Five eye-catching players from the Cup of Nations
Monday, 1 February 2010
Having watched many of the games, I thought I'd share the names of some players who caught my eye during the tournament in January. First, some notes. This is not an exhaustive list, nor does it represent my opinion on the best five players in the competition. I'm also not saying these guys are going to be world-beaters. They simply impressed me over the space of a few short games.
And yes, I'm aware that this is hardly ground-breaking stuff and most of these players are well known names, at least for football geeks.
- Mabina - the fabulous Petro Atlético Luanda and Angola player turned on the style from an attacking right back position and showed off his abilities as a midfielder. He loves to get forward and his crossing is stunning. In Angola's first game, he set up Flavio's second goal with a mouth-watering centre from the touchline. He's got tricky feet, too
- Youssef Msakni - the teenager, who plays for Esperance Tunis and Tunisia, is a very exciting but painfully raw talent. He's an attacking midfielder who favours the left flank for his national team, and making probing, aggressive runs forward. His passing range is impressive and he can go past a man with ease
- Rainford Kalaba - the U.D. Leiria and Zambia man has a lot of potential and is a skillful, slippery player with deceptive strength on the ball. Despite slightly erratic shooting, he really looked the part
- Manucho - the Angola and Real Valladolid striker will be a new name to nobody, but having only previously seen him at ACN 2008, Manucho impressed me in 2010. He holds the ball up brilliantly and likes to drop deep and turn the ball round the corner for overlapping players. A weapon like Manucho is a real bonus for teams who like to get behind the opponents' defence. He's not bad in the channels either
- Gervinho - the Ivorian international forward has made a name for himself in Ligue 1 with Lille, but his performance in Angola was the first time I've seen him. He drops very deep to get involved in the play, using a good change of pace and no small measure of skill to beat his mane. He's a good passer and, judging by his record in France, loves to score a goal or 18
(Pic via Koora)
3 comments:
Well, I will have to go for Mabina (Angola), Ghezzall (Algeria), Gyan (Ghana), Gervinho (Ivory Coast).
One word about Kalaba. He haven't made almost any game in Leiria, where he was on loan, and he was sent back to Braga, who appears to didnt want him too. I think he will be loaned to Zamalek. He is in Portugal for some years now, but never hasn't shown any good football, at least, any competitive one.
I think Mabina is really the big surprise of this cup. And I think that he needs urgently to leave Angola. Many angolan players have bad careers outside Africa, maybe a bit like the egyptians. Mabina needs to search a competitive country to make his football appear.
Hi Luis, thanks for your comment. Great to get some feedback on Kalaba's whereabouts, I must admit I did struggle a bit to find out exactly where he was. I had him down as a Braga player in my notes from the games I watched.
I'm not hugely surprised that he's not quite made it yet, I think his final ball was a bit disappointing but he caught my eye with his footwork and energy.
Also agree on Mabina - I hope he does well outside Angola because his delivery was superb and I love watching players get up and down the wings.
Manucho?! He was probably the single reason Angola didn't beat Ghana! Woeful finishing in that game!
Mabina though I agree with you - awesome in every game. He's in my team of the tournament as posted on J-F.
Jonathan
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