Deserved Lead
A Man of the Match performance by Pierre Aubameyang inspired the co-hosts to a convincing win over surprise qualifiers Niger. The North Africans accounted for more fancied triple champions Egypt and next hosts South Africa. Exploiting Niger's goalkeeper Kassaly Daouda's tendency to flap at crosses and even shots - a bane of African goal-keepers - the impressive Ondo N'Guema cross from the right wing eluded Daouda after half an hour.
Aubameyang stole in at the back post as Daouda scrambled across his goal-line. Aubameyang headed across the keeper to give the hosts a deserved lead. about ten minutes earlier Daouda showed the better side of his game, thwarting the same player after a loose attempted clearance flicked off Mohamed Chicoto's head into Aubameyang's path. From 8 yards out he looked certain to score, but Daouda saved with his midriff.
Double Trouble and Advantage Doubled
Just before Aubameyang gave Gabon the lead and celebrated with a quarter lap of honour, Issoufou al Hassane was fortunate to be on the pitch to be substituted in the second half. A studs showing with a foot off the ground lunge connected with Moussono Moussono. Gabon's players were perplexed that Eddie Maillet only showed a yellow card.
"The most difficult is yet to come," said new Gabon coach Gernot Rohr who replaced Alain Giresse when Michel Platini's former team-mate in the 1984 European Championship winning side left to coacvh Mali. "Little satisfaction, but it is a short satisfaction. We will have a preparation again tomorrow for Morocco who for me is one of the best teams."
Rohr saw his side double their lead just before half time. Just before half time, Moussono crossed from left flank; Aubameyang dives slightly backwards but heads goalwards. Daouda saved well, but the rebound fell to N'Guema who made no mistake. Gabon deserved their 2-0 lead. The second half was flat in comparison, but Rohr will want N'Guemato cut out the needless challanges that saw him pick up a needless booking for tripping substitute Moutari Amadou near the half way line.
Gabon failed to add to their lead, but Aubameyang went very close after a long and patient build up resulted in a long ball that Kader Amadou made a complete hash of by sliding in and going over the ball. It was Aubameyang's last contribution of the match. He left to a rapturous reception, replaced by former Hull City forward Daniel Cousin.
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Nerves
Under fire coach Samson Siasia's side began nervously. Captained by Joseph Yobo, the defence looked at sixes and sevens as the Black Stars dominated the opening period. Prince Tagoe almost profited from hesitant defending that failed to hack it clear in the opening ten minutes. Tagoe lashed his shot wide. Former hot prospect Anthony Annan's shot just cleared Austin Ejide's bar in that opening spell, which also saw Tagoe fall heavily under Ejide's challenge. The striker recovered, but his next effort was straight at Ejide.
However, for all their pressure, it was Nigeria that came closest to breaking the deadlock. Ahmed Musa was Nigeria's best player in the Under-20 World Cup and had already been recognised as one for the present as well as future. His cross from the right wing for Brown Ideye was the Super-Eagles' first attack – the danger was snuffed out by Ghana's newly installed number one keeper Adam Kwarasey bravely claiming the ball at Ideye's feet. Kwarasey was saved by the woodwork as Ideye struck the bar from 30 yards out with the keeper well beaten.
The Super-Eagles had grown into the match after a hesitant start, during which the bane of recent Ghanaian football resurfaced. They create plenty of chances, play often delightful football, but if Asamoah Gyan doesn't score, it's hard to see where the goals will come from. Tonight was no exception. Tagoe failed to score. Albert Adomah had opportunities; Dominic Adiyah had a chance and Agyemang Badu was given time too. Gyan came off the bench as well, but none of them could find a way past Ejide at a time when the Super-Eagles, despondent after their surprise failure to qualify for the African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea made them ripe for the taking.
Satisfaction
“My thoughts were to make sure that we win,” Ideye said. “ I tried my best to make sure I live to expectations when I wear the green and white shirt, so I believe today's game was a little bit difficult, I think against a good side. I tried my best to make sure I scored. We came out here to win, but ultimately we share the points, so for me, it's good to play very well, so I'm happy.” It was a friendly without points at stake, but we know what he meant.
