9 February, 2008

Sierra Express

Cameroon or Egypt, who will grab the African Cup of Nation?

Despite two recent losses to Egypt, Cameroon is confident ahead of Sunday's African Cup of Nations final with defender Rigobert Song already thinking about celebrating back home.

"We came here to win the final," Song said. "We made a promise to the people that we will parade this trophy through the streets of Yaounde. We will finish our mission and do it in style. Cameroon failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup when it was held 1-1 at home by Egypt in its final qualifier, and the Pharaohs beat Cameroon 4-2 in the opening Group C match at this year's tournament.
 

Cameroon, commiserates with Ghana

"Every cycle must come to an end," Cameroon coach Otto Pfister said. "And so tomorrow we will break this cycle. You can't compare one game with another. Egypt drew with Zambia and we thrashed Zambia 5-1. That doesn't mean we will beat Egypt. Each story is different in football." The Indomitable Lions will be looking to match Egypt's total of five African Cup titles when the teams meet at Ohene Djan stadium.

That looked unlikely when Cameroon trailed 3-0 to Egypt in Kumasi on Jan. 22. Cameroon's media was scathing about the players, focusing most of their vitriol on 31-year-old defender Rigobert Song.

The captain was labeled as too old and too slow. But that only served to motivate the former Liverpool player as he prepares for his 33rd African Cup match in his seventh tournament.  "It always makes me laugh when people talk about age and say that I am old," Song said. "Age in the game, does not mean old age. I am not injured and I am doing everything to continue this profession. It doesn't bother me." Song accepts that the Lions were out of form early in the tournament.

"Our first game was not up to standard," Song said. "But what is important is that we recovered well." Song is wary of Egypt's attacking threat after favorite Ivory Coast was crushed 4-1 in the semifinals.

"The Egyptian team has a lot of individuals and they can hurt you. They have a great attack and they have a lot of potential," Song said. "We made some individual mistakes in the first match, and we will not fall into the same trap." Cameroon will be missing Reading defender Andre Bikey. He was shown a red card in the final moments of the 1-0 semifinal win over host Ghana after he pushed over a medical official.

Pfister says Bikey reacted angrily because one of the medical officials had tried to forcefully drag injured midfielder Alexandre Song Bilong onto a stretcher against the wishes of Cameroon's doctor. Pfister said that as Bikey tried to intervene on Song's behalf, another medical official jerked his arm back, which is why Bikey responded by shoving him over. Song Bilong did not train on Saturday, but Pfister says he has fully recovered from a bruised knee, and that all of Cameroon's players are fully fit.

Pfister has been largely unhappy during the tournament, complaining about a range of factors from the team's training facilities to the late arrival of luggage and the lack of a good chef. The German had a couple more gripes on Saturday. First, he ordered the air conditioning to be turned off before the players arrived at the press conference, and he then argued with a Cameroon official who insisted Pfister change out of his T-shirt into something more appropriate.

The 70-year-old Pfister has yet to win the African Cup after losing to Ivory Coast as coach of Ghana in 1992.

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