Burkina
Faso have been successful hosts to the Nations Cup 1998 and have managed
a surprise build up of a capable national team for the before tiny football
power in West Africa.
The team rose to the
occasion when playing on home turf and has surprisingly been stabilised
yet, qualifying for the second successive Nations Cup finals.
Adding to it the Burkinabé
youth teams have started to perform conspiciously well, backed by the raising
of football schools, and qualifying for two consecutive Under 17 World
Cups.
But an incostency on
the coaching level of the national team seems to have done some harm to
the progress of the squad who since 1998 is performing a similar pattern,
a very talented and exciting game in some phases and a disorganised and
fragmented picture in others.
So results like 4:2
or 2:4 are more common with the Stallions than 1:0 or 0:1 and especially
against experienced and opportunistic opponents, they will have to expect
problems in defence.
A few days before the
tournament they have released coach Oscar Fullone, a successful Argentinian
in Africa, because of his absence from the team caused by illness of his
wife.
Their biggest name
among the players, Mamadou Zongo will be absend also, but therefore the
two exciting attackers of the Under 17 team, Wilfried Sanou and Madi (Panandetiguiri)
are included.
Some spectacular excitement
is promised, but little perspective for the quarter finals |
