Zambia wins African Cup of Nations in a Tense and Spectacular Penalty Shootout

The Chipolopolo won the AFCON 2012 in Gabon when they edged out Ivory Coast 8 – 7 on post match penalties to lift the cup for the first time. It was a befitting tribute to their team which perished off Gabon coast in 1993  plane clash.

Chipolopolo Captain Chris Katongo celebrates with team mates.

They beat the tournament favorites Ivory Coast to lift the title after 14 kicks were converted, Kolo Toure and Gervinho failed to find the target for the Elephants as Zambia's Rainford Kalaba also blazed over. 

Stoppila Sunzu found the top corner to complete an amazing 8-7 victory. It was a heartbreaking end for Ivorian skipper Didier Drogba, who missed a spot-kick in normal time. 

This means the wait goes on for an Ivory Coast team complete with many Premier League and European stars, with the country losing the 2006 final to Egypt in the same way and last winning the title 20 years ago. 

For the Chipolopolo, who have already been runners-up twice, it concluded a tournament where they were inspired by the loss of the 1993 Zambian team after a plane crash close to the venue of the final in Libreville. 

The last time the southern African country reached the final in 1994, it was just a year after 18 Zambian team members died as they took off from the Gabonese capital.

Zambia Captain Christopher Katongo in action.

In winning the shoot-out, they showed a steely determination to beat their supposedly more illustrious opponents with a performance that was built on an indefatigable spirit.

Zambia conceded just three goals en route to the final and Ivory Coast none, and the game was never likely to be an open contest. And as the game progressed, the belief in the Ivorian team seemed to shrink. 

Buoyed by their vocal coach Herve Renard, Zambia always posed a threat from their well-worked set-pieces and it certainly appeared that fate was on their side when Chelsea forward Drogba missed from the spot. He however made amends for his earlier miss by scoring his team's fifth kick, after Souleymane Bamba was fortunate to earn a second chance having missed his first effort.

Sunzu made the most of misses by Kolo Toure and Gervinho, sparking wild celebrations for a well deserved triumph.

Zambia coach Herve Renard dedicated his team’s title triumph at the 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations to Chipolopolo legend Kalusha Bwalya for giving him the opportunity to handle the team.

Zambia coach Herve Renard is carried shoulder high by the celebratory team.

Kalusha, considered the finest Zambian footballer of all time heads the country’s football federation and the Frenchman describes the feat as a thank you package for the impact in his coaching career. Incidentally, Kalusha escaped the April 28, 1993 air plane crash involving the Zambian team in Gabon on their way to Senegal for a World Cup qualifier because he had to fly to Dakar from his European base. 

“He is the best Zambian player of the last century and he escaped the plane crash. He was criticized for giving me the second chance. I dedicate the victory to him because he gave me the opportunity to coach. I also thank Claude Le Roy for giving me my first experience in Africa as assistant coach in 2008 with Ghana.”

Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Bwalya, in turn, praised the French coach, and immediately looking ahead to the upcoming Nations Cup 2013 and World Cup 2014 qualifiers, said Renard "can stay as long as he wants".

Ivorian coach Zahoui proud in defeat

Coach Francois Zahoui said Ivory Coast can return home with their heads held high despite their defeat in Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations final. 

"We didn't expect such a challenging final," said the Ivorian.

"We go back to Abidjan with not too much shame. I think we played a good game. I congratulate Zambia." 

The Ivorians' misery was compounded by knowing that they had gone through the entire tournament without conceding a goal. 

"It's difficult when you take part in a competition and you don't concede any goals and score nine goals,'' Zahoui said.

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Zambia's Chipolopolo meet Ghana as Mali face Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Semi-finals.

The Orange Africa Cup of nations has come full circle now and we are in the semi final/half final stage.

Zambia face Ghana in the first semi final which will be played in Bata at  16:00 GMT

 

Zambia’s Chipolopolo has had a great journey so far. They have beaten Africa football giants Senegal 2 – 1 in the opening group stage match. Emmanuel Mayuka and Rainford Kalaba got Zambia's first half goals, with Senegal substitute Dame Ndoye pulling one back in the second half. They drew 2 – 2 with Libya in their other match and in the final group A match, the Chipolopolo beat the co-host Equatorial Guinea  1 – 0 to finish top of the group with seven points. In the quarter finals, they dispatched Sudan 3 – 0. I believe Zambia is the team to watch so far since they will be the underdogs facing the Black Stars of Ghana.

