AFCON 2019 Daily Diary - Day 16

The celebrations ended at 11:59 pm last night in Alexandria. That was Gernot Rohr’s strict instructions to the players after the celebrations in the dressing room of the Alexandria stadium, venue of the most entertaining match at AFCON 2019 so far, a match of an epic dimension watched by hundreds of millions all over the world. The celebrations should not linger beyond last night, according to Mr Rohr, strutting proudly around with a swagger for the first time since his ‘problem’ started after the match against Madagascar, because the preparations for the next match starts this morning. Now, his ‘sins’ in Egypt are completely wiped out, and a new page has been opened for him. So, last night the team was permitted some limited indulgence.

Mr. ‘Motivator’, Papillo Kanu Nwankwo, went back to join the players in the dressing room after the match in romped with special songs in his praise. The players also hosted several delegations of persons that came to congratulate them and to enrich them with gifts of cash, plenty of it. There was the delegation of the Federal Government led by the Senate President. In that entourage was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor of the Central Bank, the immediate (and, probably, returning) Minister of Sports, and a few others. There was also the visit by the Chairman of AITEO, probably the biggest financier of Sports in Africa at the moment. He redeemed his pledge to pay the players $25,000 Dollars for every goal they scored. So, by the end of last night, it is reported that the team was $195,000 Dollars richer. There were other smaller delegations too of well-wishers and supporters.

The match was truly a great advertisement for African football. It may not have the fine playing qualities of European football, but it had more of everything else in an unscripted drama – non-stop action, passion, raw power, pace, brutal tackles, questionable officiating, uncommon determination, courage, die-hard commitment, pardonable and unpardonable misses, great saves, and….goals! It was the goals that made all the difference. There were 5 in all, 3 to the Super Eagles and 2 to the Indomitable Lions, the highest number scored in any one match during the championship, so far. In the end, from the studios of NTA/Hotsports in Lagos, where I anchored the television coverage of the match, I read a special message from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammed Buhari, to the Super Eagles, specially congratulating and thanking them for a job well-done, as well as for their courage and demonstration of the Nigerian spirit to triumph over difficult challenges. Let no one, therefore, underestimate the enormity of the Eagles’ achievement last night. It was like climbing Mount Everest without a gas mask. Yesterday must go down in history as one of the most dramatic days in AFCON history. Immediately following the breathtaking performance and victory of the Super Eagles’ there was a second dose of champagne football in Cairo that also had a little of everything too – great football, shocks, drama, anxiety, agonizing misses and a single goal, that made all the difference. Against all odds, statistics and predictions, a lowly South Africa, with only one humble victory from their last three matches, came face-to-face with the Pharaohs, the most successful team in the history of AFCON, a team with Africa’s current Best Player as its attacking spear-head, a team that has won all its matches effortlessly without blemish, a team that never loses on home ground. Bafana Bafana deservedly and convincingly defeated them on the hallowed ground of the Cairo Township Stadium with 75,000 vociferous Egyptians playing the role of the thirteenth player. It was a ‘mission impossible’ made possible by the sheer spirit of the will to win against all the odds. It must be the most shocking defeat in Egyptian football history. Long buried Mummies must be shaking in their tombs inside the pyramids. Meanwhile, the whole of South Africa must still be celebrating their most improbable victory of last night.

Now, both victorious countries must return to preparations for the next battle just ahead on Wednesday in Cairo. It will be another exciting chapter in the recent confrontations between the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana. The South Africans maintain a slight advantage. But for now, the celebrations are over in Egypt. Preparations for next Wednesday have started. The morning the ‘Fly caught them stretching this morning in the hotel premises.