Africa Cup of Nations 2012 - Group A Camp Focus
On the April 27, 1993, one of the most tragic incidents in African football hit the Zambian national squad. Current Football Association of Zambia president Kalusha Bwalya lost 23 of his team-mates in a plane crash near the Gabonese capital of Libreville. The Chipolopolo side of 1993 were travelling to Senegal for a World Cup qualifier and now, 19 years on, Zambia and Senegal face each other in Group A of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
That Zambia side was considered as one of their best of all time and the current Chipolopolo have promised to put considerable effort into their performances as a mark of respect for the 1993 side. Bwalya was on a separate flight to Dakar after his club duties with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and has set his side the target of reaching the quarter-finals, as well as making Zambia proud. Midfielder Isaac Chansa has echoed the views of the former Chipolopolo captain, but has his own target of reaching the semi-finals and beating the record of the 1996 side that came third.
Chansa said: “There has been a tremendous improvement in the team compared to the one we had in Angola. Our players are more experienced, we are more exposed to international football. That improvement must also reflect on the field of play. Our target is to go beyond the semi-finals. We want to honour the team that perished in Gabon by doing well in this tournament.”
Zambia face a tricky Senegal side who hold attacking firepower with the likes of last season’s Ligue 1 top goalscorer Moussa Sow and Newcastle’s new forward duo Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse. The Elephants also have captain Mamadou Niang and some of the form players in Europe, so will pose a tough task for Zambia. Full-back Omar Daf believes that his country will go one better than the 2002 final defeat to Cameroon, a game that the 34-year-old was part of.
Daf said: “It was very hard to come so close and fail in 2002. We had a big team with a lot of self-belief, all pulling in the same direction to help us get to the final. We have managed to heal the wounds. We had a very good qualifying campaign. Now, we need to ensure that we have no regrets.”
In the opening game, co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and shock qualifiers Libya are looking to perform well for completely different reasons. The Nzalang Nacional have been promised a $1m win bonus by Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president of the country, but the squad are made up of Spanish players with Equatoguinean heritage and face difficulties in winning at all in the group. Gilson Paulo, who has taken over from former Coach Henri Michel after his resignation, has had little time to get to know his squad and has played down hopes of success because of the short preparation time he had.
Libya were under a state of political instability and civil war during their qualification process, but defied all the odds to reach the tournament. Former captain, and arguably their best player, Tariq Tayib supported Colonel Gaddafi’s reign and was subsequently left out of the team by Libyan manager Marcos Paqueta. Libya may well surprise people, but the Brazilian is concentrating on just getting out of the group before making any predictions.
Paqueta said: “It’s an amazing time. They don’t play only for the national team, they play for the people who have endured difficult lives. They put everything in their hearts on the field. We want to get out of the group stage - that’s the goal.”
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