Africa Cup of Nations 2012

[joew2005]

Semi-Finals on 8 Feb 2012
Zambia(16) 1-0 Ghana(2)
Côte d'Ivoire(1) 1-0 Mali(15)


3rd place play-off - 11 February 2012
Ghana(2) 0-2 Mali(15)

Final - 12 Feb 2012
Zambia(16) 0-0 Côte d'Ivoire(1)

Goal Scorers
3 goals -
Angola(Manucho)
Côte d'Ivoire(Didier Drogba)
Gabon(Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang)
Mali(Cheick Diabaté)
Morocco(Houssine Kharja)
Zambia(Christopher Katongo & Emmanuel Mayuka)

2 goals -
Ghana(John Mensah & André Ayew)
Guinea(Sadio Diallo & Abdoul Camara,)
Libya(Ahmed Saad Osman & Ihaab Boussefi)
Sudan(Mohammed Ahmed Bashir & Mudather El Tahir)
Tunisia(Youssef Msakni)

1 goal -
Angola(Mateus Galiano da Costa)
Botswana(Mogakolodi Ngele,Dipsy Selolwane & Issiaka Ouédraogo)
Burkina Faso(Alain Traoré)
Côte d'Ivoire(Emmanuel Eboué, Wilfried Bony, Yaya Touré, Gervinho
& Salomon Kalou)
Equatorial Guinea(Javier Balboa, Iban Iyanga & Kily Álvarez)
Gabon(Daniel Cousin, Bruno Mbanangoyé Zita, Eric Mouloungui & Stéphane N'Guéma)
Ghana(Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu & Asamoah Gyan)
Guinea(Ibrahima Traoré, Mamadou Bah & Naby Soumah)
Mali(Garra Dembélé, Seydou Keita & Bakaye Traoré)
Morocco(Younès Belhanda)
Niger(William Tonji N'Gounou)
Senegal(Deme N'Diaye, Dame N'Doye & Moussa Sow)
Tunisia(Saber Khelifa, Khaled Korbi & Issam Jemâa)
Zambia(Rainford Kalaba, Stophira Sunzu & James Chamanga)

Own goal -
Burkina Faso(Bakary Koné)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Africa_Cup_of_Nations

[joew2005]

Team statistics
1) Zambia(16) P6 W4 D2 L0 GF9 GA3 GD+6 Pts=14
2) Côte d'Ivoire(1) P6 W5 D1 L0 GF9 GA0 GD+9 Pts=16
3) Mali(15) P6 W3 D1 L2 GF6 GA5 GD+1 Pts=12
4) Ghana(2) P6 W3 D1 L2 GF5 GA5 GD0 Pts=10
5) Gabon(20) P4 W3 D0 L1 GF7 GA3 GD+4 Pts=9
6) Tunisia(10) P4 W2 D0 L2 GF5 GA4 GD+1 Pts=6
7) Equatorial Guinea(41) P4 W2 D0 L2 GF3 GA5 GD-2 Pts=6
8) Sudan(30) P4 W1 D1 L2 GF4 GA7 GD-3 Pts=4
9) Guinea(17) P3 W1 D1 L1 GF7 GA3 GD+4 Pts=4
10) Libya(13) P3 W1 D1 L1 GF4 GA4 GD0 Pts=4
11) Angola(19) P3 W1 D1 L1 GF4 GA5 GD-1 Pts=4
12) Morocco(12) P3 W1 D0 L2 GF4 GA5 GD-1 Pts=3
13) Senegal(5) P3 W0 D0 L3 GF3 GA6 GD−3 Pts=0
14) Burkina Faso(14) P3 W0 D0 L3 GF2 GA6 GD-4 Pts=0
15) Niger(22) P3 W0 D0 L3 GF1 GA5 GD-4 Pts=0
16) Botswana(21) P3 W0 D0 L3 GF2 GA9 GD-7 Pts=0

[joew2005]

