The lighter side of AFCON 2017
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The lighter side of AFCON 2017
The lighter side of AFCON 2017
By Stephen Ssenkaaba
Added 9th February 2017 01:43 PM
- See more at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/n ... bSBxy.dpuf
The Oyem stadium where Uganda played their last game against Mali defied all footballing standards, turning the game into a splashing galore.
Splash 703x422
The curtain is drawn. The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), our continent’s premier soccer competition, has come to a close.
It was a most dramatic showpiece in which a less fancied, youthful Indomitable Lions of Cameroon snatched the soccer trophy out of the crowns of the more experienced Egyptian Pharaohs.
But in a competition that brought 16 different nations and cultures together, surely there had to be more than one winner.
The AFCON TROPHY for the most promising team.
Forget Asamoah Gyan stunts; forget Isaac Isinde’s naiveté that handed Ghana’s Black Stars - Uganda's first opponents - a penalty and a goal on a silver platter. Uganda’s national side 'The Cranes’ made an impressive account of themselves. They are our winners for the AFCON trophy for the most promising team.
Having been absent from the AFCON scene for nearly 40 years, they held their own against Africa’s best teams, holding eventual finalists Egypt to a near goalless draw (until the 88th minute) and securing a crucial point against Mali. If any team left the AFCON with their heads high, it was the Uganda Cranes.
The Cranes’ closest rivals, Ghana’s Black Stars, won the AFCON TROPHY for most dramatic goal celebrations. Led by their team captain Asamoah Gyan (who limped off early in the tournament), these Ghanaians have a way - not with the ball, but with their waists, legs and hands (same can be said of DR Congo's team).
We loved their goal celebration that involved running to their opponents’ goal touchline, torsos elevated, one hand stretched out and the other holding onto the crotch - hopping, wiggling, gyrating, thrusting their bodies forward in one naughty cocoon, laughing and mocking their beaten opponents.
What the Black Stars lacked in big wins in the tournament they made up for in their fascinating goal celebrations.
There were more colourful players at this tournament than the Ghanaians - people who wowed us with their individual style. Indeed, one or two players deserved recognition for their wild hairstyles.
But none was as outstanding as Gabon’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang - our winner of the AFCON TROPHY for most outrageous hairstyle.
In what looked like a compromise between a fluffy horse’s mane and a bad barber’s job, this Germany-based (Borussia Dortmund, to be precise) gem of a striker may not have won many games, but surely did win some attention for his style.
With his crazy hair, Aubameyang rewrote that crude old soccer adage 'Miss the ball, don’t miss the leg' to something like 'Miss the goals, don’t miss the show'.
There was a particularly forlorn show that should not have gone unrewarded; and who best to get this than Ghana’s coach Avram Grant.
Win or lose, this Israeli tactician had an uncanny way of tucking himself on the edges of the bench, lean heavily on the pole, his droopy face weighing down the palm of his hands.
When things heated up on the pitch, he would sometimes stand by the touchline, his left thumb stuck in his mouth, face pensively fixed on the centerline as if plotting a killer move. Win or lose Avram grant sported a worryingly worried look on his face and for that he won the AFCON TROPHY for most dejected coach.
There were equally dejecting moments at this year’s tournament: such as watching your team bow out of the tournament in a swampy excuse of a pitch. SPLASH!
The Oyem stadium where Uganda played their last game against Mali defied all footballing standards, turning the game into a splashing galore, where players often ran ahead of the ball.
Even though most pitches in Gabon rivaled rice fields, Oyem‘s ground was in a league of its own, and for this, it wins the AFCON TROPHY for the worst pitch.
What of the AFCON trophy for the most dramatic fans? Mali made a good account of themselves on this one. Presenting pot-bellied, bare-chested, colourfully dressed men and women. Perhaps closely rivaled by the Congolese.
The Congolese beat everyone hands down with their glittery red and blue jersey - ever the colourful characters of Africa. So they took our AFCON Trophy for best dressed team.
And there it went. Something for everybody.
If you looked close enough, there was a trophy for each of the 16 participants in this much coveted tournament.
By Stephen Ssenkaaba
Added 9th February 2017 01:43 PM
- See more at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/n ... bSBxy.dpuf
The Oyem stadium where Uganda played their last game against Mali defied all footballing standards, turning the game into a splashing galore.
Splash 703x422
The curtain is drawn. The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), our continent’s premier soccer competition, has come to a close.
It was a most dramatic showpiece in which a less fancied, youthful Indomitable Lions of Cameroon snatched the soccer trophy out of the crowns of the more experienced Egyptian Pharaohs.
But in a competition that brought 16 different nations and cultures together, surely there had to be more than one winner.
The AFCON TROPHY for the most promising team.
Forget Asamoah Gyan stunts; forget Isaac Isinde’s naiveté that handed Ghana’s Black Stars - Uganda's first opponents - a penalty and a goal on a silver platter. Uganda’s national side 'The Cranes’ made an impressive account of themselves. They are our winners for the AFCON trophy for the most promising team.
