Senegal World Cup Team Blog » CAN 2008

Abedi Pele thinks we’ll go through…

Magnusson — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:50:53 +0000

Abedi Ayew Pele, arguably one of the best players Africa has produced and undoubtedly one of the most charismatic one predicted that Senegal and South Africa would go through in the D Group but thinks that Ghana will win their fifth tournament on home soil.
Speaking to a South African newspaper, the three-time African Player of the Year said that:
“Senegal and South Africa, organizer of the 2010 World Cup will finish before the 2004 champs (that’s Tunisia) and Angola.”However, the Marseille legend pointed that it was the most open group with four African world cup sides and a lot of quality play. “Senegal doesn’t have the talent that they had in 2002 that saw them reach the final and the quarterfinal of the World Cup, but they still posses quality players that could help them create a surprise.”
He went on about the Bafana Bafana who are, according to him a “team that’s being groomed for the future”, stating that he hoped they could continue their “marvelous detection policy”.
Speaking of the Angolans, the 42 year-old ex-midfielder continued: “As for the Palancas Negras, they play an unknown form of kick and rush that’s very dangerous but i trust the lions and the Bafana will be able to see though them”.
I like that such a great footballer thinks we can do nice things and that he follows our football and really, who am I to disagree? But to tell you the truth, I really don’t see the Bafanas going through, with all due respect to them and to the legend. I hope and I think Senegal and Tunisia have the strongest teams and the best individualities and as someone told me, “To win a competition this important, you need great players and not just a great team.”I also think that Abedi like most Africans doesn’t think that the Arab teams can do something when not plating in Maghreb.
Let’s not forget though that Tunisia, out of all the northern countries, has the best in subsaharian territory and could even have won against South Africa in 94. Ask Rami about it, he has a pretty funny theory on that tournament and how it all went down.

Elhadji Diouf was handed the National Flag…

Magnusson — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:05:01 +0000

Before every competition, the captain of every National Team is given the flag as a symbol of responsibility for the battles to come. Aside from the barbaric and historic memories, this tradition is always a great way to send off the team and make them understand that the whole country will be behind them and that they have the reponsibilities towards them. It’s always entertaining to see the President struggle to say the names of the players and tease them on their funny haircuts. We know he’s not a football fan but still seeing him confuse Diouf and Beye the last time was priceless. After Aliou Cissé in 2002, Pape Malick Diop in 2004 and Ferdinand Coly in 2006, Elhadji Diouf received a flag way too big from the hands of the President.
Politically speaking, things are on. The president was uncharacteristically short on this speech:

“I would like to exhort you to give your best to defend the national colours with determination, intelligence and courage. I would like to remind you that you no more will be fighting for your respective careers but for the honour and the pride of the nation. You know what this flag means and you will no doubt have in heart to defend it and to put it at its highest. No effort will be too much for that task. Go gaindés (Lions), Ca Kanam, Ca Kanam, Ca Kanam (further, further, further…).”

This is another one of the videos of this CAN countdown showing the little banquet as well as a little reportage in the markets of the capital where a lot of money is being made and even though the resellers are complaining that they haven’t received the new jerseys, the old ones are selling like hot cakes, Elhadji Diouf and Mamadou Niang being best sellers.

Mamadou Niang doesn’t want you to think he’s God…

Magnusson — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:59:54 +0000

After what has been one of the most impressive starts (save for Karim Benzema) in the French league this season, Mamadou Niang, “MR 50%” when it comes to Marseille, has been elected Player of the month for the second month in a row and the fourth time in his career (after may 2005 in Strasbourg and november 2005 at Marseille). He comes back to the “Lions’ Lair” with a new status and he just doesn’t want anything to do with the Messsiah title and I believe him to be right.
Talking with very serious journalist Abdoulaye Thiam in a live interview saturday night on TV, Mamadou wanted people to focus on the team and not on him with his newly received trophy of Senegal’s Player of the Year. The very modest player wanted everybody to tone down the hype and just let him breathe a little, even though he refers to himself at the third person:

“People shouldn’t try to put all the weight of the team on Mamadou Niang’s shoulders. We are a team of 23 players who are all professionals. We will go to the Can with all of these young men. And we must rely on the collective and not on one individual player. This is a group that is capable of doing something positive in Ghana.”

Speaking of his trophy

“I must say that my appointment by the national sports press as the best footballer this year is a reward that makes me very happy. I was not expecting it but now that I have been elected, I will try my hardest to honour this award at the CAN”

He wanted to add that each and everyone of our opponents at the CAN will be more than dangerous. Wether Tunisa, Angola and South Africa, each of these countries have been to the World Cup so they are part of the cream of the african teams. I like that none of our players seems to be overlooking the compettion yet. One of the biggest senegalese flaws is thinkingsome games are won on talent alone and that could come back and bite us in our asses. Everybody must remember the first half against Guinea in the quarterfinal of the last CAN. They nearly beat us and that should not happen again.

