Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament

After watching the majority of the games at the Africa Cup of Nations I wanted to sit down and pick a team of the tournament. But damn it was hard. I couldn’t stand to leave anyone out. Who was the best left back; Timothee Atouba, Arthur Boka or Taye Taiwo? I couldn’t choose. How about forwards; Manucho, Flavio, Didier Drogba, Mohamed Zidan, Amr Zaky or Samuel Eto’o? There were others too. So, below I’ve done my very best to pick a team of the tournament, and mentioned everyone who was considered in each position. But if I’ve missed anyone out or if you think someone else deserves a mention then all suggestions and corrections are welcome.

GK: Essam Al-Hadary (Egypt)

Was outstanding in Egypt’s semi-final win over Cote d’Ivoire, denying Didier Drogba several times. Was also rock solid in the final. Carlos Kameni is worth a mention, his seemingly endless string of reflex saves in the final drawing this brilliant description from The Run of Play’s Brian: “It’s unreal. He looks like Iker Casillas crossed with Optimus Prime.” Angola’s Lamá also produced plenty of impressive reflex saves, but had a vampire like aversion to crosses. Though Al-Hadary wasn’t as flashy he provided a solid steady reliable dependable presence in goal for Egypt, which in the end is always more successful than a few flashy saves.

RB: Njitap Geremi (Cameroon)

Didn’t play exclusively at right back, spent a bit of time in midfield, but confounded any critics who suggested he was past it by marauding down the flanks like a Brazilian and supplying all kinds of crosses. Also consistently dangerous from free-kicks, scoring two great curlers and hitting the corner where goalpost meets crossbar once for good measure. Egypt’s Ahmed Fathy also put in several impressive displays at right wing back.

CB: Josep Yobo (Nigeria)

Nigeria were mostly dire going forward, but looked very tight at the back and most of that was down to Yobo’s rock-solid defensive displays. Also worth a mention is Tunisia’s Karim Haggui, who put in some powerful displays for the Carthage Eagles. I’m half convinced that Haggui’s early exit from Tunisia’s quarterfinal against Cameroon is the reason they eventually lost.

CB: Wael Gomaa(Egypt)

Was a bit rough sometimes but his tough guy defending got the job done. Not afraid to knock people down, but never did it in a clumsy way, which suggests Gomaa knew exactly what he was doing. The Egyptian Terry Butcher was how I came to think of Gomaa. Honourable mentions too to Rigobert Song who was inspiration for Cameroon until that horrible mistake that cost Cameroon the trophy, Gomaa’s defensive partners Shady Mohamed and Hani Said in Egypt’s back three, and the classy looking Rui Marques of Angola.

LB: Arthur Boka (Cote d’Ivoire)

This was tough, but Boka got up and down the left flank with his pace, keeping Cote d’Ivoire solid at the back while his left foot was a menace going forward. Taye Taiwo was similarly impressive for Nigeria, especially his thunderous free kicks, and Timothee Atouba was literally awesome for Cameroon with his size and strength and his big throw ins causing panic in the box. I chose Boka, but it could have been any of these three.

RM: Abdul Kader Keita (Cote d’Ivoire)

When he took off down Cote d’Ivoire’s right flank you knew the opposition were in trouble. A terrifying mixture of long-legged pace and unpredictability that must be a left-back’s nightmare. Add in his willingness to shoot from wide angles and his ability to actually pull it off and score when a cross looked far more sensible and that’s one hell of a player. Angola’s Za Kalenga was also a handful. The tiny fella was a bag of tricks down Angola’s right flank. Got hacked down numerous times but just kept on going, taking people on and delivering crosses. Ghana’s Laryea Kingston was going along nicely and putting in a steady supply of good crosses until a suspension saw him struggle to get back in the team. Geremi deserves a mention for the time he spent playing right mid, and again Ahmed Fathy’s displays as Egypt’s right wingback are worth a mention.

DM: Michael Essien (Ghana)

No Stephen Appiah for Ghana, so Essien stepped in and took control of central midfield by himself. Was constantly winning the ball and then making direct charges forward and making things happen, which should be the dictionary definition of “midfield dominance.” Also valiantly stepped back and did a great job in central defence in the absence of John Mensah. Egypt’s Hosny Abd Rabo runs Essien close. His midfield displays were all class and smart passing, plus some well-taken (and re-taken) penalties and some long range bombs. Cameroon’s teenager Alexandre Song looked mature beyond his years doing the defensive midfield job for Cameroon and was unlucky to only last 15 minutes of the final.

AM: Mohamed Aboutreika (Egypt)

Started slow and on the bench, but turns out “The Egyptian Zidane” was recovering from flu. As he played more and more the Aboutreika grew in influence until blossoming into the all-powerful creative force we saw in the final. Not ashamed to use the outside of his right foot almost exclusively. Finished the tournament with four goals from midfield, including the goal that won the final. Also impressive was Achilles Emana for Cameroon, but only when he was allowed to play there. When Otto Pfister shunted Emana outwide he didn’t look the same player, but centrally he looked a constant menace. Tunisia’s Yassine Chikhaoui came to life towards the end and showed some flashes of excellency, but I got the feeling he was capable of a lot more than he delivered. Guinea playmaker Pascal Feindouno also had his moments, and it was his excellent performance against Morocco that saw the Syli Nationale qualify for the quarterfinals. But his stupid sending off for kicking an opponent saw him suspended for two games and effectively ended Guinea’s chances of getting very far.

LM: Sulley Muntari (Ghana)

What a left foot. Delivered the 89th minute long range winner that kicked off the tournament as a spectacle, and his free kicks and corners were a constant menace. It’s not his fault that Ghana’s strikers weren’t quite up to it, because Muntari ensured the supply lines were open. Salomon Kalou played a mixture of left wing and up front and looked dangerous doing both. His dribbly goal against Nigeria was nothing short of brilliant and his performances seem to have done enough for Cote d’Ivoire fans to forgive his attempted to defection to the Netherlands in 2006. Tarik Sektioui looked incredible for Morocco in spells, especially in the 5-1 win over Namibia, but never quite delivered as Morocco fell apart

CF: Manucho (Angola)

Came into the tournament as “the guy Man Utd” signed. By the time he left, we all knew why they’d signed him. Manucho was a menace in the air providing flick ons and delivering diving headers, but also had all kinds of talent in his feet, not least the long-range effort against Egypt in the quarters. His tiny strike partner Flavio also deserves a mention, if only because a little man shouldn’t be winning that many headers.

CF: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)

Really hard to choose the second striker. Plenty of excellent performances in the tournament, but we have to give it to Eto’o because he finished as the tournament’s top scorer with five goals and as the new all-time leading scorer in the Africa Cup of Nations. Quite a few of those goals were penalties, but still, the way he dealt with all the focus was often impressive. For example, Ghana were all over Eto’o but the Barcelona man used that cleverly to play in the less-marked Alain Nkong to score the winner. Both Amr Zaky and Mohamed Zidan were superb for Egypt. Zaky finished with four goals and Zidan set up Aboutrieka for the winner in the final. Didier Drogba looked all class and bagged three goals, but couldn’t find a way past El-Hadary in the semi-final.

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