Congratulations to Nigeria for winning the African Nations Cup after a solid 1-0 win over Burkina Faso on Sunday. Now for the bra fanfare... where on Earth did the crazy fan above get that idea?!
The colourful African Nations Cup is underway, and there's nothing better than the fans from Burkina Faso who turned up three hours early last week to support their team against Togo in 'full gear'. If you're thinking 'Predator', you're not the only one.... Also, cheer up South African fans! Not all is sad and depressing with the world.
Cape Verde made history by qualifying for the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals after beating Angola 2-1 on Sunday. They are also the the smallest country to ever compete at the tournament with half a million inhabitants back home, so victory was especially sweet. Coach Lucio Antunes, who took time off his 'day job' as an air traffic controller to coach the team, dedicated the qualification to "the wonderful people of Cape Verde.
We've been talking so much about the African Cup Of Nations since the beginning of the year, and we'll tell you why it's all about the fans! Which other tournament has more colour, vibrancy, drama and pitch streakers (or maybe not, they are often wearing clothes) than the African Nations Cup?
The 29th edition of the African Nations Cup (CAN) is scheduled to kick off this Saturday, and it's going to be one massive fiesta! The tournament is pretty much like the World Cup of the African continent with 32 matches, 16 teams and 4 groups. And given the fact that South Africa are hosting it this year, expect crazy fanfare and a kaleidoscope of colours in all the stadiums!
Following Emmanuel Adebayor's decision to leave Tottenham Hotspur in the midst of their Premiership campaign (aww!) to represent Togo at the African Nations Cup 2013, the nation is celebrating! The photo above shows fans playing music and dancing outside Adebayor's house in Togo's capital of Lome after it was announced that their star player would be representing the nation.
A plucky Cape Verde held off Ghana for nearly an hour before substituteMubarak Wakaso scored the first of his two goals from the spot to give his squad a 2-0 victory in Saturday's African Nations Cupquarterfinal match.
Wakaso, who came on the 47th minute, scored seven minutes later from the penalty spot.
For 78 minutes, it seemed as if Fabrice Muamba could very well lose his life. Now, it's
conceivable the Bolton midfielder could return to play once more.
Bolton manager Owen Coyle said Muamba, who was released from the hospital Monday after suffering
a heart attack a month ago during an FA Cup match at Tottenham, could very well play again for the
club -- possibly as soon as next season.
Despite prior reports indicating Emmanuel Adebayor would opt not to go to the African Cup of Nations with Togo, Tottenham Hotspur assistant managerSteffen Freund has indicated that the striker may choose to change his mind on the decision.
The Togo striker previously declared that he'd sit out the tournament due to concerns over safety following the 2010 attack during the tournament, where armed assailants attacked the Togo national side's bus.
Asamoah Gyan's superb free-kick helped Ghana into the African Nations Cup quarter-finals, as
they beat Mali 2-0 today. Andre Ayew scored their second securing their last 16 spot.
Host nation Equatorial Guinea dumped pre tournament favourites Senegal out of the African
Nations Cup with a last gasp winner last night, a draw may have saved face for Senegal but
realistically they have been second best at a tournament which they were favourites for having lost
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Liverpool's Summer 2012 Transfer Targets - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Domestically, Liverpool have had a strange season. Their league form has been nothing short of
terrible, however, their performances in the cups have been extremely impressive.
Next season Dalglish (providing he remains in charge) will no doubt look to improve the core of
the Liverpool team, allowing them to challenge for a top four position.
Talk about a dream debut worthy of a Celebratory Shoulder Jump from
Robinho! That happened to Ghanian striker Sulley Muntari when he
scored in Milan's 3-1 win over Cesena on Sunday afternoon. As the Italians sometimes say...
"Figoooo!
This Sunday we have the final of the African Nations Cup, while the rivalry between Manchester
United and Liverpool continues on Saturday. AC Milan face third place Udinese in Serie A before
taking on Arsenal in the Champions League which has now reached the knock-out stages. Listen to
Damon and Damian discussing their predictions on this week\'s show
Should Wenger Give More Time To Gervinho? by AM Arsenal's out-of-form forward Gervinho puts the
blame of his late bad form on missing the African Nations Cup in the final after an almost perfect
tournament. The Ivory Coast missed out on the trophy after getting into the final with no goals
conceded and then lost [.
We had a bad day, AC Milan beat us 4-0; we had a good day, we beat AC Milan 3-0. This more or
less sums up this Arsenal team at the moment.
In my preview I suspected that last night would be anything but the non-game that was expected.
The cushion from the first leg meant Milan were in a daze in the first half at the Emirates.
Zambia's win over Ivory Coast in last night's African Nations Cup final may have come as a
surprise, but their win was said to be "written in the stars". Here, a dancer in a traditional
outfit holds the trophy to be presented to the Zambian team/ via Reuters
While most of the soccer world were talking and cascading about Liverpool striker Luis Suarez's
snub to Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in a season marred by racism not only in the EPL
but across Europe, there was something magical about to happen in Gabon as rank
outsiders Zambia took on the might of Ivory Coast in the African Nations Cup final.