Last day home, Senegal beats Namibia 3-1…

Magnusson — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:10:50 +0000

In our last game in Dakar before leaving for Tamalé, Senegal managed to beat a pretty weak-looking namibian team. Not to be disrespectful or anything but we just seemed to be circles around them on this game. Henryk Kasperczak didn’t even have his A-team, with some light injuries for the likes of Habib Bèye and Abdoulaye Diagne Faye . he decided to experiment with Ibrahima Sonko as a full-back and Lamine Diatta as a right-back. Everybody was watching as the clubless vice-captain was taken in place of Pascal Mendy who happened to be excellent in every single one of the qualifying games he’s played.
In a Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor that I have rarely seen this empty, the team went as this:

Tony Sylva, Lamine Diatta, Souleymane Diawara, Ibrahima Sonko, Guirane Ndaw, Bayal Sall, Pape Bouba Diop, Diomansy Kamara, Frédéric Mendy, El Hadji Diouf, Mamadou Niang

The first two goals were scored by Diomansy Kamara who had an incredibly prolific game. The third one was all Henri Camara and what a beautiful goal it was by the “Gunning rabbit”. At half time, half the team was changed, notably mamadou Naing and Elhadji Diouf getting replaced. After a few minutes of taking used-to that brough tthe magnificent Namibian goal, everybody went back to work and won this one pretty easily.

Here is a video that is made of highlights of the game, a few half time interviews, a little backstory on Ghana organized world cups and finally a little subject on the fourth biggest town in Ghana, Tamalé, where we will face Tunisia, Angola and South Africa.

Elhadji Diouf, the enfant terrible of senegalese football…

Magnusson — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:00:34 +0000

Criticized for his highly entertaining night-escapades, his judicial problems and his more than questionnable sport performances, the captain of Senegal, El Hadji Diouf nevertheless manages to preserve an unequalled popularity with the supporters, who count on him to pick up the country’s first trophy in the next CAN come February 10th.

It’s in eleven days that the Lions of Senegal will enter the Cup, against Tunisia in Tamale (Rami and I won’t be talking trash, trust us) and the turbulent number 11 of the “Lions of Teranga” have people talking more about his performances in the nightclubs of Dakar than on the pitch, which gave him two consecutive African Player of the Year trophies (2001-2002). Yet it seems that the general public can’t seem to fall out of love with him like it has happened in similar cases all around Africa (Okocha, Bocandé, Adébayor, etc…). What’s the reason for his undying popularity?

“Diouf is the best Senegalese football player of all time and the Senegalese will never bea able to forget his performances from the World Cup in 2002. He’s the symbol of the team and an icon to his compatriots and as they say, when we love, we can forgive anything, so the public forgets escapades “

Mamadou Diouf (no relation), former president of the “Association Nationale de la Presse Sportive du Sénégal.

It’s true that in 2002, “Dioufy” as he’s called in England, allowed us Senegal to qualify for the first World Cup of our history and to reach the quarterfinals of the competition, after a more than symbolic victory during the opening match against France (1-0), former colonizer and reigning World Champions.
At the time Diouf was just the best damn player in France, period and dominated the whole competition, being traded to Liverpool before even reaching Korea. It must be said that at the time, the kid was just that, a kid that was promised to a more than bright future. If he hasn’t lost anything of his abilities, it seems that he decides to tun it on and off when he wants. Sometimes, it is just too late for the team that has been expecting marvels from the superstar. Let’s see how well he plays this year.

It must be said, to the credit of the Saint-louis native, that he has never been a locker-room cancer or an egocentric like his status could have let perceive. He genuinely seems to enjoy the company of his teammates and is the life of the party. And the armband wether we like it or not has been more than benefic for him since he seems to want to set an example even more now. I was more than pissed when Kasperczack took it from homebodies like Omar Daf and Habib Bèye to give it to him but it suits him.
Something else, Diouf has played nearly every position for the national team just for the sake of the team, to allow players like Niang and Kamara (or the Camaras – Henri or Souleymane) to be at a more comfortable position for them.
Let’s now forget the partying with Akon, the spitting on supporters and wthe boozing for a month Elhadji and maybe we can get back on top.

The new players…

Magnusson — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:50:41 +0000

Out of the 23 players picked by Henryk Kasperczak, eight will be at their first ACN in a few weeks. Some of them may not even have played a single time for the national team in an official game but it is somehow nice to see some fresh new faces in the squad. Here are their names: Ibrahima Sonko, Bouna Coundoul, Pape Waïgo Ndiaye, Pape Modou Sougou, Moustapha Bayal Sall, Mouhamed Adama Sarr, Pape Malick Bâ and Babacar Guèye.