Ghana created chances and Siasia's long term plans were clear. “Well the future plans is we have young players mixed up with older ones and we have a good team that we are still building, so if on Thursday I'm still here, then I think the future will still be bright for the Nigerian team, because we know with time we'll be a better team,” Siasia said while trying to fend off the questions about his future. “We actually gave a good account of ourselves, created a lot of chances in the first half ... we were about to score, but the bottom line is the team played very well – played very well and created chances and we could have scored.”
Ikechukwu Uche induced uncertainty from Kwarasey with a run on the left flank and cross that was close to Kwarasey, but the keeper let it run across his goal. Unfortunately for Nigeria nobody followed in. Uche had two further opportunities as Nigeria ended the half looking the more likely to score. Kwarasey denied Uche first and excellent defending by Isaac Vorsah prevented the second. The first 45 minutes ended with an ambitious and ultimately poor effort by Obinna Nsofor.
Goran Stevanović rang in the changes at half time as he tried to find a solution for the curse of Ghana's recent fortunes – the lack of goals – while Siasia waited. Dominic Adiyah and Agyemang Badu were given their chance, but they couldn't find a way past Ejide, although the previously impressive almost gifted an opportunity by fumbling an Adiyah shot for a corner. Stevanovic's defensive problems increased too as he tried out Genoa's teenage left-back Massawudu Alhassan. The 18 year-old performed well, as part of the back four of Isaac Vorsah, John Mensah and John Pantsil, but he succumbed to injury in the second half.
Meanwhile, Musa was replaced by Kalu Uche and substitute Samuel Inkoom's 22 yard free-kick failed to beat Ejide. Badu went down in the box, but play was waved on to the annoyance of the Black Stars fans. They pursued the elusive goal with Annan trying his luck twice and despite Yobo's protests a free-kick was rightly given for handball. Badu wasted the opportunity.
Agendas
Siasia was right that Nigeria had opportunities – perhaps even the crisper chances in the first half, although if the Black Stars could finish, the game could have been over by then, a point which brought out a different agenda later of a journalist who disagreed with the obdurate Danny Shittu not being selected, arguing that his presence at the heart of the defence would have encouraged Ideye to score. “I think the defence played very well today, so I don't know if Danny Shittu's there, he can do better than Joseph Yobo,” Ideye said, after Siasia had rightly tried to ignore what he thought was a personal issue.
He preferred to concentrate on the main issues. “We all know how it is,” he said. “...'keep your enemies closer.' It's always like that. I'm doing the best I can for the nation. If they have any issues with me that's their problem. What I'm saying is I'm a good coach. I've proved it in the Under-20s and 23s; I just need the chance to have a better team with the Super-Eagles.”
Siasia's record would be impressive in other circumstances. “I haven't lost a game yet, not since before I got them, so to me I've done a job,” Siasia said. “It's not for me to say whether I stay or not, but for the future, how many coaches have we had in the last three years? We can't keep changing and then expect to have a familiar house. I'm not the one who will decide if I stay or go; it's left to them to do that.”
He has faced virulent attacks from former team-mates, demanding his sacking and the Sword of Damocles still hangs over his head, but Siasia wants to continue – a job that has seen him try to instil discipline into a team that has seen older try to take over training camps. There are widespread rumours of dissent, yet he still has support. “Like the coach said earlier, we are trying to build a new team, mostly young players, so I believe in time that this team will be able to take on any team in the world,” Ideye said.
Defending His Record
While Stevanović refused to face the media, Siasia defended his record and outlined his plans. “[Clemens] Westerhof had five years,” Siasia said. “National team had qualified for the 1990 World Cup when he was still there. All I'm looking for is a chance to prove myself. I've done it with the Under-20s, 23s and more. It doesn't take eight months or ten months to build a strong team. Of course we look at the young players that are coming up. That's where we have to look at ... we have to go and scout these players to make sure we have better players in the future.”
Siasia believes that he is on the right track, but needs time. “The most important thing is did we do a good job?” he asks before answering his own question. “I believe we did in spite of our disappointment on Saturday. Let us go on and we have a team that we can build for the future. That's the most important thing. We have a team that has prospects for the future. I think that's the way to go. It's now for Nigeria to decide if I'm still okay to be the head coach or not. I've not lost a game yet, so the team you actually saw what we did today ... We have a good team that we're actually building, thought I'm not saying that this team will just gel together in eight months. It takes time for us to be a better team.” He has to wait and see if he'll be given that time.
