Against the odds, the Pharaohs retained their Africa Cup of Nations trophy by winning their sixth title. From host country Ghana, Inas Mazhar writes on the pleasant surprise The 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana 2008, wrapped up in the Ghanaian capital Accra after a thrilling final between defending champions Egypt and four-time winners Cameroon which Egypt eventually won 1-0. The final brought to an end three weeks of competition, fanfare and celebration of African fraternity, and leaving sweet memories in the minds of all. The win gave Egypt their sixth Africa Cup of Nations title. The Pharaohs, as they are fondly called, scored the lone goal of the game in the 77th minute when Mohamed Abu-Treika slotted into the net a Mohamed Zidan pass after Lions skipper Rigobert Song clumsily failed to clear his area. Egyptian coach, Hassan Shehata one of the few home-based coaches in the tournament, recorded his second successive title, as did Charles Gyamfi of Ghana who won the tournament in 1963 and 1965. It was an impressive and exciting final but for those who attended the game in Accra Stadium it was difficult. Though Egypt was playing brilliant football as it did since the outset of the tournament, Cameroon fought back, looking to take revenge as they weren't ready to be beaten twice by the Pharaohs who had already beaten them 4- 2 in their opening game in the group stages thanks to braces by Hosni Abd Rabou and Zidan while Cameroon tried to come back following a Samuel Eto'o double. The victory surprised those who did not give Egypt much of a chance of winning. Because of Egypt's modest performances in the qualifications, few believed they could retain the title, especially the local media and the public. Only the players and Shehata kept the faith. Almost 500 Egyptian fans were flown in on the morning of the match on a charter flight to Accra. They joined the 100 odd fans who were in Ghana since the beginning of the tournament on 20 January. Lebanese, Syrians and other Arabs waved the Egyptian flag and wore the Egyptian jersey to show their support. And for the first time since the Egyptians arrived in Ghana, the home crowd showed some support, however mild. Since the beginning, they had supported all except Egypt. When Egypt scored, they would hardly react, but there would be cheers and screams when the opponents scored, as if they have won the tournament. In the sparkling encounter, Egypt dominated in possession and had devastating blitzes which pressured the Lions time and again. While the Lions relied on physical strength as the main tactic to success, the Pharaohs depended on speed and pace. In the encounter, Abu-Treika almost opened the scoring in the 13th minute but a splendid save by Cameroon 's keeper Carlos Kameni kept his goal clean. Sensing danger, Lions coach Otto Pfister decided that holding midfielder, Alexandre Song, who sustained an injury in the semi-final game against Ghana, had to be substituted for Gilles Binya of Benfica. Abu-Treika again volleyed a rebound from Kameni which was off target. A few minutes to half time, Abd Rabou was stopped by Kameni. After the break, the Lions employed long- range play that made them dominate the game for about 15 minute before the Egyptians seized control again. Kameni had to make a string of saves and Abd Rabou's header hit the right post before Song's horrid mishandling of the ball which Zidan eventually controlled. His square pass to Abu-Treika 13 minutes before the end Egypt broke the deadlock. After the goal, the Lions moved up front hoping for an equaliser that never came their way. Song at stoppage time headed off target which would have been the redeemer. The Pharaohs now have six titles to their credit as opposed to four for runners up Cameroon and host country Ghana. The Egyptians won the previous editions in 1957, 1959, 1986 and 2006. At the end, thousands of spectators waved flags of the host nation as well as that of the two finalists Egypt and Cameroon. The climax of a brief closing ceremony came during the handing over of the winner's trophy to the Pharaohs. The jubilant Egyptian players danced and celebrated alongside thousands of supporters as the Cameroonians looked on in disbelief. The Egyptians were given a heroic welcome as they landed in Cairo Airport on Monday morning. Thousands of Egyptian fans, led by President Hosni Mubarak, received the winning team. The African champions had taken a direct flight from Accra to Cairo hours after the final game finished. And for six hours, the players celebrated in the airport, especially Amr Zaki and Mohamed Zidan who led the festivities. On landing, the players and officials were escorted to the VIP hall where they met President Mubarak who congratulated them on their victory and promised them to meet them again soon after returning from a visit to the UAE. Outside Cairo Airport, tens of thousands of fans made it very difficult for the team bus