admincompetition, been runners-up and collected bronze medals twice in 14 appearances, but they have also made five first-round departures and regularly fail to even qualify.
North African neighbours Tunisia are their first Group D opponents on January 22 in north-west South African mining town Rustenburg and the outcome is sure to have a crucial bearing on the final mini-league standings.
“The match against Tunisia will determine our future in this competition,” insists Vahid Halilhodzic, who was in charge of Cote d’lvoire when they were shocked by Algeria in a dramatic 2010 quarter-final.
Halilhodzic was sacked soon after, depriving him of a chance to lead the Ivorian “Elephants” at the World Cup in South Africa the same year after steering Didier Drogba and other stars into the tournament.
But the widely experienced handler rubbishes talk of revenge when they face title favoures Ivory Coast in the final series of fixtures in a group completed by rank ousiders Togo.
“Forget about revenge — we are going there with a lot of ambition and determination to achieve the best results possible,” said the man who led Moroccan outfit Raja Casablanca to the 1997 Caf Champions League title.
“I will give 100% to help my team reach the assigned objective in the competition,” he told Algerian journalists, without specifying what the objective is.
“Anything is possible at the Cup of Nations. Honestly, who bet even one dime that Zambia would win the last competition? I can assure Algerians that we will not be in South Africa as tourists.
“My squad is inexperienced but full of desire to do well. Although I am optimistic, it will not be a major surprise if we are eliminated after the opening round.
“If we get to the quarter-finals you never know what can happen, but we have to get there first and it starts with a positive result from our outing against Tunisia.” Russia-based Rail Mbolhi is the likely first-choice goalkeeper and Carl Medjani from French side Ajaccio has succeeded ageing Madjid Bougherra as the defensive kingpin.
Captain Medhi Lacen from Spanish La Liga outfit Getafe provides the midfield steel from his position in front of the back four while the more offensive Sofiane Feghouli of Valencia enters the tournament with a growing reputation.
Halilhodzic favours tall strikers who can exploit crosses and set pieces and local Islam Slimani and Portugal-based El Arbi Hilel Soudani boast good scoring records at international level. — AFP.
Online Reporter