At twenty- three Hosni Abd Rabou seen Egypt win African nations cup twice in a row a rare accomplishement to be proud of. Voted best player of the tournament the Pharaohs engine room Hosni scored four goals in the tournament gust one less than Eto the top scorer with five. Had it not been for the wood work at the finale against Cameroon, Hosni would have made five his goal tally. Played every minute of the six matches Hosni Abd Rabou is a player with two lungs that helped him cover every inch of the pitch. Being one of the twelve players who won the title two years back Hosni is well experienced yet so young to stay with the Pharaohs for long.

Egypt wins the best ever nation’s cup final
The Lions humbled

Declared the best ever, the 26th African Nations Cup final edition brought the tournament’s best sides Egypt and Cameroon to a sensational final show down from which the defending champions made it a back to back title after 1-0 victory. The perfect soccer night with tremendous performance from both sides was in need of a single error from either side to decide the match. The deadly mistake happened to come of all the players on the Indomitable Lions veteran skipper Rigobert Song. He had had chances twice to clear the ball but failed to do so. The smartest Egyptian player Zidan forced on Song’s mistake then a square pass to Abu Tarika who clinically scored the winner. Cameroon back from a frightening 4-2 opening defeat showed great character yet it was the Pharaohs excelled in the tournament with an only draw against Zambia. Surprisingly the trophy went to a side full of local players managed by local coach Hassan Shieata. It is hard to single out one player as dominating figure in the champion’s side it is simply a display of the best team work that earned Egypt a record six time championship title this time as an extra ordinary side. Egypt has the best goal keeper of the tournament by Al Hadri and the best play maker Ahmed Hassan who ended the tournament best player. Egypt has the most disciplined three men defense line that proved what they can do in silencing world feared striker Didier Drogba and Spanish league sensation Samuel Eto. The mid field, with 23 year old skipper Ahmed Hassan supervising the tempo of the game was a tight knitted line up no room for mistakes. As of the striking force it was the move that produce a scorer rather than one designated goal scorer like Samuel Eto. Between the posts it is Al Hadri the dream goal keeper whose two saves against Drogba’s pointblank headers earned him shouldering with the likes of world cup hero Gorden Banks.
It is the second time for Egypt to win back to back the first in 1957 and 1959.
The four times champion led by German Otto Pfister, Cameroon is still the number one soccer power of the continent despite loosing at the cup final to the only North African side to reach the semi final among West African giants Cameroon, Ivory Coast and the host Ghana. It is hard to say a single word about Egypt except praise after praise. Egypt was never fancied as pre tournament title favorite for it was the West’s territory.
Host nation Ghana pre tournament favorite settled for third place bronze medal after a 4-1
victory over Ivory Coast. The second most disappointing side the Elephants came to the tournament as hot favorite yet they performed less than the fan’s expectation thus no one to feel sorry when they thrashed 4-1 at the hands of the Paharoas.

The 26th Ghana African nations cup final new records

Although number of the new records find their way in to the continents football history book, the achievements of Egypt,one of the three African football confederation founding members surpasses any one of the sixteen nation’s that took part in the 26th African nations soccer cup final. “This is the best ever cup final in the continents more than half century football history” remarked FIFA president Sepp Blatter after the magnificent cup final.
“It was the most successful nation’s cup final with Egypt and Cameroon deservedly the finalists and Egypt the ultimate winner” said Ethiopian Coffee all time great Asseged Tesfaye.
Egypt won the title for a record sixth times two more than West African soccer giants Cameroon and Ghana. This is also the second time the Pharaohs managed back to back title the first in 19857 and 1959.
The Ghana held 26th edition also brought the highest ever goal tally just one goal short of centaury. Ninety nine goals scored through out the tournament’s twenty matches that is seven more than the previous record with 93 goals in Burkina Faso. With sixteen goals Ivory Coast stood on top followed by Egypt second with sixteen Cameroon 14 and host Ghana with 11goals. To every one’s surprise Egypt’s twelve goals counted among three players four each.
The Indomitable Lions striker Samuel Eto ended as the tournament’s top scorer. Twenty six years old Eto scored five goals to set a new goal scoring record with a total 16 goals in five tournaments two more than the 38 year old 14 goals record held by Ivorian Laurent Pokou who scored six of his 14 goals against Ethiopia. The 34 year old player who made the costly silly mistake to help Egypt score the one and only winning goal, Cameroon veteran skipper Rigobert Song also set new record appearing in the highest number of matches thirty three in five cup finals. Song seems at the climax of his national carrier hardly to have a chance of another cup final.
The magnificent side of the tournament Egypt has more to talk about than the combined sum of stories told in the name of the other fifteen sides. Team skipper with four goals and a gasping cross bar rebound at the finale Hosni Abdou Rabou voted player of the tournament. The Pharaohs engine room Hosni played every minute of the six matches brilliantly monitoring the tempo of the game to help his country for a record six title and his second. Amir Zaki once with a trial with Tottenham and Mohammed Abu Tarika are the other two who scored four goals each. Angolan rising star Manchester United bound Manucho also found the back of the net four times.
The tournament’s best coach is Hassan Shieta who steered Egypt to the best ever cup final victory. With his tactical genus and the father figure that thrilled the players to give blood for every match Shieta’s print is all over the matches. “He made the tournament’s strongest side amalgamating a bunch of averages players” said Asseged in admiration for Shieta.

