African Cup of Nations Preview: Senegal

There are now four days until African Cup of Nations kick off, and so juts four more teams to preview. We’ve met everyone in Groups A, B and C, so now we begin Group D with Senegal.

The Lions of Teranga are argably the best team never to have won the tournament, but can boast an array of French and English based talent, the only MLS player in the whole competition and a manager whose name is very difficult to type. So come on in and meet Senegal

Nickname: Lions of Teranga

Jersey: All white (home.) Green shirt, green shorts, yellow socks (away.)

Geography: “Senegal is situated on the western bulge of Africa and has borders with Mauritania to the north and northeast, Mali to the east, Guinea and Guinea Bissau to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It surrounds Gambia on three sides.” – The Africa Guide

History: Senegal have never won the African Cup of Nations, but made the semi-finals in 2006 and finished runners up in 2002. They qualified just once for the World Cup in 2002, but shocked the world by beating World Cup and European Championship holders France in the opening game and going all the way to quarter-finals.

Manager: Non-spellcheck friendly manager Henryk Kasperczak is Polish, but like many other managers at Ghana 2008, he has a long history in French club football and managing other African nations. On Kasperczak’s resume are Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Morocco, Mali.

FIFA World Ranking (December 2007): 38 (fifth best in tournament)

Expectations: Senegal won’t go into this expecting to win it, like maybe Nigeria or Côte d’Ivoire will. But they’re definitely a good outside bet, especially with their recent history (2000 – Quarterfinals, 2002 – Second place, 2004 – Quarterfinals, 2006 – Fourth place.)

Pros: Senegal have got all kinds of options in attack. El-Hadji Diouf is Bolton’s main threat now that Nicolas Anelka has moved on, and the creative striker seems to have matured recently, with a noticeable decline in the spitting incidents that gave him such a bad reputation. He even set up a charity for under-privileged kids recently. The 27 year old is now captain of Senegal and the team’s most capped player, and seems to revel in his role as talisman. He’ll be ably assisted in attacking duties by Henri Camara, who’s proven himself capable of scoring in both the English and Scottish Premier Leagues, without ever settling down at a club. He’s currently on loan from Wigan to West Ham, and is no doubt hurting his chances of a permanent move by playing in the tournament, so expect Camara to make the most of it. Diomansy Kamara isn’t far behind Diouf in international appearances and the leggy winger/striker is currently impressing at Fulham after a £6 million summer move. But the main source of Senegalese goals will likely be Marseille’s Mamadou Niang (more on him below.) Adding some solidity in midfield is Portsmouth’s Papa Bouba Diop. You don’t get a nickname like “The Wardrobe” without putting in some physical displays.

Cons: Defence has to be a bit of a worry. Abdoulaye Faye and Habib Beye are both solid enough players, but both have been part of Newcastle’s dreadful displays recently. Meanwhile fellow Premier League defender Ibrahima Sonko has been called up to the tournament squad having never played a game for Senegal, and is capable of occasional clumsiness like when he when he gave away a penalty and got sent off four minutes into Reading’s New Year’s Day game against Portsmouth.

Player to Watch: Mamadou Niang has scored goals wherever he’s gone in French football. He’s been in scorching form for Marseille this season and will be fully expected to keep that going in Ghana. Here’s a little taste of what he can do:

Team Blog? Yes. Massaër is following The Lions of Terange closely on the Senegal blog.

Fixtures: In Group D with Tunisia, South Africa, Angola
Senegal vs Tunisia (Tamale, January 23rd, 17:00)
Senegal vs Angola (Tamale, Janaury 27th, 17:00)
Senegal vs South Africa (Kumasi, January 31st, 17:00)

Squad:

- Keepers: Tony Sylva (Lille/FRA), Bouna Coundoul (Colorado Rapids/USA), Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye (Créteil/FRA)

-Defenders: Habib Béye (Newcastle/ANG), Ibrahima Faye (Troyes/FRA), Guirane Ndaw (Sochaux/FRA), Abdoulaye Diagne Faye (Newcasttle, ANG), Ibrahima Sonko (Reading/ANG), Mohamed Adama Sarr (Standard Liège/BEL), Souleymane Diawara (Bordeaux/FRA), Lamine Diatta (clubless)

- Midfielders: Bayal Sall (Saint-Etienne/FRA), Pape Bouba Diop (Portsmouth/ANG), Ousmane Ndoye (Académie Coimbra/POR), Malick Bâ (FC Bâle/POR), Pape Waïgo Ndiaye (Gênes/ITA), Babacar Guèye (Metz/FRA), Diomansy Kamara (Fulham/ANG), Frédéric Mendy (Bastia/FRA)

- Strikers: El Hadji Diouf (Bolton/ANG), Mamadou Niang (Marseille/ANG), Henri Camara (West Ham/ANG), Modou Sougou (Leiria/POR).

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