felipe Ovono, who was a beacon of
unflappable calm throughout his team's surprise run - despite being
only 21.
http://m.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31296299

Trash & a waste of mb.

emmasege:
Trash & a waste of mb.

Shut up!