Senegal made history twice over at the 2002 FIFA World Cup™. Not only did they open the tournament by beating world and european Champions France, but they went on to become only the second African nation to reach the last eight of the world’s showpiece event.
It was a high point for the Lions of Teranga, who have been one of the continent’s best teams thus far in the 21st century, advancing to the quarter-final of the Africa Nations Cup four consecutive times between 2000 and 2006. That includes their first trip to a continental final just months before their momentous victory over Les Bleus in Seoul. In that case, they fell at the final hurdle on penalties to four-time champions and West African giants Cameroon. And though they failed to reach the FIFA World Cup™ four years later – missing out to upstarts Togo -they somewhat made up for it by reaching the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final. They lost in the last four to hosts and eventual champions Egypt on a late goal, but the Senegalese can look back on the six-year stretch as the undisputed greatest in their history.
Senegal had never had a player named African Footballer of the Year, but it was a measure of their success that flamboyant forward El Hadji Diouf was named the continent’s best two years running in 2001 and 2002.
Remarkably for the Sahel, the region’s other heavyweights, Mali, were simultaneously undergoing a revival of fortunes. With a golden generation featuring the likes of Adama Coulibaly, Mahamadou Diarra, Seydou Keita and Mohamed “Momo” Sissoko (all born in 1980 or after), they reached two consecutive continental semi¬finals in 2002 and 2004. In the latter instance, Les Aigles were joined by Frederic Kanoute, who was born in France and played for their youth teams, but ultimately chose to represent his father’s birth country. His four goals in four matches were vital and ushered in an even greater sense of expectation for Malian football. However, things have not gone to plan for either Senegal or Mali in the last few years. Not only did both fail to reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™, but they disappointingly crashed out of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in the first round. Kanoute did, however, become the first Malian since Salif Keita in 1970 to claim the African Player of the Year prize. Senegal’s versatile Abdoulaye Faye, who plays in England for Newcastle, was defiant even after an inconsistent start to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying campaign, saying: “This team has a serious chance of going as far in the World Cup as its predecessors in 2002.” On the periphery of the region, Burkina Faso saw an end to their admirable record of reaching the continental finals, which they did five consecutive times between 1996 and 2004, including a last-four appearance as hosts in 1996. Sudan have inspired some hope by reaching their first Nations Cup for over three decades in February of this year. However, the side, made up entirely of domestic-based players, was outmatched in the tournament – losing all three of its games 3-0.

As if it were not hard enough being a goalkeeper at international level, Namibia’s number 1 Athiel Mbaha has to do the job without being able to hear, but his best friend and goalkeeping understudy does not mind sharing his ears, as FIFA magazine found out.
The Herero-speaking people of Namibia use the word Gatuvaterasane to describe a sense of selflessness that means “let’s help each other”. It perfectly describes the spirit of generosity and empathy that exists between Namibia’s international goalkeepers Athiel Mbaha and Ephraim Tjihonge. Although they both vie for the Brave Warriors’ number 1 jersey, they are best of friends and Tjihonge, 21, who plays his club football for South Africa’s Black Leopards, is one of the players on whom Mbaha most depends. This is because the 31 -year-old often needs the younger goalkeeper to tell him what is happening, to serve as his ears and his voice.
Mbaha has been deaf since the age of seven, but with the help of Tjihonge, with whom he often shares a room when travelling with the Namibian side, Mbaha spoke to FIFA magazine. He says that he suddenly developed a loss of hearing when he was seven years old. “Nobody really knew exactly what the problem was, and I stayed in hospital in Windhoek for eight months before being sent to Cape Town in South Africa,” he says. “The doctors could not cure me and after a while they sent me home, telling me that I should try to learn to speak as much as possible and to see what happens.”
FINDING FOOTBALL
After his release from hospital, the youngster was encouraged to go to a normal school. It was there that he started playing football. “I started playing in midfield, but one day I went into goal, and I must have pulled off a number of good saves because I was told that I should be a goalkeeper from that time on,” explains Mbaha.
He continued playing school football and also turned out for a rural team until he was 18, by which time he was showing enough promise to join African Stars, one of the top sides in Windhoek. He stayed there for four years before moving to Blue Waters in Walvis Bay. Three years later, the South African professional club Black Leopards signed him, together with Tjihonge. “But things did not go well in South Africa,” he revealed. “Some of my team-mates struggled to understand me and at times club officials blamed me for defeats. Although I was playing a lot, I was homesick and decided to leave. I was loaned to Orlando Pirates, who play in Windhoek.”