Past Winners-
1957 - Egypt(Winner), Ethiopia(Runner Up) & Sudan(3rd placed)
1959 - United Arab Republic(Winner), Sudan(Runner Up) & Ethiopia(3rd placed)
1962 - Ethiopia(Winner), United Arab Republic(Runner Up) & Tunisia(3rd placed)
1963 - Ghana(Winner), Sudan(Runner Up) & United Arab Republic(3rd placed)
1965 - Ghana(Winner), Tunisia(Runner Up) & Côte d'Ivoire(3rd placed)
1968 - Congo DR(Winner), Ghana(Runner Up) & Côte d'Ivoire(3rd placed)
1970 - Sudan(Winner), Ghana(Runner Up) & United Arab Republic(3rd placed)
1972 - Congo(Winner), Mali(Runner Up) & Cameroon(3rd placed)
1974 - Zaire(Winner), Zambia(Runner Up) & Egypt(3rd placed)
1976 - Morocco(Winner), Guinea(Runner Up) & Nigeria(3rd placed)
1978 - Ghana(Winner), Uganda(Runner Up) & Nigeria(3rd placed)
1980 - Nigeria(Winner), Algeria(Runner Up) & Morocco(3rd placed)
1982 - Ghana(Winner), Libya(Runner Up) & Zambia(3rd placed)
1984 - Cameroon(Winner), Nigeria(Runner Up) & Algeria(3rd placed)
1986 - Egypt(Winner), Cameroon(Runner Up) & Côte d'Ivoire(3rd placed)
1988 - Cameroon(Winner), Nigeria(Runner Up) & Algeria(3rd placed)
1990 - Algeria(Winner), Nigeria(Runner Up) & Zambia(3rd placed)
1992 - Côte d'Ivoire(Winner), Ghana(Runner Up) & Nigeria(3rd placed)
1994 - Nigeria(Winner), Zambia(Runner Up) & Côte d'Ivoire(3rd placed)
1996 - South Africa(Winner), Tunisia(Runner Up) & Zambia(3rd placed)
1998 - Egypt(Winner), South Africa(Runner Up) & Congo DR(3rd placed)
2000 - Cameroon(Winner), Nigeria(Runner Up) & South Africa(3rd placed)
2002 - Cameroon(Winner), Senegal(Runner Up) & Nigeria(3rd placed)
2004 - Tunisia(Winner), Morocco(Runner Up) & Nigeria(3rd placed)
2006 - Egypt(Winner), Côte d'Ivoire(Runner Up) & Nigeria(3rd placed)
2008 - Egypt(Winner), Cameroon(Runner Up) & Ghana(3rd placed)
2010 - Egypt(Winner), Ghana(Runner Up) & Nigeria(3rd placed)
2012 - Zambia(Winner), Côte d'Ivoire(Runner Up) & Mali(3rd placed)

6 times Winner - Egypt(1957, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008 & 2010),
4 times Winner - Ghana(1963, 1965, 1978 & 1982) & Cameroon(1984, 1988, 2000 & 2002)
2 times Winner - Nigeria(1980 & 1994)
1 time Winner - United Arab Republic(1959), Ethiopia(1962), Congo DR(1968), Sudan(1970), Congo(1972), Zaire(1974), Morocco(1976), Algeria(1990), Côte d'Ivoire(1992), South Africa(1996), Tunisia(2004) & Zambia(2012).

[joew2005]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/130220...ebrations.html

African Cup of Nations - Zambia coach carries injured player to celebrations
Mon, 13 Feb

There was hardly a dry eye in the house on Sunday when Zambia won the African Cup of Nations in Gabon, almost 20 years aft their national team was killed in an air crash in the country.

But a moment of humanity & thoughtfulness fr coach Herve Renard heightened those feelings still further.

Zambia beat Ivory Coast in an epic penalty shoot-out - & in the excitement of the victory the entire squad rushed on 2 the pitch 2 celebrate in a huge circle, the players' arms around each other.

1 man was left out of those celebrations, however: Joseph Musonda, 1 of the key members of the team, who had limped off the pitch 11 mins in2 the final with an ankle injury. He had been left bandaged up & unable 2 walk.

Frenchman Renard refused 2 let 1 of his chief lieutenants miss out on the fun: he picked up the veteran midfielder & ran on 2 the pitch 2 deliver him 2 his team-mates so tat he could revel in his nation's moment of glory.

The heart-warming scene prompted memories of Derek Redmond being helped over the line by his father @ the 1992 Olympics, or US gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi carrying Kerri Strug on to the podium 2 collect gold 4 years later.

