After La Decima, it is La Demi
Wene Owino | Friday June 6, 2014 15:23
Real Madrid got their La Decima – an eagerly awaited 10th crown in the UEFA Champions League and Arsenal avoided La Decima – an unwanted 10th year without a trophy.
After the two La Decima were sorted, the field has been left for La Demi, another international football obsession that needs to be exorcised. Conceived in 1990 in Italy by Africa and colonial master England, La Demi has not been delivered for 24 years.
Unlike La Decima (the 10th in English), which was a one-club affair pursued by Real Madrid, La Demi (the Semi in French) is a multi-national and trans-continental effort of at least six countries – make that seven in 2010. For 24 years, Africa and England have been trying to break the jinx of failure to reach the semi-final of the World Cup.
Of course the struggle started 24 years ago with England and Africa joined at the hip. Since England narrowly beat Cameroon in the quarterfinal of Italia 1990, the former colonial master or a team from Africa have never won a match in the last eight of the World Cup.
That controversial duel seemed to have jinxed both. Witness this. The match was decided by extra-time and three penalties and since then, the script has been the same for both though there were a few variations in 2002 when England were eliminated 2-1 by Brazil and the Terranga Lions of Senegal lost 1-0 to Turkey.
In 2002, there was no extra-time for England but the dead ball was there to haunt them. A highly speculative free-kick from Ronaldinho did it. There was no dead ball heart-break for Africa but Senegal suffered from the other factor, extra-time.
For England, the agony has extended to the European Nations Cup with the only relief coming in 1996 when they hosted the continental showpiece. That means that since beating Cameroon in 1990, England had never won a quarterfinal match in major tournaments played on foreign soil.
The ‘Golden Generation’ that was one-time inspired by David ‘Showbiz’ Beckham failed miserably and suffered the utter humiliation of twice failing even to qualify for the big stage itself. That meant watching the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2008 on TV.
Africa and England get another opportunity to deliver La Demi at the World Cup next week with indications that it would take a minor miracle to exorcise the demons. There are chances that the two parties may clash as early as the second round because teams from Group C where Ivory Coast is placed meet those from Group D where England is campaigning. If they do not engage in the hara-kiri of the past, the English should have little trouble coming out of the group with fellow European giants, Italy. Croatia may provide a tough test but playing the final group match against the less regarded Costa Rica should heavily favour the Three Lions if it comes to the boil.
For Africa, chances of a successful negotiation of the group stage are not looking good because the draw has not been favourable. African teams must engage in some sustained giant-killing acts to progress and perhaps send more than one team to the second round for the first time.
But this will be tricky because the continent’s three leading lights, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon finish their group assignments against Portugal, Argentina and Brazil respectively. That means any slip-ups in the first two matches may spell doom for the West African trio. For Ghana, Africa’s best campaigners in the last two World Cup, the situation is even more dire. The Black Stars are in the group of death that has three-time champions Germany, Cristiano Ronaldo and the USA. Though Ghana has never failed to qualify for the second round, it would be a big shock if Germany and Ronaldo’s Portugal fall at the group stage.
The Black Stars’ lot is not helped by the fact that they may not be third time lucky against the USA. Ghana has been to the World Cup three times on each occasion, fate has made sure it must play the Americans. So far the Africans have won the first two meetings but whether they will extend the head-to-head record to 3-0 remains to be seen.
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have the next toughest assignment of the African representatives because they have Mexico and Croatia to contend with besides the hosts. Otherwise, the other African campaigners, the powerful but under-achieving Ivory Coast, Nigeria and the once-mighty Algeria have easier groups but do they have the staying power to cruise through?
The Elephants of Ivory Coast will only have themselves or their witchdoctors to blame if they cannot come out of a group of lesser lights like Colombia, Greece and Japan.
The same goes for the Super Eagles of Nigeria who have minnows like Iran and debutantes Bosnia-Herzegovina to feast on. Of the African teams, Nigeria has the easiest draw. They need not worry about the last match against Argentina because of the low hanging qualification points from the lightweights.
The fifth African musketeer, Algeria is no longer the force that stunned the formidable Germans 2-1 in the 1982 World Cup. But even if they cannot handle fancied Belgium in their group, they have a fair chance of going past the less threatening South Korea and Russia. So will the five-pronged armada from Africa or the lone striker, England deliver La Demi? Time will tell but there is hope in the year of two La Decima.