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A football supporter's guide to CAN 2017: Day 14

Will Morocco's coach Hervé Renard lead his team to victory?
Will Morocco's coach Hervé Renard lead his team to victory? AFP/Fethi Belaid
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1. The gatekeeper doth rule

The Egypt defender Ahmed Elmohamady said it after their victory over Ghana in Port-Gentil: travelling is tiring at the Cup of Nations. Ain’t that the truth. Ghana came second in Group D following a 1-0 loss to Egypt on day 12 and that defeat meant a trip to Oyem – which might become a Ghanaian expression for vale of tears.

On day 13, Ghana were delayed in actually travelling to the northern city because the plane they were going to use was carrying the Moroccans to Port-Gentil from Oyem. It was held up and once it had landed in Port-Gentil, it was too late for the Ghanaians to fly up to Oyem because the airport there has no lights for night time landing.

So instead of being in Oyem on day 13 to prepare for their quarter-final against Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ghanaians were still in Port-Gentil. More misery followed though once they got to Oyem. The officials wouldn’t let them into the stadium for their training session as they arrived slightly late.

And they were told that as the DRC wouldn’t be late, they couldn’t go in. Not even an official from the Confederation of African Football – which organises the tournament – could convince the gatekeeper. The Ghanaians eventually got in. Lads, you should have stayed in Port-Gentil.

2.Talk about talking up your opponents

The Cameroon defender Adolphe Teikeu says he has no problem with his team being considered the underdogs in the clash against Senegal. This is despite the fact that Cameroon have, with four titles, a far better pedigree than the Senegalese who’ve never lifted the Cup of Nations trophy.

But since the last Cameroon crown came in 2002, the modern reality is, apparently, Senegal. "It’s from what they’ve done in the qualifiers and what they’ve done in the group stages," said Teikeu. "It’s not me saying this, the statistics are there for everyone to see. Senegal are favourites for the quarter-final. It really isn’t a way of putting pressure on them. Understand?" Yes.

3. Hervé Renard, the fans man

The Morocco squad had a training session on day 14 ahead of their quarter-final against Egypt and the team bus was followed to the venue at the Sogara sports centre in Port-Gentil by a gaggle of cars festooned with Morocco flags.

The bus was allowed through the barriers – obviously the Oyem ogre doesn’t have a cousin down in Port-Gentil – and the players filed out of the coach, stretched their legs and started their warm-ups. Morocco coach Hervé Renard, looking tanned and relaxed, pointed here and there and surveyed his crop.

He then called over one of his acolytes, whispered in his ear and the assistant promptly went and told the security guards to let the fans in. An assembly of mums and dads with their bairns entered, screamed their joy and when they left, they were selfies of happiness. “Egypt won’t let us look at the players, even with Ghana it was difficult. To see Morocco ... my people ... it’s wonderful," one matron cooed."

4.Hervé Renard, the relaxed and tanned history man

When Morocco take on Egypt in their quarter-final in Port-Gentil, Renard, 48, will be hoping to take Morocco one step closer to their first continental title since 1976. It will also move him nearer to the feat of becoming the first man to coach three different teams to the Cup of Nations crown. He led Zambia to the zenith in 2012 and Cote d’Ivoire in 2015.

5. Winning’s the thing

“There’s no happiness in this man,” remarked one colleague after sitting through a press conference with Hector Cuper. True, the Egypt coach does emit a gruff, quarter-master’s air and his Egypt team echo his sternness. They do not blaze bravura - two matches have been claimed 1-0 - but they are into the quarter-finals after finishing top of Group D.

So the 61-year-old Argentine has reasons to be cheerful. A first appearance at the World Cup since 1990 is, he has admitted, the big objective. But leading the Pharoahs to an eighth continental title wouldn’t be a bad staging post. And Cuper’s attritional approach has yielded three defeats, three draws and 14 victories.

It has also won him fans in high places. "Everybody can watch what he is doing. He teaches the players organisation. He has a system that does not change and the players are getting used to it," said Hazem el Hawary, a board member at the Egyptian FA who is head of the Pharaohs' delegation in Gabon.

El Hawary held the same position when Egypt won the 1998 Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso. “Everybody says now that Egypt plays with a system. They are not playing haphazard. Our results in the last 18 months are super." That’s Cuper then.

 

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