admincome together in one spirit under the banner of the flag, dressed in their red, white and blue to cheer on the nation’s pride and joy – the Lone Star – in what on paper is an academic contest today.
The Liberians have no hope to make the Equatorial Guinea-Gabon party as they go against a star-studded Eagles of Mali who need a win, or could sail through with a draw, depending on the result of the other group contest involving hosts Cape Verde and the visiting Warriors of Zimbabwe.
While the game at the SKD today will be an academic one for the Lone Star, as they lie at the bottom of the four-team group despite parading two expatriate tacticians in Bertalan Bicskei (deceased) and Roberto Landi, the team still has pride to play for.
They could set something special if they win as they will then be winning more than one match in the qualifiers for the first time since the 2002 qualifiers where the legendary George Weah and company stunned
the bookmakers by making in-roads in qualifying for just their second African Nations Cup finals and led the way throughout the World Cup qualifiers.
They only surrendered top spot to the delirious Super Eagles of Nigeria after somehow bowing to a depleted Ghanaian side at the SKD.
Also, the unbeaten home record is at stake as the Lone Star have never tasted defeat at home since their 1-2 loss to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on June 3, 2007, in a 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier.
With the team unbeaten at home in the entire 2010 qualifiers, the Lone Star faithful will be itching to see such a record stay intact. But, while the Lone Star may be parading a relatively depleted side since the team has over the years mainly depended on professional players who have made a chunk of the players featuring for the team, the news that only four professionals will play today makes Mali marginal favourites.
CSKA Moscow’s Sekou Jabateh Oliseh, who is fresh from Champions League football against Inter Milan, Ansu Toure from Swiss Second tier side Locarno, as well as the France-based Al-Husein Keita of US
Senart-Moisy and Sweden-based Dioh Williams of BK Hacken, are available for the Lone Star.
Mali’s French coach Alain Giresse has assembled a star-studded squad, including Barcelona’s industrious midfielder Seydou Keita, French outfit Metz shot-stopper Oumar Sissoko, deadly finisher Modibo Maiga of Ligue 1 outfit Sochaux and Adama Coulibaly and Cherick Tidiane Diabate of AJ Auxerre ansd Bordeaux respectively.
On paper, the Malians are the firm favorites as they have the edge in terms of player-for-player comparison, current form, pedigree as well as motivation as they find themselves just 90 minutes away to the African Nations Cup finals which will be their seventh in all with their first being in 1972 where they surprised many by ending as runners-up.
Though, they can be regarded as poor travellers currently after losing away to Cape Verde and Zimbabwe, 0-1 and 1-2 respectively in the ongoing qualifiers, as far as the records are concerned the Eagles may have something to be hopeful of as in their first visit to Liberia they went away with a 1-0 win at the SKD in September 1988 during the preliminary round of the 1990 African Nations Cup.
The Lone Star too will have something to hope for as far as beating Mali is concerned as they pinned them 1-0 on June 6, 2004, during the 2006 African Nations Cup qualifier match.
While I would not want to dwell on the speculative and damaging news that the game on Saturday is to be compromised, or sold to give the Malians since I may not have the evidence or facts to authenticate such
a position, it would be unfair to show some disrespect to the highly-experienced Malians to think that if the Lone Star do lose then the game was bought. – LiberiaSoccer.Com.
Online Reporter