adminrecord in the competition that includes two titles, several outstanding footballers, and a coach set to make a record seventh appearance at the competition.
Most pundits are backing Ghana to win Port Elizabeth-based Group B with 2012 bronze medalists Mali and DR Congo contesting the other ticket to the knock-out stage and Niger the whipping boys.
DRC are back at the Cup of Nations after a seven-year break with French coach Claude le Roy also in charge when they reached the 2006 quarter-finals before bowing out to hosts Egypt.
Nomadic Le Roy, a bespectacled 64-year-old with flowing blond locks known as the “White Wizard”, took Ghana to third place two years later and also spent time in Oman before receiving a telephone call from Kinshasa.
Congolese president Joseph Kabila was on the line and he persuaded the coach to come back to central Africa and take over the struggling Leopards, who have failed to qualify for the past three Cup of Nations.
“The team was in very bad shape,” recalled Le Roy in a Congolese radio interview. “They were ranked 35 in Africa and many stars were no longer interested in playing for the national team.
“An unstable political situation meant football had taken a back seat for a few years, so the priority was to restore confidence to the team and help it operate more professionally.” — AFP.
Online Reporter
dyton mupawaenda