| Senegal shamefully bow out as Libyans save face | Send to a friend |
| Monday, 30 January 2012 21:54 |
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The Citizen Correspondent Libreville. Senegal's players looked shell-shocked as they trudged off the field following their 2-1 loss to Libya on Sunday, some with tears in their eyes. The Teranga Lions, who had gone into the finals as one of the favourites, failed to roar as they finished rock bottom of group A with three successive losses. The side, packed with European-based players some boasting Champions League experience, were beaten by a group of journeymen footballers, largely unknown to many fans. The Senegalese, as individuals, are playing quite some impressive football. The likes of Demba Ba, Demba Cisse, Deme Ndiaye, Souleymane Camara and Mamadou Niang, are all displaying great football with their respective clubs all over Europe.To many, it is thus a wonder why they misfired at the continental showpiece and couldn’t conjure up a point, let alone a win. They were simply a disgrace to the competition. As expected, a defiant Senegal coach Amara Traore has stood his ground amid calls for him to resign saying: “No, I won’t resign, even if the responsibility rests with the manager. This is a project I started two years ago and I’ve got the strong desire to continue. Calls to have me resign will not achieve anything.” Ba and Cisse are currently playing for the Newcastle United in the English Premier League. Ba signed for Newcastle United on a three-year deal on June 17, 2011, making his club debut on August 13, 2011. His first goals for the club came on September 24, 2011 with a hat-trick against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–1 home win. A second hat-trick came in a 3-1 away win at Stoke City. By the time he left for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, he was English Premier League’s second top scorer behind Arsenal’s Robin van Persie with 15 goals. During the 2010-11 Bundesliga season, Cisse was second in the league in goals scored, only behind Mario Gomez of Bayern Munich who scored 28. This achievement was enough for him to set a record for the most goals scored by an African in a single Bundesliga season. Going by the duo’s curriculum vitae, expecting a replica of their form to their national team couldn’t have been asking too much of them. It is, however, one thing to have a whole horde of stars and totally another to have a team of stars. The Senegalese undid themselves in the qualifying rounds because, by and large, the stars played as individuals, and not as a team. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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