Bouna Coundoul, the Colorado Rapids goalkeeper will be the first player from the MLS to play in the competition if he is alligned (sidebar, that won’t happen). He played against mali and maroc in this winter friendlies in France and has apparently given satisfaction.
Ousmane Ndoye is also a new player since he was not in the squad for a few months and hasn’t been in an ACN since 2004 but the kid is back and showed Kasperczak all of his class when we beat Cote d’Ivoire last summer.

Someone who must be relieved and happy to be in the team is Babacar Guèye. The Metz player who did not participate at the 2006 ACN because he was deemed too young by the staff despitre having played and scored multiple times during the qualifying matches. He was replaced at the time by Issa Ba and Djiono Djiba. It made sense at the time but now that Bab’s is not having the best of years with metz, Kaspi calls him and makes him one of his choices as a striker, this will calm the frustration of someone who litterally bleeds the national colors.

One of the cases that made the senegalese press go nuts litterally was the one of Souleymane Diawara who after 14 months without being called up for being drunk and partying in 2006, he was expelled from the selection and never called up since. After a few phone calls, everything went back to normal but the press doesn’t know the influence this party boy will have on the team. I don’t either. The “man with the black gloves” is one of the best defenders in the Ligue 1 easily when he’s on. problem is that with him, the only games where you’tre sure he’ll be On are the ones on Canal+. Now let’s hope he stopped being childish in Charlton and finally lives up to the expectations.

Ibrahima Sonko is also someone who will have hel unleashed on him if his ACN is not the best ever. The Reading defender refused the NT many times before saying he wanted the french National Team to holla at him. The national press is used to that (Ibrahim Ba, Patrick Vieira, Patrice Evra, any of the Diarras, etc…), what they are less accustomed to is someone kinda insulting the country, saying shit like “The organization is not good enough for me to come anyways…” and stuff. So everyone went with the Oumar Dieng approach (For those who don’t know, Oumar Dieng was a famous senegalese player who played for PSG and refused the antional long enough to play for France once and be forgotten forever. He apologized on Tv saying how he would have loved to help his country in ACN and other competitions but was blinded by ambition.): We said “Good riddance.”. To see him on the team is bittersweet to me. I don’t like the guy but he’s a good player. Good enough to make me like him? I don’t think so.
Welcome to these fresh faces and good luck to them.

Pape Diouf doesn’t think Senegal can win the ACN…

Magnusson — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:47:51 +0000

Pape Diouf, the senegalese president of Marseille is a man whose opinion is very often seeked by the senegalese press and they asked him this sunday his opinion about the possible outcome of the ACN and if he thought Senegal could win it or not. Here is what he answered: ‘‘In the major competitions, technicians use less than 20 players. The group performance sometimes turn around 15 to 16 players” said Pape Diouf, stressing about the Lions that ”everybody can agree on this group”.
The national coach Henri Kasperczak had released a group of 38 players that was reduced, Tuesday, to 23 players.
For the Marseille president,’‘the rest of the group is selected on the basis of very subjective criteria. The ties of affinity between players, versatility, but also the level of involvement of a player in the lives of a group”.”You can select a player by the atmosphere he met in a group”.

About the ACN 2008, Pape Diouf wishes that 2008 is the year of consecration for the Lions which, he said, have lost in ”pure quality but compensated with experience ”.

The ACN, which starts Jan. 20 in Ghana, will be ”very open (and) anything can happen”, said the former sports journalist who had created a society of agents of players before being called to head the OM. “From Ghana which will be difficult to handle at home via the Maghreb countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Cameroon with their winning mentality, Cote d’Ivoire and its potential but also Nigeria, with whom anything can happen”, said Pape Diouf who does not place Lions of Senegal among the favourites.

”This may be a surprise ACN as was the case in 1992 with the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in Dakar,” he further said.

Henryk Kasperczak, the press conference…

Magnusson — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:06:33 +0000

This is the whole press conference that took place this afternoon in Dakar. Only for die-hard fans and french speakers but it’s still a pretty interesting watch.
The national coach is Henryk Kasperczak, polish and french player who famously finished his career at Metz as a player and coached FC Metz(78/84), AS Saint-Etienne(84/87), RC Strasbourg(87/89), RC France(89/90), Montpellier HSC(90/92), Lille OSC(92/93), Cote d’Ivoire(93/94), Tunisie(94/98), Bastia(98), Maroc(99/00), Mali (01/02), Krakow(02/05) and Sénégal(06/..). He hasn’t won anything as a coach since 1990. So I don’t think it is a good sign for us. As Laurie pointed out in the comments, he’s not a native french-speaker and has a slight accent.