Aft the match, Renard paid tribute 2 the players who died in the 1993 disaster which claimed 18 of Zambia's international squad.

Renard called the 18 a "silent force", while victorious players explained the importance of honouring their dead compatriots, whose plane went down not far fr the Libreville stadium where Zambia won the African Nations Cup against the much-fancied Ivory Coast side which included Premier League stars such as Didier Drogba.

"It was very emotional & the memory of the players who died here played a big part," said Zambia midfielder Isaac Chansa.

"1s they said the final would be held in Gabon, we said 'tis is ours tis time around'. It was written somewhere, u can see tat fr the miss of Drogba."

Ivory Coast's captain squandered a penalty 20 mins fr time 2 allow Zambia 2 force the game in2 extra time & go on 2 win 8-7 on penalties @ the end of a thrilling encounter.

"The players who were killed in the plane crash in Gabon were wat was behind us & wat was driving us thru the tournament," said goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.

"We did not 1 2 go home empty-handed."

Zambia's victorious squad left in a chartered plane 4 home on Monday, departing fr the same airport where a Zambia air force plane had refuelled on its way 2 Senegal 4 a World Cup qualifier in March 1993, & then exploded shortly aft take off.

The 18 players killed made up a highly-rated national squad, with high hopes of qualifying 4 the 1994 World Cup, although leading forward Kalusha Bwalya was not on the flight as he was scheduled 2 join the team in Senegal aft travelling directly fr his Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.

Bwalya subsequently became the symbol of the rebuilding of Zambian football & is now the national football association president. His influence was evident as the players mobbed him on Sunday when he joined them in the post-match celebrations.

"There is no 1 who feels it more strongly than Kalusha," said Renard. "He has lived thru it all these years."

Bwalya had spoken briefly 2 his players in the dressing-room aft Sunday's win but hid his emotion, Chansa said. "But we knew wat he was feeling."

Renard said the symbolism of the final in Gabon had proved a powerful spur.

"Perhaps we were lucky in the draw when all our matches were scheduled in Equatorial Guinea," Renard said of the neighbouring country tat co-hosted the Nations Cup.

"The only way we could hv got 2 Gabon was 2 play in the final & tis focused the players. They wanted 2 come & honour their fallen comrades."

Just b4 leaving Libreville, winger Felix Katongo said: "We wanted 2 win the trophy 2 make the Zambian people proud & so those who died may rest in peace. Now their souls r @ peace."

[joew2005]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns...riumph?cc=4716

From tragedy to triumph
February 28, 2012

Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene was 8 years old in 1993 when the Zambian Air Force plane carrying the national team 2 their World Cup qualifier in Dakar crashed, killing wat was then the golden generation of Zambian footballers. He was more than 10 years away fr making his international debut & 19 fr being part of a new golden generation, who won the African Nations Cup & dedicated their victory 2 the memory of their fallen countrymen.

Most of his current team-mates were of a similar age, 2 young 2 comprehend exactly wat had happened off the coast of Gabon but old enough 2 know tat it was something tat would haunt the country 4 many years. The horror of tat April day only fully sunk in when they accompanied their football association president, Kalusha Bwalya, who escaped death becos he was on a different flight fr PSV in the Netherlands, 2 the beach closest 2 the crash. There it all became chillingly real.

"Most of us were very young when the crash happened. So it was good 4 us 2 go & see somewhere near where it had all happened," Mweene told ESPNsoccernet. "Something happened there. We knew we had 2 push ourselves & decided we would be playing 4 tat team & we did it. Now their souls will rest in peace."

Zambia's win over Ivory Coast in the final of tis year's ANC saw them claim their 1st continental cup & complete a journey tat started with tragedy & ended in triumph. Beyond the fairytale though, is a story of grit & hard work tat finally paid off 4 a team of foot-soldiers with few superstars.

Mweene is 1 of the most committed of the worker bees, having been Zambia's 1st choice goalkeeper since 2004. He has played in 4 previous ANC competitions, each time seeing his team get closer but still 2 far fr the prize, & played an important part in the gradual improvement over the years. "In each tournament, we learnt something & soon we realised tat we would hv 2 do something different if we wanted 2 win," he said.

