Weekend Guide 5.2.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

It’s obvious that this week I’m going to write about the African Cup of Nations  final on Sunday, but as you have already seen – nothing is obvious. After all, this is a BabaGol weekend guide!

This week we will fly to Latin America to see the origins of the last World Cup sensation, we’ll hop over to Asia to visit one of its emerging football nations and finally, we will arrive in Africa, in a country that is trying to return to the forefront of the  African football stage.

(All the times are in CET)

Sunday, 03:00, Herediano – Alajuelense (Costa Rican Primera División)
At the last World Cup we were all witnessed the big surprise that was the Costa Rican national team. The fascinating fact is that nine players of the squad play in the Costa Rican domestic league, which is not so common in most successful Latin American national teams. Football in Costa Rica has made great progress in recent years. On Sunday, two of Costa Rica’s greatest clubs, Herediano and Alajuelense, will meet for an important league fixture and we can see the progress for ourselves.

In the last Campeonato de Invierno (Winter Championship), Herediano finished as the runner-up, after a tragic defeat against Saprissa. Their aspirations are to win the title, but they are now in 4th position, with 8 points out of 4 games.

The head coach is Mauricio Wright, who was capped 67 times for the national team. Several players in the squad were also part of their national team squad in Brazil like Óscar Granados, Dave Myrie and Daniel Cambronero. Gabriel Gómez, the Panamanian who played for years in Europe and the United States is also there, as are Leonel Moreira, who has played for Herediano since 2009 and Cristian Montero, who knows both of the teams very well, as he has been with  Herediano since 2009, but was a part of the Alajuelense squad for eight seasons.

Alajuelense finished the Campeonato de Invierno with a disappointing result. Even though they finished in the top place of the regular season, they were eliminated in the semi-finals, once again by Saprissa. This season they want to go one step further and qualify to the play-offs final.

Up to now, they seem to be going about it the right way, as they have picked up 10 points and are in 1st place. In order to win their 30th title, Alajuelense is led by experienced coach, Óscar Ramírez, who won 8 domestic titles as a player (4 of them with Alajuelense) and 5 domestic titles as a coach (all with Alajuelense).

Some players who are considered to be key players are Patrick Pemberton, the team’s captain, Jonathan McDonald, who returned to Costa Rica after a season with Kalmar in the Swedish league, and Ramon Nuñez, the Honduran international who has also played in the United States and England.

We all saw the passion of the Costa Rican players at the World Cup, so now it’s time to see where this passion comees from, in a big, local match.

Sunday, 10:30, Long An – Binh Duong (Vietnamese V-League)
The Asian Cup concluded last week, but we haven’t finished our journey through Asian football. Vietnam is not considered to be one of the strongest sides on the continent, but it has developed rapidly in recent years. Its improvement is rooted in the decision by the AFC for the Vietnamese champions to qualify automatically for the AFC Champions League group stage. 

This weekend, reigning champions Binh Duong will travel to Long An for the main event in East Asian football. Long An is a new club with little tradition. The team was established in 2000 through the merger of an old team, also named Long An, with another team, Dong Tam.

The unification was successful, as the team became one of the richest in Vietnam and won the title twice. In the last few years, they have failed to repeat their achievement and even spent a season in the second division. This year, they returned to their place near the top of the table, as they ranked in the 4th place with 10 points and they still didn’t lose in their first six matches. The main players are the two Vietnamese internationals, Phan Van Tai Em (50 caps) and Huynh Quang Thanh (45 caps), alongside with Pham Hoang Lam, a current U-23 national team squad member and Souleymane Diabate, a Malian who has been playing in Vietnam for the last three years.

Binh Dong is an old club, but for years they haven’t been a part of the elite teams in local football. The big change came in 2002, when the local company Becamex took over the team. The team became the richest club in the country, now known for their nickname the "Chelsea of Vietnam". The team had a great start to  the season, with 5 wins out of 6 games. Now they are aspiring league leaders and hope to win back-to-back championships.

In order to fulfill this dream, Binh Duong have recruited several leadings players: the Senegalese Abass Cheikh Dieng, who is the current top scorer in the league, Ganiyu Oseni, who won the U-17 world title with Nigeria and local lad Le Tan Tai, who has made 63 appearances for the Vietnam national football team.

When western people think about Vietnam, they imagine American war movies or battles in the jungles. The real picture shows tons of passion for football and a different battle, a battle for the title.