Having been absent from the AFCON scene for nearly 40 years, they held their own against Africa’s best teams, holding eventual finalists Egypt to a near goalless draw (until the 88th minute) and securing a crucial point against Mali. If any team left the AFCON with their heads high, it was the Uganda Cranes.
The Cranes’ closest rivals, Ghana’s Black Stars, won the AFCON TROPHY for most dramatic goal celebrations. Led by their team captain Asamoah Gyan (who limped off early in the tournament), these Ghanaians have a way - not with the ball, but with their waists, legs and hands (same can be said of DR Congo's team).
We loved their goal celebration that involved running to their opponents’ goal touchline, torsos elevated, one hand stretched out and the other holding onto the crotch - hopping, wiggling, gyrating, thrusting their bodies forward in one naughty cocoon, laughing and mocking their beaten opponents.
What the Black Stars lacked in big wins in the tournament they made up for in their fascinating goal celebrations.
There were more colourful players at this tournament than the Ghanaians - people who wowed us with their individual style. Indeed, one or two players deserved recognition for their wild hairstyles.
But none was as outstanding as Gabon’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang - our winner of the AFCON TROPHY for most outrageous hairstyle.
In what looked like a compromise between a fluffy horse’s mane and a bad barber’s job, this Germany-based (Borussia Dortmund, to be precise) gem of a striker may not have won many games, but surely did win some attention for his style.
With his crazy hair, Aubameyang rewrote that crude old soccer adage 'Miss the ball, don’t miss the leg' to something like 'Miss the goals, don’t miss the show'.
There was a particularly forlorn show that should not have gone unrewarded; and who best to get this than Ghana’s coach Avram Grant.
Win or lose, this Israeli tactician had an uncanny way of tucking himself on the edges of the bench, lean heavily on the pole, his droopy face weighing down the palm of his hands.
When things heated up on the pitch, he would sometimes stand by the touchline, his left thumb stuck in his mouth, face pensively fixed on the centerline as if plotting a killer move. Win or lose Avram grant sported a worryingly worried look on his face and for that he won the AFCON TROPHY for most dejected coach.
There were equally dejecting moments at this year’s tournament: such as watching your team bow out of the tournament in a swampy excuse of a pitch. SPLASH!
The Oyem stadium where Uganda played their last game against Mali defied all footballing standards, turning the game into a splashing galore, where players often ran ahead of the ball.
Even though most pitches in Gabon rivaled rice fields, Oyem‘s ground was in a league of its own, and for this, it wins the AFCON TROPHY for the worst pitch.
What of the AFCON trophy for the most dramatic fans? Mali made a good account of themselves on this one. Presenting pot-bellied, bare-chested, colourfully dressed men and women. Perhaps closely rivaled by the Congolese.
The Congolese beat everyone hands down with their glittery red and blue jersey - ever the colourful characters of Africa. So they took our AFCON Trophy for best dressed team.
And there it went. Something for everybody.
If you looked close enough, there was a trophy for each of the 16 participants in this much coveted tournament.
“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”- Sun Tzu
Re: The lighter side of AFCON 2017
Wonderful. See the Ugandan Cranes again in 2057 CAN 
Re: The lighter side of AFCON 2017
I'm sorry to disappoint you but we are back to our old selves, qualifying with regularityikemba wrote:Wonderful. See the Ugandan Cranes again in 2057 CAN
“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”- Sun Tzu
Re: The lighter side of AFCON 2017
Yep, we are on the same page here, every 40 yrsKabalega wrote:I'm sorry to disappoint you but we are back to our old selves, qualifying with regularityikemba wrote:Wonderful. See the Ugandan Cranes again in 2057 CAN
Re: The lighter side of AFCON 2017
Kabalega, na real wa!! So Uganda President give the players gold medals?The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
Re: The lighter side of AFCON 2017
When are you going to change your username to UgandanPrince?Kabalega wrote:I'm sorry to disappoint you but we are back to our old selves, qualifying with regularityikemba wrote:Wonderful. See the Ugandan Cranes again in 2057 CAN
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects the wind to change; the realist adjusts his sails.
Don't believe anything until it has been officially denied.
If you are controversial, you will lose some votes. If you are courageous, you will lose the election.
Don't believe anything until it has been officially denied.
If you are controversial, you will lose some votes. If you are courageous, you will lose the election.
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Field Marshall Ogolo
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Re: The lighter side of AFCON 2017
The Eagle wrote:When are you going to change your username to UgandanPrince?Kabalega wrote:I'm sorry to disappoint you but we are back to our old selves, qualifying with regularityikemba wrote:Wonderful. See the Ugandan Cranes again in 2057 CAN
A criminal trial is not a search for truth. Science is a search for truth. Alan Dershowitz