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Interview with Bernard Hartze |
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A year after Africa's historic World Cup Empower-Sport Magazine details the innovative thoughts of Dancing Shoes, Bernard Hartze, on South Africa's failures and the need for a drastic solution to encourage all races to play the beautiful game. His spell in charge of the Western Cape Sports School's Vodacom League team was unsuccessful - the team was relegated. Hartze is currently out of football.
Editor.
Satish Sekar: When did you first start playing football?
Bernard Hartze: I started very late – maybe at the age of 12.
SCS: But you came through very,very quickly. Within three years you'd made your début?
BH: That's correct yes. We played what was termed occasional football in our early days, you know at school level. My first football club was at the age of 12.
SCS: But at 15 you were playing first team football at the top level in South Africa. How did that come about?
BH: Well I suppose I was an exception to other players. I filtered though very fast. I don't know. I had speed I suppose on my side and a lot of ball skills.
SCS: Some people [Boebie Williams Yazeed Lawrence, among others] say you were the best South African player they've ever seen. How do you feel about that and who are your best South African players?
BH: Well to be honest, it's truly an honour to think that you featured so high in this huge arena, but one of my best players was Albert Johanneson. He was truly one of our best footballers here and then there was quite a number of players here. In the Indian community they had Links Parriachi – brilliant footballer. We had Lichya Modli. There was quite a number of players if I can go back and these are players that didn't come to the fore like the others, but having said that, there was quite a number of good players in my day that I cannot tell you exactly who they are, but I know that these are some of them. Players that were also good was Kaiser N'tayunke the Kaiser Chiefs boss and Chipper Molloy. These were brilliant players.
SCS: How did you actually break through, given the constraints of apartheid in those days?
BH: It wasn't easy, because we so much wanted to be part of the international arena, which we never had that opportunity. In my day, before my time and became a matured player, they divided South Africa up into race groups and in soccer as well – competition. Like we have here the black group, the white group, the coloured group and the Asian group, so you can represent South Africa in that group and in my time when I was a matured player that fell away. We're not going to go with this, supporting apartheid, so I couldn't represent even the coloured community, which I was identified as, so then I went to Leeds United. I started at Sundowns and then I went to Leeds. While I was at Leeds I was told I had to have seven caps for my country for them to take me on; otherwise I had to serve more than a year of apprenticeship, which I though at the time I was too young to do that and I was 16 years old and homesick and for that I was to go home. Unlike Albert Johanneson he could represent South Africa on numerous occasions he did that for the coloured group only and I suppose that was accepted that he could play for Leeds.
SCS: You were also coloured. Why couldn't you play for the South African coloured team?
BH: By then it was abolished. When I was a matured player they no longer had that, so I couldn't represent my country even as a coloured player, so that fell away. So then they said to me at Leeds that I had to have seven caps in order for me to stay in England.
SCS: You then came back to South Africa and became involved I believe with the Orlando Pirates, then a ground-breaking non-racist team...
BH: Correct. I played for Orlando Pirates and we were quite a nice mixture of players and then after two years with them the government stepped in and said, 'No, if you are going to persist playing mixed football, then we will no longer give you the municipality stadiums,' and on those basis Pirates said to us: 'Look where are we going to play? We have to offload you guys.' At that time we were 5 or 6 coloured players in the squad of Orlando Pirates.
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Legend
He has the football world at his feet. Gnégnéri Yaya Touré has taken decisive steps to achieving legendary status with his new club, chipping in with two vital goals – the first to ease past Manchester United and give Manchester City the opportunity of silverware for the first time in 35 years. The second won the FA Cup.
£24m looks a steal now. Yaya has won the domestic double in Greece with Olympiacos and everything a club can win with the Catalan giants, Barcelona before moving to Eastlands. “All the players are important, Manchester City's Life President Bernard Halford said. “All the players are important. That's the manager's domain; he's picked the players that he wants. The club has got them and we're looking forward to going from strength to strength.”
Wanted
Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini wanted several players. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan's pockets were deep, spending £300m on players in three years, not to mention the huge wages bill, which includes Yaya's. “The manager is the person to ask about with respect about the players, but from the club's point of view is we spent a lot of money on players and all the players are important,” Halford said. “We're not saying 'he is more important than somebody else.'”
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