Undaunted by the slim 1-0 loss to tournament favourites Ivory Coast, Sudan went on to hold Angola to a 2-2 draw before defeating Burkina-Faso 2-1 on Tuesday to become the second African nation with a squad made up of entirely home based players to reach the last eight since Tunisia in 1996.
The win was also their first at the finals in 42 years, since they won their only nations Cup title in 1970 at home in the final against the Black Stars of Ghana. Sudan’s qualification therefore underscores the fact that players based at clubs in their countries can also achieve results at the highest level.
This was succinctly captured by the Sudanese coach Mohammed Abadallah who said: “I’m happy with my players who have proved they can play at the highest level because they all come from the Sudanese Championship”.
It is interesting to know that a single club, Al Hilal which is based in Khartoum has produced 10 of the total players in the squad. The rest of the players are from some of the leading clubs in the country. The benefits are enormous as there is better understanding, team spirit, unity of purpose and cohesion which are keys to success.
In addition, it is easy and cheap to bring together the players for camping ahead of matches. All issues relating to release of players and lateness to camp are cut down, making room for hitch free preparations. “There is the advantage of being able to get them together much more frequently than other sides. I try to have a gathering at least weekly”, said coach Abdallah.
Although the trend now is for all national teams to depend sometimes hundred percent on foreign based players, the recent fall of the Teranga Lions of Senegal and the triumph of the home lads from Sudan should make African countries have a rethink.
It is pertinent to point out here that with their array of stars, Senegal lost all three group matches to book the first flight back home. Morocco and Guinea which also boast of big names failed to advance beyond the group stages.
Whatever becomes of their quarter final match against the Chipolopolo of Zambia today, Sudan has since made a statement of fact which should be considered a wakeup call to be harkened to by African nations whose over dependence on foreign based players have brought them on their knees.
Presently, the big four namely, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Cameroon, all past winners of the Africa Cup of Nations are licking their wounds following their absence at the Nations Cup but it is not too late to make amends.
Coming nearer home, Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi must have read the writing on the wall before embarking on a vigorous campaign to re-build the national team around home-based players. Since he took over, he has been experimenting with the local players and the results have been encouraging.
First, he got a goalless draw against AFCON 2012 finalists Botswana in Benin City before going on to record a 2-0 victory over Zambia in Kaduna, his first as Super Eagles handler. His third trial match was against Angola in Abuja and the match ended in another goalless draw.
The Super Eagles have a friendly match to play against the Lone Stars of Liberia on February 16 before their 2013 Nations Cup qualifying match against Rwanda in Kigali. As the match against Rwanda approaches, the general feeling is that the Home based Eagles would be used as training materials pending the arrival of the ‘Super Stars’ from Europe.
However, this is where the Sudanese lesson must be learnt. In the past, Nigeria over relied on foreign based players but such over-reliance only brought huge disappointment for those who chose to over indulge in the questionable ability of the stars to deliver even against Africa opponents who are known for physical and energetic play.
For those who want the Home based Eagles to be given a chance to bring back Nigeria’s lost glory in football, they cannot stop pointing at the story of Sudan at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations. Home talent has worked for Sudan whose league does not boast of the quality of play which can be found in the NPL. This means Nigeria does not need to look far to salvage its sagging image in football.