The 'something different' was not a technical thing. Zambia had a solid defence, a creative midfield & aggressive strikers. There were few big-names in their line-up (if big names are judged by who has a name recognised in Europe) but enough strength in the collective 2 make up 4 tat. The difference came in their attitudes. "There was more dedication & more team spirit," Mweene said.

Zambia had welcomed back coach Herve Renaud on the eve of the tournament, aft Dario Bonetti, who oversaw their qualification process, was fired less than 48 hours aft Zambia booked their tickets 2 the tournament. Mweene said the behind the scenes activity did not distract the players in any way, claiming : "The players had all been 2gether 4 a long time & most of us r based in South Africa, so it didn't matter 2 us. The commitment & unity we had was brilliant."

Fr their opening encounter, against Senegal, Zambia had a buzz abt them. They shocked 1 of Africa's traditional powerhouses with an energetic display tat saw them take a 2-0 lead inside 20 mins. Senegal wasted opportunities 2 wrest the advantage & Zambia's defence continued 2 thwart them 2 set the tone 4 a tournament in which their never-say-die attitude dominated.

"Senegal were 1 of the tournament favourites & we didn't give them 2 much opportunity," Mweene said. The rest of the group was relatively plain sailing as Zambia overcame co-hosts Equatorial Guinea without much fuss & drew with a spirited Libyan side 2 qualify 4 the quarter-finals.

It was there that they showed their strongest hand, dispatching Sudan 3-0 2 advance further than they had managed since 1996. Africa's sweethearts, Ghana, awaited but Mweene almost singlehandedly kept Zambia in the game with athletic saves, including 1 fr an Asamoah Gyan penalty. Instead of being overawed by the man who stepped up 2 take the spot-kick, Mweene said he knew exactly wat 2 do 2 deny him.

"I hv watched these guys like Gyan play in Europe, so I know how they play," he said. "I asked Gyan if he believed the penalty was genuine & I said if it was really a penalty he would score. And I decided b4 he kicked tat I would dive 2 my left." With mind games & a plan, Mweene denied the striker, who would go on 2 take a break fr international football aft the tournament becos of the emotional scarring caused fr having attempts saved @ the 2010 World Cup & the 2012 AFCON.

The same banter is wat Mweene said he used against Didier Drogba, who skied his attempt in the final. Mweene was in his element in the penalty shootout & also saved fr Kolo Toure 2 add another big name 2 the list of players he has denied. Despite 2 hours of end 2 end football, in which he was on his toes all the time, Mweene said he was ready 4 the shootout, insisting: "When u train, it's not abt 90 mins, it's about preparing 4 120 mins so it wasn't something new 2 me."

Mweene may hv been the only calm presence in the Zambian side tat day as even the usually suave Renaud let his frustrations show - he had an explosive touchline scuffle with Davies Nkausu, aft the defender let Gervinho tear 2wards goal & pushed the player in the chest. Mweene said the emotions of the occasion only caught up with him afterwards, when the squad returned 2 Lusaka.

"Fr the airport 2 the showgrounds, it was packed everywhere," he said. "I don't even think u could drive @ 20 kmph becos it was so full. It was a good feeling. We didn't know wat we did until we went back there & showed the trophy 2 the people. Zambians were waiting a long time 4 tat."

Mweene was named goalkeeper of the tournament & his team-mate Christopher Katongo player of the tournament but the 4mer said neither of them deserved all the credit 4 Zambia's win: "I wouldn't take the credit on my own, it was abt the collective & how we played 2gether. It would be unfair 2 say it was becos of any 1 of us."

The euphoria of tat day will long remain in Mweene's memory, as will the physical rewards. Mweene was given 250 hectares of land & 2 herds of cattle by the Chief of the Swaka people of the town of Mkushi. He has been careful not 2 dwell on these things 4 2 long though & has returned 2 Free State Stars in South Africa. Playing 4 the club is wat Mweene calls his "bread & butter" football & he longs 2 win a Premier Soccer League title with the team, who r currently 7th in the table.

Mweene also dreams of joining the likes of Drogba & Gyan in an overseas league but is not 2 fussed if he is not contacted. "Maybe b4 the start of the next season, maybe some1 will be interested," he said. Foremost in his mind is helping Zambia qualify 4 the 2014 World Cup. "We 1 2 hv new success," he revealed. By the time tat tournament takes place, he will be 30, old enough 2 achieve "something bigger."