My Nations Cup awards
Africa Cup of Nations

So the 26th Africa Cup of Nations is done and dusted, with Egypt winning their sixth title. It has been a tremendous competition, despite a few organizational shortcomings.
Below are my own awards to recognize the highs and lows of Ghana 2008, feel free to agree or disagree!
Player of the tournament:
Egypt is not a one-man team by any stretch of the imagination but it is doubtful whether the Pharaohs would have won without Mohamed Aboutrika. Dynamic and stylish, the ‘Magician’ popped up everywhere opposition players did not want him to be. I was delighted to see him score the goal that settled the final against Cameroon.
Most disappointing player of the tournament:
I arrived in Ghana with the firm belief that Nigeria’s John Mikel Obi would set this Nations Cup alight and establish himself as the new Jay-Jay Okocha. How wrong I was! The Chelsea man was anonymous in the group campaign and abysmal in that quarter-final defeat to Ghana.
Match of the tournament:
For me, the quarter-final tie between Tunisia and Cameroon was the most gripping match of the tournament. The teams took it in turn to attack in waves and the result was a five-goal contest of high quality. It was exhilarating stuff. Both sides were absolutely terrific on the ball and what a pity someone had to lose.
Worst match of the tournament:
The goalless draw between Nigeria and Mali in Group B was so bad it almost put half of those in the Sekondi Sports stadium to sleep. The Nigerians were dreadful while Mali could not rouse themselves to go for a win; mind-numbing stuff that simply tested the endurance of a disappointed crowd.
Goal of the tournament:
There are many contenders but Sulley Muntari’s strike against Guinea stands out for me. The Ghana midfielder’s last-gasp missile got the tournament off to a cracking start - one of those “how did he hit that?” goals.
Team that impressed (other than the winners):
Angola. The Palancas Negras proved that they really are a rising force in African football, and were certainly not disgraced in their quarter-final defeat to Egypt. I expect greater things from them on home soil in 2010. Oh, and another thing, watch out for that Manucho!
Most disappointing team of the tournament:
After serving up successive horror shows in their group campaign, Nigeria put us out of our misery by losing to Ghana in the quarter-finals. How can a nation with some of the most talented footballers on the continent offer so little on the big stage?

Mekonen Gebremedin wins in Valencia-Spain

Ethiopian athletes shine in Spain-Valencia indoor athletics championship where young Mekonen Gebremedin turns up a new athletics sensation in the distance.
Twice IAAF world best athlete of the season Kenenisa ready for his second victory in the new athletics season was highly expected to set a new record in 3000 meters indoor show down.
Beating the rising athletics star Eritrean Zeresenay Tadesse at the start of the new season, the five times double world cross country champion Kenenisa already showed the world that he is back in form and dreaming a third world title. With that in perspective the event organizers hoped Kenenisa to chop off some seconds from the 3000 meter indoor record held by Kenyan Daniel Komen at 7:24:90. How ever, the unexpected fluctuation of his younger brother also his pace maker Tariku Bekele’s performance left the champion to get tired and stay until the final 300 meter to his killer pace. Kenenisa crossed the finishing line in 7:36:08 followed by Kenyan Edwin Soy just sixty two seconds late. Tariku finished third clocking 7:38:58 to claim the bronze medal. “The main thing is that I won the race” told Kenenisa after the race.
In the women’s 3000 meters event one of the strongest Ethiopian women athlete Meselech Melkamu easily won despite the presence of some strong athletes. Had it not been for slowing her pace in mid distance, Meselech’s pace at the start was so fast that breaking the record held by Meseret Defar seem possible. Last year Stuttgart runner –up Meselech clocked 8:29:48 to claim the gold medal.
The real sensation of the event is young Mekonen Gebremedin who surprised not only his contenders but also his coaches for winning the gold medal in a distance never an Ethiopians turf. With the presence of current European champion Juan Carlos Heguero and fellow country man Arturo Kasado, fresh leg Mekonen appeared too strong to the title. It took Mekonen 3:36:63 to cover the 1500 meter distance while veterans Heguero and Casado crossed the finishing line in 3:37:46 and 3:18:713 respectively. The win in the 1500 meter distance not so popular among Ethiopian athletes called a strong applaud from athletics federation for it meant a lot to young athletes already in the discipline.