to find its way as they surrounded the vehicle despite police efforts to block the advancing crowds. En route to the final, Egypt beat Cameroon, Sudan and drew with Zambia in the group stages before beating Angola 2-1 in the quarter-finals and knocking down the Ivory Coast 4-1 in the semi-finals. The annihilation of tournament favourites Cote D'Ivoire more than anything else propelled Egypt as the front runner for the coveted trophy. In the semi-final against the Ivory Coast Ahmed Fathi opened score for Egypt before Zaki scored. Ivorian striker Abdel-Kader Keita reduced the tally 2-1. But Zaki scored his second for Egypt goal number three and Abu- Treika added the fourth goal in injury-time. The Pharaohs were helped by the magnificent performance of their goalkeeper, Essam El-Hadari, who denied Ivory Coast and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba a goal on three occasions with the score still at 1-0. The match was a repeat of the 2006 final when Egypt beat Ivory Coast on penalties after a goalless draw in Cairo. Tactical collectively, alternative accurate short passes, fast, simple, and fluid football are some of the attributes that have unveiled Egypt as the most accomplished team of this tournament. In the semi-final not only was Egypt on top of its attacking prowess it displayed an eerie mastery of the defense when it drenched the Ivorian pressure and counter attacked to its advantage. The Indomitable Lions did not have an easy route to the final in the tournament. After the demolition by Egypt, they went through two relatively easy matches against Zambia and Sudan. In the quarter-final after a commendable start, it took extra time to oust Tunisia 3-2. In the semi final the defensive duo of Song and Bikey heroically kept the Ghanaians at bay till the 70th minute when debutante Alain Nkong scored the goal that sent them to the final. The Black Stars of Ghana had failed to apply the slogan "Host and Win" as they bowed out to Cameroon 1-0 in the semi-final encounter. Substitute Nkong benefited from a beautiful combination between Eto'o and Achille Emana to score the only goal of the match 19 minutes from time. Playing in front of tens of thousands of home fans, Ghana fought back fearlessly to equal but to no avail. It seems that the Kumasi fans were happy with the Black Stars losing since they gave them a heroic welcome when they arrived in Kumasi for the play-off game. Now they could see the team up close. Ghana picked up a consolation bronze courtesy of a 4-2 victory over Cote d'Ivoire in the match for third and fourth played at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Saturday. It was a spirited second half that saw the Black Stars come back from a goal deficit in the first half to restore some pride for the whole nation. Ghana coach Claude Leroy started offensive midfielder Baffour Gyan for the first time in the competition, and it worked to perfection as the latter brought pressure to bear on the Elephants rear right from the onset. Midfielder Sulley Muntari put Ghana in the lead as early as the fifth minute with a spectacular drive from a free-kick around the edge of the Ivorian penalty area which goalkeeper Kone Tiasse had no answers for. The Elephants responded quickly and managed to draw level five minutes later through Werder Bremen hitman Boubacar Sanogo who connected home after being put through by hardworking attacker Abdul-Kader Keita. Still dominating play, Sanago gave his side the lead in the 32nd minute by slotting home from a goal mouth action after the Ghanaian defence had been torn apart with a series of attacks. Six minutes later, Sanago was gifted with a perfect opportunity to complete a hat-trick but his shot ricocheted off the cross bar with Black Stars goalie Richard Kingston well beaten. The hosts resumed the second half strongly and started to put the tactics given by coach Le Roy into practice. Substitute Quincy Owusu Abeyie, who replaced Gyan before the interval, gave the Stars the expected equaliser in the 70th minute after finishing off a solo move. England-based striker Manuel Agogo scored the third goal for the hosts before Haminu Dramani sealed victory eight minutes from time with a long drive that surprisingly beat goalkeeper Kone. Cote d'Ivoire coach Gerard Gili later brought on Aruna Dindane but it did little to change the course of the game despite enjoying some occasional dominance. The closing ceremony was graced by the crème de la crème of global football, among them CAF President Issa Hayatou, Ghana's President John Agyekum Kuffuor and FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter. The colourful ceremony at the Ohene Djan stadium was characterised by a rich cultural display, fanfare and the beating of drums. The hosts were presented with the bronze medals by CAF first Vice-President Seyi Memene who was assisted by Togolese President Faure Nyasingbe and officials from the local organising committee.