Sunday, 18:30, Zamalek – ENPPI (Egyptian Premier League)
This week, Egypt mourned the event that killed Egyptian football. Three years ago, after the match between Al Ahly and Al Ismaily in Port Said, huge riots began, 74 people were killed and many more injured. Those responsible were sentenced to the death penalty and the season was abandoned, a decision that harmed the league badly. After two years, last season a full season was completed in Egypt. The leaders and organisers of the Egyptian league will face each other in the match between Zamalek and ENPPI.

Zamalek is one of the biggest clubs in Egypt. They have 11 domestic championships, 23 domestic cups and five CAF Champions League titles, but their last league title was a long time ago in 2004. This season they lead the table with 44 points. Even though the team is succeeding, three coaches have already been replaced. Mido left in July to be part of the Zamalek youth system, Hussam Hassan left in November for the national team and Spaniard Jaime Pacheco left because he didn't settle in Egypt.

The key players are Moamen Zakaria, who was on loan from ENPPI last season, but completed his transfer to Zamalek at the start of the season, Ibrahim Salah, who came back to Zamalek after one season in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Eid, who has played 51 matches for the Egyptian national team and Abdoulaye Cissé, who played for French side Montpelliere for five seasons.

ENPPI is a much smaller club. They were first promoted to the top division in 2003 and except for two national cups, they have no other honours. Their name is the name of the main sponsors of the team, a major industrial engineering company, specialising in gas and petroleum. This year they are one of the surprise packages in the league, as they are in second place, only three points behind Zamalek. The major players of the team are goalkeeper Abdel Monsef, who has been with the club for 11 seasons, defender Salah Soliman, who was a part of the 2013 winning squad of the U-23 African Championships and Amr El Halwani, the team’s current top scorer who also played in Greece for four years.

Egyptian football is still trying to recover from the ‘Port Said Events’ and return to the top levels of African football, so this match is a big symbolic part of the process.

Weekend Guide 29.1.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

Weekend is the time for our recap. This time we will say goodbye to the Asian Cup with its grand finale, we will kick start the Brazilian football season and then check the heart beats of a Middle Eastern intense derby game. Are you ready?

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Saturday, 10:00, Australia – Korea Republic (AFC Asian Cup)
After three weeks of an Asian football celebration, the Asian Cup will conclude with its final and two of the major teams of the continent – Australia and Korea Republic. The teams met already in this tournament, it was in the group stage and the Koreans won 1:0.

Australia will try to win their first title since they joined the AFC, while Korea Republic will try to win their third title and the first since 1960. Australia, the host nation, qualified to the final for the 2nd time in a row. In the previous Asian Cup, the Socceroos survived for 109 minutes, until Japanese Tadanari Lee scored the winning goal.

After years of dominance in Oceania, Australia joined the AFC in 2006, and now it seems that they completed their transformation to become part of Asia –Western Sydney Wanderers won last season’s Asian Champion League, and now it's time for the national team to achieve its recognition. Manager Ange Postecoglou leads his players to the final in much style: except for the defeat against the Koreans, they played well and eliminated China in the quarters and UAE in the semis.

The most popular player of the team is veteran Tim Cahill, 35 years old, who scored three goals in this campaign and he is the all-time top scorer of the national team. More experienced players of the Socceroos are Mile Jedinak from Crystal Palace, James Troisi from Zulte Waregem and Mark Bresciano from Al-Gharafa. Australia have also several ambitious youngsters such as Swindon midfielder Massimo Loungo, Zwolla defender Trent Sainsbury and Tomi Juric, striker of Western Sydney Wanderers.

Despite its reputation and the fact that it is one of the most powerful teams in the continent, Korea Republic have failed for years to win the Asia Cup. They won the first two Asian titles in 1956 and 1960, but since then they reached the final three times and lost, last time in 1988.
German manager Ulli Stielike made a tremendous run up until now, with no defeats and the elimination of Uzbekistan and Iraq in the knockout stages.

The two top players of the Korean team are complete opposites. The first is Song Heung-Min, the biggest star of Korean football nowadays, who was part of the Hamburg youth system and now plays for Bayer Leverkusen. The second is Lee Jung-Hyup, who also serves in the Korean army and play for Sangju Sangmu, Korean Army’s representative team in the local league. More players which will draw attention are Cha Du-Ri, the son of the Korean greatest football legend, Cha Bum-Kun, who will try to get the title that his father failed to win, and Swansea player Ki Sung-Yueng, who was the key player of the U-23 team in the London Olympics in 2012, and led them to the bronze medal.

