African Cup of Nations Preview: Mali

January 9th, 2008 | by: Daryl | Comments(3)

The countdown continues and we are now 11 days and 11 team previews away from African Cup of Nations kick off. After getting to know all of Group A, we began Group B yesterday with Benin, and continue profiling the “Group of Death” with Mali.

Mali have either a brilliant or abysmal African Cup of Nations record, depending on how you look at it, three La Liga superstars, one Premier League midfielder, one incredibly tall striker and one (if you believe everything you read on Wikipedia) impossibly small coach. Come on in and meet Mali.

Nickname: The Eagles (like the band, but less annoying.)

Jersey: Green jersey, yellow shorts, red socks (home.) All white (away.)

Geography: “Mali is a landlocked country situated in West Africa. It has land borders with Algeria in the north and northwest, Niger in the east and south, Burkina Fasso and Ivory Coast in the south, Guinea to the southwest, Senegal to the west and Mauritania to the west and northwest.” – The Africa Guide

History: Mali has an odd African Cup of Nations history. The team rarely manages to qualify for the tournament, yet always makes the most of it once through the front door. Mali have actually only qualified four time for the tournament, but made the final in 1972 and the semi-finals in 1994, 2002 and 2004.

Mali have never qualified for a World Cup.

Manager: Frenchman Jean-François Jodar has a background in youth development, coaching both French and United Arab Emirates youth teams and the United Arab Emirates senior side. According to Wikipedia, he is 0.0 meters tall.

FIFA World Ranking (December 2007): 46

Expectations: Malians are used to seeing their team go far at the AFCON (see above) and with the star names in the squad (see below) that could definitely happen again if they get out of Group B. But it’s called the Group of Death for a reason, so Mali will need a big result against either Nigeria or Cote d’Ivoire or go home from the AFCON early for the first time ever.

Pros: Mali have three big names from La Liga: Fredi Kanouté (Sevilla, pictured) Seydou Keita (also Sevilla) and Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid,) plus one from the Premier League: Momo Sissoko. Kanoute has proven he can find the net in the Premier League (with both West Ham and Spurs) and La Liga, and could be described as Thierry Henry-esque, if Kanouté wasn’t outperforming the Frenchman in Spain this season. Kanouté will likely pair up with big 1.9 meter (6′3″) target man Dramane Traoré of Lokomotiv Moscow, which should be quite a partnership. Defensive midfielder Diarra has been described as “the lungs of the team” at Real Madrid and is probably the man who finally filled Claude Makelele’s tackling shoes, while fellow midfielder Keita looks like a classy Rolls Royce of a center mid, more than capable of arriving in the box to score with his head. His transfer from Racing Lens to Sevilla prompted one mist-eyed Lens fans to put together this farewell montage, titled simply “Merci Seydou!”

Cons: There’s decent talent beyond the big names, but it’s not at the same level. Notably, there are no superstars in defence (although Adama Coulibaly and Cédric Kanté both earn their living in Ligue 1.) This would be fine in any other group, but when facing teams with real depth like Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, Mali will need the big players to be on their game and the lesser known players to step it up a notch. Momo Sissoko’s horrendously poor form for Liverpool will be a concern, although it’s equally possible he’ll use the AFCON as a shop window and play out of his skin to earn a move away from Anfield.

Player to Watch: All eyes will be on Fredi Kanouté, the joint top scorer at the 2004 AFCON. Kanouté is 30 years old now and probably at the peak of his career. Experienced but still strong, fit and fast, so expect him to lead from the front for The Eagles.

Here are a few of his goals for Sevilla, interspersed with a fan waving a Mali flag…

…and a brilliant goal he scored for Tottenham in the Premier League.

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

*if both teams need a result this could be some game

Team Blog? There is now. Brad will be following The Eagles on the Mali blog.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Soumbeyla Diakite (Stade Malien), Mahamadou Sidibe (PAS Giannina, Greece), Oumar Sissoko (Metz)

Defenders: Adama Coulibaly (Lens), Moussa Coulibaly (Mouloudia Alger), Souleymane Diamoutene (Lecce), Cedric Kante (Nice), Boubacar Sidiki Kone (Maghreb Fes), Amadou Sidibe (Djoliba), Adama Tamboura (Helsingborg), Sammy Traore (AJ Auxerre)

Midfielders: Souleymane Dembele (Djoliba), Drissa Diakite (Nice), Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid), Seydou Keita (Sevilla), Djibril Sidibe (Chateauroux), Momo Sissoko (Liverpool), Bassala Toure (Levadiakos, Greece)

Forwards: Mamadou Diallo (Qatar SC), Mahamadou Dissa (Roeselare, Belgium), Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla), Mamady Sidibe (Stoke City), Dramane Traore (Lokomotiv Moscow).