African Cup of Nations Preview: Benin

January 8th, 2008 | by: Daryl | Comments(4)

There are now 12 days until Ghana 2008 kicks off and the African Cup of Nations goodness begins. That means there are 12 more teams to preview. We’ve already met Group A so guess what’s next. Exactly.

The first team we’re looking at in Group B is Benin. They’ve got a coach who only just started, a captain that Ian Rush has no respect for and a defender who thought he was retired until last week. So come on in and meet Benin.

Nickname: The Squirrels

Jersey: All yellow (home.) All white (away.)

Geography: “Benin is situated in West Africa on the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea. It has land borders to the north by Niger, on the west by Togo, and on the northwest by Burkina Faso.” – The Africa Guide

History: Formerly known as Dahomey, Benin have just one previous African Cup of Nations appearance. In 2004 Benin finished bottom of Group D with three defeats to South Africa (2-0) Morocco (4-0) and Nigeria (2-1.) Moussa Latoundji’s 90th minute consolation goal against Nigeria ensured Benin didn’t return home without scoring, but Ghana 2008 will see the team go looking for their first point.

Benin qualified for Ghana 2008 by finishing two points ahead of Togo in Group Nine, making them Arsene Wenger’s favourite team in the whole world.

Benin have never qualified for a World Cup.

Manager: German Reinhard Fabisch has had three spells in charge of Kenya, as well as a spell as manager of Zimbabwe. Fabisch accepted the offer to coach Benin only last month, after the FBF’s long search for an experienced foreign mentor. Their initial favourite for the job was Philippe Troussier, so it’s fair to say Fabisch wasn’t Benin’s first choice.

FIFA World Ranking (December 2007): 97

Expectations: Not good. With Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Mali all in Group B, it’s been (unoriginally) dubbed “The Group of Death.” But that only means that one of the aforementioned big three won’t be going through. Benin’s failure to qualify is already taken for granted and they probably know it. So to get a draw and their first AFCON point will be a massive achievement, but an equally massive ask.

Pros: Benin have plenty of the 2004 AFCON squad returning for another crack (including Alain Gaspoz, more on him below.) They can’t boast the big names of any of their Group B rivals but have a few players at middling European teams like midfielder Stephane Sessegnon at Le Mans in France (big thanks to Sam for pointing Sessegnon out, video below,) defender Noel Seka at FC Fyn in Denmark, young midfielder Oscar Olou (pictured) who plays for FC Ruen in France. Meanwhile captain Romauld Boco who plays for English League Two side Accrington Stanley.

Cons: Though playing for these clubs is impressive (I’d trade body parts to be good enough to play for any of those teams) it won’t impress Kolo Toure, Joseph Yobo or Fedi Kanoute. And unfortunately for Romauld Boco, while Accrington Stanley are now a professional team, Ian Rush and two little Scouse kids made them an irreversible laughing stock in England with this commercial:

Exactly!

Player to Watch: Without a doubt the player to keep an eye on is Swiss-born half-Beninois Alain Gaspoz. The 37 year old central defender was a key member of the 2004 squad, but had retired from professional football last summer. But that didn’t phase Fabisch, who named Gaspoz to his provisional squad anyway. Will be fascinating to see how Gaspoz copes in his final fling with the big time, squaring up to the likes of Didier Drogba and Obafemi Martins.

But if seeing an old man getting embarrassed by some of the world’s best centre forwards isn’t your thing you might enjoy the more creative talents of Stéphane Sessegnon. Here he is scoring a sweet sweet goal for Le Mans against Toulouse in Ligue 1.

Team Blog? No. But if you want to blog about The Squirells, get in touch and we can make it happen.

Fixtures: In Group B with Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Mali
Benin vs Mali (Sekondi, January 21st, 19:30)
Benin vs Cote d’Ivoire (Sekondi, January 25th, 17:00)
Benin vs Nigeria (Sekondi, January 29th, 17:00)

Squad: Provisional 26-man squad.

Goalkeepers: Valere Amoussou (Mogas 90), Rachad Chitou (Wikki Tourists, Nigeria), Yoann Djidonou (Red Star, France)

Defenders: Abdul Adenon (ASEC Abidjan, Ivory Coast), Anicet Adjamossi (Creteil, France), Damien Chrystosome (Casale, Italy), Mathieu Edjekpan (Mesagne, Italy), Alain Gaspoz (FC Bagnes, Switzerland), Noel Seka (FC Fyn, Denmark), Bio Ai Traore (Pantheres Djougou), Safradine Traore (Buffles Borgou)

Midfielders: Jocelyn Ahoueya (FC Sion, Switzerland), Romauld Boco (Accrington Stanley, England), Djiman Koukou (Soleil FC), Mouri Ogunbiyi (Etoile Sahel, Tunisia), Jonas Oketola (unattached), Oscar Olou (FC Rouen. France), Stephane Sessegnon (Le Mans, France), Sosthene Soglo (Energie FC), Seidath Tchomogo (East Riffa. Bahrain)

Forwards: Wisdom Aka (MSK Zilina, Slovakia), Abou Maiga (Creteil, France), Wassiou Oladipikpo (JS Kabylie, Algeria), Razak Omotoyossi (Helsingborg, Sweden), Abdoulaye Ouzerou (Buffles Borgou), Oumar Tchomogo (Portimonense, Portugal).