Yus: You couldn't be more right! Excellent call - Senegal 5 Namibia 0...A 1-1 stalemate in Algeria, thanks to a dubious penalty awarded to Egypt that halted play for about 15 mins. Nonetheless, it will be 4 sub-saharan teams representing real Africa in the next world cup! Congratulations to the Lions of Senegal. We wish them another great outing in Japan/S.Korea 2002. Regards BS >From: Yusupha C Jow <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Senegalese Lions! >Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 11:36:49 EDT > >Baboucarr: > >For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to intimate the remarkable >run of Les Lions to the members of the L, but I think most were either too >busy or just not aware of the latest soccer news. > >Regardless, this is a rejuvenated Senegalese team which is probably among >the >top three in Africa with Cameroon and S. Africa. I was lucky enough to >watch >the last Les Lions in action during the last African Nations cup, and I >must >tell you that this is not the same team. The last team, coached by Peter >Shnittinger, a well traveled, veteran German physio, played a more rabid >in >your face style of soccer: a bit reminiscent of our cousins' big man, >"Grande mbouba" toting, and loud mouth antics. Weird analogy but this is >the >best I could come up with it to describe this frenetic style of play by Les >Lions. > >But those of you who have been watching the game for a while will probably >agree with me ; grandeur and overkill is a big part of Senegalese culture >in >particular and these attributes tend to seep into their style of football. >One incident in particular stands out; in a match between Senegal and >Guinea >during the Zone 2 tourney at the Independence stadium in 1986, a Guinean >attacker ventured into the opposing defense where he ran into the roadblock >created by the great Jahou Gaye and Roger Mendy. Roger, in true Grande >fashion, tapped the ball over his head once, and instead of moving forward, >he did it again to the poor Guinean chap. Needless, to say, as a young >impressionable man in the stands, I was amazed by the amazing audacity and >skill displayed by the great libero. This is "Grande" style soccer. It is >a >style typified by a never die attitude but also one characterized by >extreme >showmanship. > >As much entertaining as the "Grande" style is, it was not going to get them >to the highest stage. Shnittinger let them play this style but, like a >blessing in disguise, the German was replaced by a Frenchman called Bruno >Metsau after the Nations Cup. Metsau did something amazing. He went to >France and somehow convinced many French boys with ties to Senegal to >represent their roots. Most of them agreed. Therefore, out went the >"Grande" style of play and in came the Franco-Senegalese boys. In came El >Hadjj Ousainou Diouf (Rennes), Ferdinand Colley (Lens), Malick Ndiaye (St >Etienne), Aliou Cisse (PSG) Saliou Diao (Monaco)etc etc. The only remnants >of the old guard are Omar Daff at left back, Khaliliou Fadiga at left >midfield or attack and the goalie. > >The impact of the Franco-Senegalese is the reason for this success. I pray >for Les Lions tomorrow. I would rather see a true sub-Saharan African team >in >the big dance any day instead of some N. African side which would rather >represent the Arab World. Will Arab solidarity be the order of the day? >No! >I predict that Senegal will penetrate the Namibian defense multiple times >tomorrow. Out of those multiple penetrations, five goals shall result. > >Allez Les Lions > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------