AuthorJeffEyesRimmer Congratulations to Cameroon for winning the 2017 African Cup of Nations. I don’t think many would have predicted them to lift the trophy, I certainly didnt, after so many high profile players refused to play for them. So it is a credit to the team and management to pull together so well and win the tournament. We won’t dwell on the fact that my tip, Algeria, was awful. It was a good tournament with several players impressing. I have picked 4 players that I think will be on various teams transfer radar come the summer after they made it into the team of the tournament. Christian Bassogog - Attacking midfielder/Striker, Cameroon, Current Club: AaB
The 21 year old was voted player of the tournament and scored twice on route to their victory in the final. Bassogog is only 21 years of age and although initially used as a winger he has been moved up into a more attacking position for his current club; AaB in the Danish Superliga. Apparently he was subject to interest in the January transfer window but no bid was eventually made. Bassogog has had a ridiculous rise in the past 2 years, from playing with Rainbow FC in Cameroon in 2015 to player of the AFCON tournament now. The speed at which he has burst onto the scene even surprised the Cameroonian coach Hugo Broos, who stated ““If you asked me this question five months ago, ‘You know Bassogog?’ I’d say, ‘Who?’ ”. Fast, skilful, direct and with an eye of goal, many teams will have heard of him now and I cant see him staying in Denmark for long. Junior Kabananga - Striker, DR Congo, Current Club: Astana The 27 year was voted into the team of the tournament based on his 3 goals for DR Congo. The striker currently plays for Astana in the Kazakhstan Premier League. He has played in Belgium as well with both Anderlecht and Cercle Brugge. For current club Astana though he has leaded the line in attack while they won the league and cup double in 2016 and was also part of the team that made into the Champions League groups stages in 2015. So Kabananga certainly has some experience and could really aid some teams struggling for goals. Fabrice Ondoa - Goal Keeper, Cameroon, Current Club: Gimnàstic Ondoa has played more for Cameroon than he has for his clubs sides but can quite happily frame that winner’s medal and hold his head high as goalkeeper of the tournament. Not many 21 year olds can lay claim to that. Ondoa made some terrific saves during the tournament, especially against Senegal and Gabon. He is also a product of the Samuel Eto academy so not a bad training facility to come from. Plenty of teams will be looking at him and he looks like he is going to turn into a top goal keeper. Key an eye out for this one I think. Ahmed Hegazy – Centre Back, Egypt, Current Club: Al Aly Hegazy can play at both centre back and full back and plays for one of the biggest clubs in Asia with Al Aly. The 26 year old has had stints in Italy with Fiorentina and Perugia but returned to his country of birth in 2015. This was after an awful injury he sustained in training at Fiorentina, so he wasn’t given a real chance in Italy. Hegazy is coming into the prime of his career and there are plenty of teams that would like to have a strong centre back with his experience, he helped Al Ally to their 9th title in 10 years last season. He also helped Egypt to 4 clean sheets in during the AFCON tournament, with them only conceding 3 goals during their run to the final. One interesting fact that also came out of AFCON 2017 was that two current Chelsea players made the team and one ex Chelsea player did too, Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Christian Atsu (Ghana) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt) made the team. It will be interesting to see if this means that the two current youngsters will be given more of a chance at Chelsea. Looks like Chelsea’s scouts are doing well though. The full team of the tournament was: Goalkeeper: Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon) Defenders: Modou Kara MBodji (Senegal), Ahmed Hegazy (Egypt), Michael Ngadeu (Cameroon) Midfielders: Charles Kabore (Burkina Faso), Daniel Amartey (Ghana), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Christian Atsu (Ghana), Mohamed Salah (Egypt) Forwards: Christian Bassogog (Cameroon), Junior Kabananga (DR Congo) Who else do you think was a star at AFCON 2017? |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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