I can hardly believe it myself. After 120 scoreless minutes, Zambia defeated Ivory Coast 8-7 in a
penalty kick shootout to capture Zambia's first ever African Nations Cup, in Libreville Gabon, the
site of the 1993 plane crash that claimed the lives of nearly all of Zambia's national team.Early
on, Zambia's starting defender Joseph Musonda injured his knee in just the 11th minute, and broke
down
Admit it, there's nothing more exciting than football drama, and
today's United-Liverpool showdown at Old Trafford has all the ingredients that
scream "Phantom Of The SuarezGate II!" Whether Patrice
Evra and Luis Suarez will be :
a) shaking hands (-20 points),
b) doing the Uruguayan cumbia dance (+10 points) or
c) shoving jalapeños down each other's throats (+40 points) ;
Past statistics favour goals from both sides and hopefully mio dios!
How did this Ivorian fan get hold of Didier Drogba's childhood photos? Surely, this must be the
coolest photo frame we've seen at the African Nations Cup! / via AP Photo
Above, you see Zambia's Emmanuel Mayuka celebrating after scoring the game's only goal against
Ghana in the African Nations Cup semi-final yesterday. Asamoah Gyan had missed an 8th minute
penalty kick for Ghana and was removed for a substitute late in the game.Asamoah Gyan was fouled in
the box and took the penalty himself, but Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene made the save to keep
the game
Buenas! The realists and statisticians among you won't be surprised that Barcelona
defeated the very loveable Valencia 2-0 last night. But as it seems, Madrid are
frontrunners to win the La Liga, so el Blaugranas will be hoping to take home their 26th
Spanish Cup title title.
It is hard not to have sympathy for Zambia's football team: in the 80s and early 90s they were an
important part of the African football awakening that was to take the world by storm right until
1993, when the entire team was killed in an air disaster when heading to a World Qualifier. While
in 1994 they made it to the African Nations Cup final, they still never fully recovered from the
Yes, I admit that I enjoyed American Football today, Super Bowl Sunday, but in the rest of the
world, Association Football was played as usual. Especially in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea,
co-hosts of the 2012 African Nations Cup.Yesterday, powerful co-favorites Ivory Coast defeated
co-host Equatorial Guinea 3-0.
Burkino Faso defender Bakary Kone's amazing own goal helps the Ivory Coast to a 2-0 win and
qualification to the second round of the African Nations Cup after Chelsea striker Saloman Kalou
scored the opener. (see below)
Just before Christmas Arsene Wenger made it clear that Chu-Young Park was now settled in London and
ready to step-up to the Arsenal first team when Gervinho and Chamakh went off to the African
Nations Cup. He said: "The adaptation period for him is over now so he has to come in and show he
[...]
Arsene Wenger seems to be considering rotating the Arsenal team, and it could probably do with a
good shake-up after four games without a win, and the foremost problem is deciding who will replace
Robin Van Persie as the main striker. Marouane Chamakh is returning from a very disappointing
African Nations Cup for the Moroccan [.
Osvaldo Paulo Joao Diniz of Angola (L) and Heldon Ramos of of Cape Verde Islands (Photo by Richard Huggard / Gallo Images/Getty Images)
As every major continental tournament does, this year's Africa Cup of Nations has thrown quite its fair share of surprises around for supporters and the media.
Probably one of the strangest sending-off's your likely to see but the right decision nonetheless.
As Ethiopia keeper Jemal Tassew was given a straight red card while being carried off on a stretcher with the score 0-0, in his teams 1-1 draw with defending African Nations Cup holders Zambia.
The ‘will he, won't he?' saga surrounding Emmanuel Adebayor finally came to an end yesterday with confirmation that the Togolese striker would be joining up with his international team mates at this year's Africa Cup of Nations.
Earlier in the week, it had seemed likely that Ade would travel and it appeared he had the blessing of Spurs' head coach Andre Villas-Boas.
This is the new 2013 Adidas Katlego football which was specially designed for this Spring's African Nations cup to be hosted by South Africa.
The Katlego is the 4th specifically designed Adidas ball for this precise tournament which see's the cream of African footballers battle it out for supremacy.
Your whistle-stop guide to the latest Premier League arrivals Name: Emmanuel Mayuka Age: 21
Position: Striker Signed from: Young Boys Berne Fee: Undisclosed. Did you know? Looking at the
video above, it's hardly surprising that Mayuka has moved. The video appears to have been posted on
YouTube by his agent, complete with contact details so [.
Listen, regular readers will know when it comes to Didier Drogba, his form is up and down and as a
result my opinion of him has changed from a few seasons ago. Back then, Drogba was THE number one
at our club, played well on a consistent basis and became the scourge of defences all over Europe.
Didn't catch the game live, but after watching the highlights, I wish I had. In the 5th minute of
stoppage time, Gabon's Bruno-Zita Mbanangoye hit a spectacular free kick (probably a goal of the
tourney) that earned the co-hosts a berth in the quaterfinals, knocking out one of the favorites to
win it all.
