Senegal World Cup Team Blog » opinions

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, 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.

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.