For all the talk about the brilliant individual stars of the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Ghana, it was Egypt, a team whose players play mostly at home, that once again emerged victorious in Africa’s continental championship. En route to their second consecutive ACN triumph, the hard-working, tactically superior Egyptians brushed aside tournament favorite Ivory Coast, 4-1, in the semifinals, before beating Cameroon — for the second time in the tournament — 1-0, in the final.
Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune takes a closer look at the North Africans’ self-contained soccer culture. Egypt, with a population of 80 million, is as soccer-mad a country as you’d find anywhere, but unlike its African neighbors, does not export many players. In fact, its starting lineup in the final included just one foreign-based player, Anderlecht’s Ahmed Hassan, who plans to play at home once his contract expires. Hassan Shehata, Egypt’s coach, has also never worked outside of Cairo. He elected to keep Hamburg’s Mohamed Zidan, perhaps Egypt’s best-known player, on the bench, although it was Zidan’s industry that carved out Mohamed Aboutrika’s winner in the final.
With so many domestic-based players — and without the vested interests of European-based clubs — it’s easier for Shehata to forge a cohesive national team squad than for other countries. Underscoring that point: of the 368 players at the ACN, Hughes reports that 209 play in 46 countries abroad.