Mbaha manages to communicate with his team-mates largely by screaming at them. Although the sounds he makes do not come out as polished words, his team-mates get the gist. He used to play with a hearing aid, but it dropped to the ground during a game and some players stepped on it and it broke. “It is very expensive, so I no longer use it during games,” he says.
Dutchman Arie Schans, who has recently been appointed Namibian national coach, says that there is no problem with communication: “Athiel has been a part of the national squad for a long time, so he knows the other players and they know him. They communicate in their own way.”
A GOOD FUTURE
Mbaha was first called into the national squad in 2004 and his friend Tjihonge was called up alongside him. “We played against a regional team from Germany and since then I have been a regular in the Namibian squad,” says Mbaha.
Mbaha was the number 1 choice goalkeeper under coach Ben Bamfuchile, who sensationally took Namibia to their second Africa Cup of Nations finals last year with a 3-2 victory in Ethiopia in their last match. When the Zambian-born coach died a few weeks before the start of the Cup of Nations, the Namibia Football Association gave the reins to Schans, who had earlier been earmarked to act as adviser to Bamfuchile.
The former Bhutan coach decided to play South African-based Abisai Shiningayamwe in the Brave Warriors’ first game against Morocco, which the southern African country lost 5-1. Mbaha was then given a chance in Namibia’s second game against Ghana and despite the 1-0 loss, did well enough to keep his place for their final game against Guinea, which they drew 1-1.
“At first I thought his hearing problems could be an issue,” Schans admits. “But he is very talented in my opinion. Our goalkeeping coach, Ronny Kanalelo, works very hard with him, and I think Athiel has a good future in the Namibian team.” Tjihonge explains that Schans had wanted Mbaha to play with his hearing aid. “Possibly that is one of the reasons why Athiel did not play in the first game, but after the side lost so badly he was put in goal and he did well.”
Mbaha is adamant that he does not need the hearing aid. “Not being able to hear does not stop me from playing well,” he says firmly. “It does not stop me from concentrating on the game, and it does not stop me from playing the game I love. I only play with my heart. I have a big heart and I am a fighter. I take one step at a time.”
He hesitates when asked whether there have been many cases of team¬mates blaming him for goals: “There have been a few who have not treated me very well and in a friendly against South Africa in Windhoek there was some miscommunication and one of the players said that I did not deserve to play for Namibia because of my disability. One of our players had shouted ‘keeper’ to indicate that it was my ball to take, but I did not react and the ball went into the back of the net. But that has been the only problem.”
A ROLE MODEL
Mbaha sees himself as a bit of a role model for other deaf people. “I hope that they see what I have achieved and realise that they too can do anything they want to. I am lucky because I can talk a little bit. It is much more difficult for those who can’t speak at all. I just hope that others will follow in my footsteps.”
Mbaha, who comes from a huge family – his father had 46 (!) children – has two children of his own. They both live with their mothers. When he is not on the football field, he loves watching movies and listening to music. “Although I can’t really hear the music, I can feel the vibrations from the speakers and when I feel that, I immediately feel the music.”
At the end of his career, which he hopes will include another stint playing professionally abroad, he wants to get involved in coaching. “I want to be a development coach or a goalkeeping coach. Football is my life. I sleep football, I eat football and I dream football. I certainly want to stay in the game. It will be difficult for a person with my disability, but I will use all means to make myself understood.” But Mbaha should still have a few years left playing at the highest level, which he hopes to do in the company of his friend Tjihonge.
“We have such a strong bond because we speak the same language and we are from the same Herero tribe. And because we speak the same language, we are used to staying together. After meetings we will go to a room, and I will explain things like dress code to him and tell him when we are going somewhere,” says Tjihonge, who does not have to think twice about helping the senior goalkeeper. “When you get a chance to help another player play professionally, you help them,” he says matter-of-factly. “His success is my success too. I have to encourage him and also learn from him. We help each other.”

Spain turned EURO 2008, held in Austria and Switzerland from 7 to 29 June, into their very own footballing fiesta. They regained their European crown after 44 years, delighting even neutral spectators with their stylish play.
Was this, as many experts claimed afterwards, the best European Championship ever? It is often unjust to draw comparisons with past tournaments, since memories of the latest tournament are of course fresher in the mind than those of previous ones. We tend to hyperbolise, glorifying what has just been witnessed and automatically ranking it above the past. Nevertheless, EURO 2008 was certainly a thrilling tournament, full of unexpected results and an atmosphere that was electric both inside and outside the eight stadiums in the two Alpine countries.
