Aboutaball :: About World Football

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Algeria. After their surprise qualification for the World Cup, a side once written off is on the verge of taking part in the world’s greatest football tournament, and Algeria will be using the 2010 African Cup of Nations as rehearsal for the main event

Algeria certainly rank as one of the more surprising qualifiers for the World Cup to be held in the summer, and pundits and fans alike will be looking to see precisely how the side known as the Fennecs fare in Angola. It wasn’t that long ago Algerian fans were deserting their side in their droves, but since the qualification in controversial circumstances over their North African neighbours Egypt in a play-off, the Algerian team has once again become hot property.

However, a glance through the history books suggests that the Algerian team, as indeed are most of the North African countries, is prone to successful and fallow periods. Fans of the Fennecs hope they are about to embark on another golden period after several generations in the doldrums, which includes recent failures to reach the previous two African Cup of Nations.

Reviving the 80’s spirit

Many fans will best know Algeria for the legendary side of the 1980’s, arguably the greatest side Africa produced of that decade, inspired by the striking talents of epic forward Rabah Madjer. Indeed the 1982 tournament in Spain should have witnessed the first African side to make it through to the second round, a full eight years before Cameroon actually managed the feat in 1990. However, The Fennecs were outfoxed out by Germany and Austria forcing a mutually acceptable draw to see them both through at Algeria’s expense. Nevertheless they had made their mark with a stunning victory over the eventual finalists Germany earlier in the group stage.

Algeria were back at the 1986 World Cup four years later and also enjoyed their best spell at the African Cup of Nations during this era, with the Golden Generation finally achieving recognition with victory in 1990 on home turf.

However, instead of it being the catalyst for more success, the exploits of that team appear to have been a millstone for future generations. As results tailed off, the new Algerian side struggled to impose itself and mustered just one quarter-final appearance throughout the course of the 1990’s.

If that decade was disappointing, Algerian fans were in for further setbacks after the turn of the Millennium when the team failed to even make it to the last two tournaments. For 2008, Guinea finished ahead of them in the qualifying group, and even the relatively unheralded Gambia equalled the Algerian points total in the four-team section.

However, a new generation of players, many of whom are born and bred in France with Algerian heritage, has streamed through at various academies and have opted to represent Algeria instead of trying their luck with Les Bleus. Thus it would finally seem that Algeria may be capable of assembling a team that can attempt to live up to the legacy left by Algeria’s most talented footballers nearly 30-years ago.

Progress

Algeria’s recent progress was most evident in the qualifying for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, which also doubled up as qualifying for the World Cup. In the initial group phase they came out on top of the Gambia and Senegal in a tightly contested group, whilst in the second phase the home win over near neighbours Egypt proved crucial to setting up the play-off, which Algeria won to secure their passage to South Africa in the summer.

However, the qualification also indicated that Algeria are still far from being able to rank themselves alongside the very best on the continent, especially in terms of their attack, which saw them draw blanks against the like of Rwanda, Liberia and the Gambia, at various stages of the qualification.

Preparation

The 2010 African Cup of Nations will represent an outstanding chance to get the team prepared mentally and physically for the challenges that will lie ahead at the World Cup. The management have so far kept their opinions quiet regarding how far they feel Algeria can go, and will be also cautious of avoiding the ‘Togo-scenario’.

The Togolese were surprise participants at the 2006 World Cup coming from leftfield to claim qualification. However, a poor 2006 Africa Cup of Nations before departure for Germany left them in disarray and resulted in some embarrassing situations at the World Cup, something from which they are yet to genuinely recover.

With Algeria going through the same rapid and unexpected development harnessing the upsurge in interest and goodwill for the side will be of paramount importance, whilst keeping expectations in check. Potentially therefore performance at the 2010 African Cup of Nations will be more important to the Algerian management team then actual results.

Squad

Goalkeepers – Lounes Gaouaoui (ASO Chlef), Faouzi Chaouchi (ES Setif), Mohammed Zemmamouche (USM Alger)

Defenders – Slimane Raho (ES Setif), Anthar Yahia (Bochum), Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth), Madjid Bougherra (Glasgow Rangers), Samir Zaoui (ASO Chlef), Rafik Halliche (Nacional de Madeira), Reda Babouche (MC Algiers)

Midfielders – Yazid Mansouri (Lorient), Karim Ziani (Wolfsburg), Yacine Bezzaz (Strasbourg), Karim Matmour (Borussia Moechengladbach), Khaled Lemmouchia (ES Setif), Hameur Bouazza (Blackpool), Mourad Meghni (Lazio), Hassan Yebda (Portsmouth), Djamel Abdoun (Nantes)

Attackers – Rafik Saifi (Al-Khor), Abelkader Ghezzal (Siena), Abelmalak Ziaya (ES Setif)

Players to Watch

Karim Ziani, the star of Algerian football, doesn’t play his football in France like much of the squad, but in Germany, after moving to the Bundesliga in the summer in a £7 million deal to reigning champions Wolfsburg. The midfielder playmaker struggled to find his best form for Marseille after catching the eye on a consistent basis with Sochaux prior to an £11-million transfer to the Stade Velodrome. With crucial goals in the qualifying matches against Liberia and Rwanda, much will be expected of Ziani in Angola.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg2MbLnFVT4&feature=related

Another, who is also plying his trade in Germany, is 24-year-old Karim Matmour, after making the short move across the border from his hometown Strasburg aged just 19. Now an established top flight player at Borussia Moenchengladbach, to whom he moved in the summer after helping Freiburg win promotion to the top-flight in Germany, he has also been part of the Algerian national set up for more than two years. He bagged the opener in the 3-1 win against Egypt early in qualifying which laid the foundation for the eventual qualification to the World Cup.

Fixtures

11th Jan – Malawi

14th Jan – Mali

18th Jan – Angola

Prediction

With the Fennecs concentrating on performance over results, it’s difficult to make any sort of accurate prediction regarding the outcome of Algeria’s 2010 African Cup of Nations. The matches against Mali and hosts Angola will both be difficult yet useful encounters for the Algerian management to assess where the squad needs improvement. A quarter-final appearance against one of the Group B heavyweights Ghana or the Ivory Coast is certainly not out of the question, but will also potentially expose Algeria’s shortcomings in attack