Chris Katongo, the Chipolopolo’s Captain will be the main man. He has scored key goals and works had for his side and today will be no different.

Ghana has had a good run in the competition which I would say was expected. They finished top of group D after beating Botswana by one goal to nil, Mali two goals to nil and had a one all draw in their final match against Guinea. The Black stars, who are one of the favorites to win the Trophy beat Tunisia 2 – 1 in quarter finals to book a place in the semi final.

 Ghana’s captain John Mensah will be the key man for Ghana with his experience which they will really need against a dangerous Zambia side bearing in mind some key players like Asamoah Gyan have not been in top for in this competition.

Mali face Ivory Coast in the second semi final which will be played in Libreville at 19:00 GMT

It will be a very huge mountain for Mali to climb since Ivory Coast has won all their matches in this competition. They had a slow start when they beat Sudan 1 – 0 in their first game but they have found great form since then. They thrashed their West African neighbours Burkina Faso 2 – 0 and dispatched Angola with the same margin to finish on top of group B with maximum points (9). In the quarter finals they beat co-hosts Equatorial Guinea by three goals to nil. Didier Drogba missed a penalty but made amends by scoring an incredible goal which he followed with a stunning header to make it two nil. Manchester City’s Yaya Toure struck a beautiful freekick to make it three nil and end the co-hosts participation in the competition.

Mali on the other had haven’t had an impressive run. They beat Guinea by one goal to nil in their opening match of the campaign. In the second match, they were beaten by Ghana by two goals to nil and in their final game, they beat Botswana by two goals to one. They were lucky that Ghana had a draw with Guinea in their final and that’s how they got through as runners-up of group D. In the quarter finals, they faced co-hosts Gabon. They battled to a one all draw after extra time and they won 5 – 4 from spot kicks.

 They have a huge task ahead of them since they don’t have a good record against their rivals Ivory Coast. They have beaten them only once in twenty one meetings.

 

Barcelona’s Seydou Keita will be the man to watch though I don’t he alone will get them through a star riddled Ivory Coast side. But all this will be know at the final whistle, they might cause an upset.

MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!

Arsenal hits seven past Blackburn as Chelsea is held by Man U at the Bridge!

Arsenal reasserted themselves as serious top four contenders with a thumping victory against a miserable Blackburn Rovers on Saturday the 4^th of Feb, 2012 as Wolves climbed out of the relegation zone with a well deserved win against Queens Park Rangers in an exciting weekend in the Barclays Premier League.

The Gunners hit seven past Blackburn at the emirates with the Arsenal Captain, Robin Van Persie scoring a hartrick. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a brace, Mikel Arteta and Thiery Henry scored one each to make a total of seven goals. The win which was Arsenal’s biggest at the Emirates moved them from seven to fifth position. Their previous record was also againt Blackburn, when they beat them 6 – 2. It was a game of contrast as compared with Arsenal’s previous home games. The Walcot didn’t score on this day but he was impressive almost perfect I must say as he provided three assists. He provided the first two assist to RVP which enableb Van Persie to score a brace -  the first two goals and he also gave an assist to the Ox for his second goal and the fifth of the game.

Blackburn had responded to arsenal’s early lead (82 seconds) in the31st minute through a neatly hit freekick from 18 yards by Morten Gamst Pedersen. From there, it was all downhill for the home side. Rocisky got a rare start while Ramsey warmed the bench and it turned out to be the best decision that Arsene Wenger has made in a very long time because the team kept possession and attacked with pace which has been missing since Ramsey has always looked tired and lacking ideas going forward. I know that Arsenal fans hope that Rocisky starts most games which will be crucial them to reclaim top four spot.

Wolves battled QPR to win 2 – 1 which moved them one point above relegation. Substitute Kevin Doyle scored the winner and provided an assist as Wolves came from behind to beat 10-man QPR and record their first win in 12 games. QPR had taken the lead when debutant Bobby Zamora drove in before Djibril Cisse saw red after he raised a hand to the neck of defender Roger Johnson.