For the first time in a while, a major football title was actually won by the team that played the best and most attractive football. Spain were peerless in this tournament, being the only one of the 16 teams to emerge victorious from all of their matches. They also had the most shots at goal (117), scored the most goals (12) and boasted the most prolific goal-scorer in the competition in David Villa (four goals).
“All of Spain goes crazy” was the headline of one leading Spanish newspaper after the final in Vienna. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country took to the streets to celebrate the 1-0 victory over Germany thanks to Fernando Torres’s goal – their first major triumph since the European Championship title in 1964.
Spain has had to wait AA years for a major title. Invariably among the favourites for European Championships and World Cups in the past, they have often been knocked out at an early stage. While Spanish clubs have repeatedly won European competitions and Spain has regularly blazed a trail in junior competitions and futsal, the senior national team has disappointed.
SLICK COMBINATION PLAY
At EURO 2008, however, Spain finally made up to its fans for the many losses and disappointments of the past. “La furia roja” (The Red Fury) lived up to their nickname, not only beating their opponents but dominating them with slick combination play. The Spaniards made 569 passes per game, more than any other team, and 81 per cent of them were successful.
They left opponents bewildered with some of their play. Midfielders Xavi Hernandez – rightly crowned player of the tournament by UEFA – Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Marcos Senna were comfortable in possession, nimble and quick, and passed the ball around among one another with such speed and skill that opponents were often completely nonplussed. Before their opponents knew what was happening, one of the Spanish midfielders had slotted an angled pass through to red-hot strikers Villa or Torres or had ghosted in to finish off the move himself.
TURKISH PASSION
Luis Aragones, the oldest coach in this year’s EURO at 70, allowed his team to play modern, entertaining and efficient football, thereby creating something of a revolution. For in a time when many believe that successful footballers have to be big, strong and athletic, Aragones opted instead for smaller, even delicately built players. They showed great discipline, sticking to their pattern of play and never losing their shape, but nevertheless took advantage of the freedoms allowed them to play thrilling attacking football that delighted even neutral spectators.
Russia and Turkey were the surprise packages of the tournament, upsetting the odds to qualify for the semi-finals. The Russians, the youngest of all the teams competing, offered up a refreshing brand of football characterised by athleticism, so much so that names like Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Yuriy Zhirkov are now familiar outside of Russia, too.
The Turkish may not have stood out in terms of their style of play, but they demonstrated what can be achieved with team spirit, morale, willpower and passion, coming back from a goal behind in three different matches.
GREEK DISAPPOINTMENT
Several big names performed poorly at EURO 2008. Defending champions Greece, statistically the best team in qualifying, failed to win a single point in the finals and were knocked out after the group matches.
There was little to cheer for the French either. The EURO 2000 champions and 2006 FIFA World Cup™ finalists were also sent home after the first round following painful defeats to the Netherlands (4-1) and Italy (2-0). Coach Raymond Domenech has kept his post but will have no choice but to build a new team.
There was no such mercy for Roberto Donadoni, who lost his job following Italy’s elimination in the quarter-finals against Spain and lethargic performances in the group matches. His successor is his predecessor, Marcello Lippi, who led the squadra azzurra to FIFA World Cup™ victory in 2006 before supposedly retiring.
Hosts Switzerland and Austria failed to spring any surprises. Switzerland, at least, managed to win one match (2-0 against Portugal), while Austria contented themselves with a draw (1-1against Poland). Off the field, however, the two host countries gained top marks. As expected, they were hospitable, open and professional organisers of an event which, bar a few minor incidents, passed off peacefully.
SINGLE STRIKER
As at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, the so-called public viewing events also proved to be a big hit in Austria and Switzerland. According to reports, four million people in the two countries watched the 31 matches in the fan zones. EURO 2008 emphatically demonstrated the appeal of national teams – 130,000 Dutch followed their team to Switzerland, while up to 40,000 Swedes were counted in Austria. The fans are no longer content just to turn up wearing shirts and scarves and waving flags. Matches have now become veritable masked balls where Supermen from Spain mingle with angels from the Netherlands and Julius Caesars from Italy. Creativity abounds amid a carnival atmosphere.
The players and coaches also appear to have been inspired by the blaze of colour, originality and spontaneity. Concerns prior to kick-off that the EURO would appeal only to advocates of defensive, tactical football proved to be unfounded. In total, 77 goals were scored, an average of 2.5 goals per game, which is not bad by any means.
The tactic of playing five midfielders and only one striker is becoming increasingly popular, and appears to guarantee goals.
Both finalists took to the field with only one striker — Spain with Fernando Torres, and Germany with Miroslav Klose. This tactic does not say much on its own, however, as the Spaniards had five clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities, and the Germans none.