Press Conference, pt.1

Press Conference, pt.2

Schlass! And the list is cut down to 23…

Magnusson — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:02:08 +0000

Hello, I’m Massaër from the Marseille offside and I’ll be taking over the Senegal World Cup Blog til the next World Cup.
So Henry Kasperczack went at first with the new trend of taking half the country for the ACN. He took 38 players and only three of those knew they were not going to Ghana (Pape Malickou Diakhaté of Dynamo Kiyv being the most important of them, the new boss of the defense being injured. PMD will be sorely missed). Kasperczack stirred up a lot of controversy with that list since a lot of players in the 38 have never worn the national uniform and only expressed their interest recently when the other national teams they were eyeing seemed to be further and further away. Rumor was at some point that the 39th and 40th spot were reserved for Bordeaux’s David Bellion (who seems to be lobbying hard to get back in the good graces of the national opinion after having refused the NT twice when he was playing for Manchester) and Saint-Etienne’s Bafétimbi Gomis (who also came to his senses when he caught a glimpse of that kid playing 60 kms from where he plays and whose name rhymes with Kenzema). Kasperczack picked these players at first:

1 – Tony Mario Sylva (Lille LOSC, France)
2 – Omar Daf (FC Sochaux, France)
3 – Kalilou Cissokho (Football Club de Baki, Azerbaïdjan)
4 – Habib Bèye (Newcastle, England)
5 – Pascal Mendy (Club F. de Kaunas, Lithuania)
6 – Ibrahima Khouma Guèye (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia)
7 – Demba Bâ (Hoffenheim, Germany)
8 – Cheikh Guèye (FC Metz, France)
9 – Ibrahima Faye (FC Troyes, France)
10 – Guirane Ndaw (FC Sochaux, France)
11 – Pape Bouba Diop (Portsmouth, England)
12 – Ousmane Ndoye (Academia Coimbra, Portugal)
13 – Badara Sène (FC Sochaux, France)
14 – Malick Bâ (FC Bâle, Switzerland)
15 – Pape Waïgo Ndiaye (Genoa, Italia)
16 – Babacar Guèye (FC Metz, France)
17 – Elhadj Ousseynou Diouf (Bolton, England)
18 – Mamadou Niang (Marseille, France)
19 – Momar Ndiaye, (FC Metz, France)
20 – Modou Sougou (Union Deportivo De Liera, Portugal)
21 – Abdel Kader Mangane (Racing Club de Lens, France)
22 – Issa Ndoye (Zobehan, Iran)
23 – Bouna Coundoul (Colorado Rapids, USA)
24 – Souleymane Camara (Montpellier, France)
25 – Boukhary Dramé (FC Sochaux, France)
26 – Henri Camara (West Ham, England)
27 – Ferdinand Coly (Parme, Italia)
28 – Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye (Créteil, France)
29 – Souleymane Diawara (Bordeaux, France)
30 – Bayal Sall (Saint-Etienne, France)
31 – Diomansy Kamara (Fulham, England)
32 – Ibrahima Sidibé (Debrechen, Hungary)
33 – Ibrahima Sonko (Reading, England)
34 – Mouhamed Adama Sarr (Standard de Liège, Belgium)
35 – Frédéric Mendy (Bastia, France)
36 – Abdoulaye Diagne Faye (Newcastle, England)
37 – Lamine Diatta (Besiktas, Turkey)
38 – Moussa Ndiaye (UMM Salal Sport Club, Qatar)

Here are the ones that have been kept in the end.
- Keepers: Tony Sylva (Lille/FRA), Bouna Coundoul (Colorado Rapids/USA), Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye (Créteil/FRA)

-Defenders: Habib Béye (Newcastle/ANG), Ibrahima Faye (Troyes/FRA), Guirane Ndaw (Sochaux/FRA), Abdoulaye Diagne Faye (Newcasttle, ANG), Ibrahima Sonko (Reading/ANG), Mohamed Adama Sarr (Standard Liège/BEL), Souleymane Diawara (Bordeaux/FRA), Lamine Diatta (clubless)

- Midfielders: Bayal Sall (Saint-Etienne/FRA), Pape Bouba Diop (Portsmouth/ANG), Ousmane Ndoye (Académie Coimbra/POR), Malick Bâ (FC Bâle/POR), Pape Waïgo Ndiaye (Gênes/ITA), Babacar Guèye (Metz/FRA), Diomansy Kamara (Fulham/ANG), Frédéric Mendy (Bastia/FRA)

- Strikers: El Hadji Diouf (Bolton/ANG), Mamadou Niang (Marseille/ANG), Henri Camara (West Ham/ANG), Modou Sougou (Leiria/POR).

Here is the video of the press conference commented live by ex-Marseille and PSG legend Boubacar Sarr on senegalese TV. It’s a pretty interesting watch.