Newcastle beat Aston Villa 2 – 1 on Sunday thanks to the lethal boys from Senegal; Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse. Cisse marked his Newcastle debut with a stunning strike that helped Newcatle beat Villa to move back up to fifth place in the table and leapfrog Arsenal.

Norwich secured their fifth home league win of the season with a 2 nil victory over Bolton, despite losing both centre-halves to first-half injuries.

Manchester city maintained their grip at the top and opened a three pint lead when they beat Fulham by three goals to nil. Sergio Aguero opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Adam Johnson had been tripped by Chris Baird. 

City's lead was then doubled when Baird turned Johnson's cross-shot beyond his own goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Dzeko fired in the third gaol to put the game beyond Fulham. This ensured City maintained their 100% home record in the premier league.

City rivals Manchester United were in action against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. They staged a stirring fightback from three goals down to earn a point against Chelsea. 

Jonny Evans's own goal gave Chelsea an interval lead against the run of play before a stunning volley from Juan Mata 24 seconds after the restart and David Luiz's deflected header appeared to give Chelsea an unassailable advantage. United's hopes were then revived by two penalties awarded by referee Howard Webb - both converted by Wayne Rooney - before substitute Javier Hernandez's header six minutes from time gave them a point.

Livepool played to a goaless draw with Tottenham on Monday night. This mearnt each team gained just one point and thus Liverpool remained in position seven. Luis Suarez's return did little to inspire Liverpool. The Uruguayan returned as a second-half substitute to a rapturous reception after serving an eight-game suspension imposed by the Football Association for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

Below are all the results of a busy weekend in the EPL

Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham     Mon 6 Feb

Newcastle 2-1 Aston Villa  Sun 5 Feb

Chelsea 3-3 Man Utd         Sun 5 Feb

Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn        Sat 4 Feb

Norwich 2-0 Bolton           Sat 4 Feb

QPR 1-2 Wolves               Sat 4 Feb

Stoke 0-1 Sunderland        Sat 4 Feb

West Brom 1-2 Swansea   Sat 4 Feb

Wigan 1-1 Everton            Sat 4 Feb

Man City 3-0 Fulham        Sat 4 Feb

Aston Villa 2-2 QPR         Wed 1 Feb

Blackburn 0-2 Newcastle  Wed 1 Feb

Bolton 0-0 Arsenal            Wed 1 Feb

Fulham 1-1 West Brom     Wed 1 Feb

Sunderland 3-0 Norwich   Wed 1 Feb

Senegal Knocked out of Africa Cup of Nations by co-hosts Equatorial Guinea

As if being beaten in their opening match by Zambia’s Chipolopolo was not enough, the much fancied Teranga Lions were convincingly beaten by the co-hosts Equaorial Guinea by two goals to one, making their last match in group A, against Libya just a formality.

Cisse scored 35 goals in 95 league games for Metz before joining Freiburg

Despite having a unrivalled striking power in the likes of Newcastle United and English premier league second top scorer Demba Ba and Demba Cisse, whom they bought from Bundesliga club Freiburg on 17^th of this month and who is to join the club in a five-and-a-half-year deal, they could not beat the crafty Zambians in the opening match.

They could not master the killer finish in their match against Guinea who had several motivators for winning the match. The Equatorial Guinea team was awarded $1 million for winning their match against Libya and the striker who scored the goal $ 20,000. There was a promise of a similar amount for every match that they won and $ 20,000 to every player who scored a goal from the son of the President.

But it would be harsh to say that their only motivation is money. They are playing at home as the co-hosts and therefore have great support from the home fans and having qualified for the first time, are determined to make history.

Newcastle fans will be smiling all the way to the stadium including Manager Alan Pardew because the two strikers could be back in time for their game against Blackburn.

There is no telling what the combined force of the two will do for their team. Demba Ba has scored 15 league goals so far and Cisse has a great goal scoring record having netted 9 goals in 15 games this season. He will wear the number nine shirt, formerly won by legendary Newcastle and top scorer, Alan Shearer.

Too sad Senegal didn’t live to the expectations of many who thought that they would go ahead and win the African Nations Cup but it’s quite an opposite feeling if you are a Newcastle United fan.