Winning an international trophy is always about honor, glory and history. As both teams want to re-write there own ones, you can’t miss this final.

Sunday, 20:00, Joinville – Avaí (Campeonato Catarinese)
The beginning of February is when the Brazilian season begins. The season in Brazil runs from February to late November, and now it's the first match day of the State leagues. While in European regional leagues the teams are amateur, in Brazil these leagues are composed by the strongest teams in the region. The matches are a mixture between old rivalries and match-ups between big clubs and smaller teams.

This week we will focus on the Campeonato Catarinese, the championship of Santa Catarina state, when two of the biggest teams in the region, Joinville and Avaí will clash.

Joinville’s last campaign was a success, as they finished 2nd place in the state league, but their greatest achievement was the promotion from the second division to the Brasileirão for the first time since 1986. The coach, Hemeson Maria, wants to win his second championship title in Santa Catarina. Ironically, his first time was as the coach of Avaí. The most notable player of Joinville is Jael, ex-Atlético Mineiro and Flamengo, who was the top scorer of the team last year with 12 goals. More major players are Bruno Aguiar, who was part of Santos’ Copa Libertadores winning squad in 2011, Marcelo Costa who played for Palmeiras and Gremio, Rafael Costa, loaned from F.C. Seoul, and Wellington Sachi, last year's best player of the Campeonato Catarinese.

Their rivals, Avaí, come from the city of Florianapolis, a city famous for its beautiful beaches, but Avaí’s players aren’t beach boys. Last year, the team won the promotion to the Brasileirão from the 4th spot after a tough battle in the last matchday. Coach Geninho was appointed for the role last year, and this is the 28th club he manages in Brazil, and the 31st of his career, as he also coached in Portugal and Saudi Arabia.
Avaí have several experienced players, such as Diego, who played for the youth teams of Flamengo, and Uelliton, who played for many years in Vitoria. More players who made a decent career abroad are Eduardo Costa, who played for Bordeaux, Marseille and Monaco, and André Lima, who spent time in Germany and China.

As the Brazilian regional leagues produce big rivalries combined with a Jogo Bonito touch, when two teams with long history of matches meet on the first match of the season, it is going to be worth to watch.

Monday, 19:50, Maccabi Tel Aviv – Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israeli Premier League)
Israel is a country where football is a bit complex. On the one hand, Israel is a UEFA member, and its football is always in a mission to improve, in order to be a legitimate part from the European football.
On the other hand, as a Middle Eastern country, in big matches you can feel the atmosphere at its best in the stadium. The derby of Tel Aviv is one of these big games, when two of the league’s biggest teams meet – Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The last game between the two was suspended during the first half after a huge controversy.
Maccabi’s star player, Eran Zahavi,  a 'mythological-ex' of Hapoel after starring there until 2011, scored a goal and celebrated in front of the Hapoel Tel Aviv fans. In response, one of Hapoel fans ran into the field and attacked the player, who responded violently himself. It had finished with Zahavi being sent off and another fan invasion into the pitch a few minutes after. The game was suspended, as a part of a disgraceful display of everyone involved.

Maccabi Tel Aviv is the oldest and most successful team in the history of the Israeli football – 20 championships and 22 cups. After a decade without a championship title, Maccabi Tel Aviv finally won it in 2013, and repeated that feat in 2014. The success of the club is named after two people: Owner Mitch Goldhar, who is part of the top 1000 richest people worldwide, and sports director, Jordi Cruyff, the former Manchester United and Barcelona player and the son of the legendary Johan Cruyff. The current coach is Spaniard Paco Ayestaran, who was an assistant for Rafa Benitez in Valencia and Liverpool. As mentioned, Eran Zahavi is the star and the top scorer of the team with 18 goals in 15 matches and has a short European experience after a spell in Palermo, Italy. Alongside him are Eden Ben Basat, who previously played in the French league; Home-grown captain, Sheran Yeini, and flamboyant forward Tal Ben Haim, who also played for Hapoel Tel Aviv. Pay attention also to Carlos Garcia, who played 7 seasons in Almeria before his adventure in Israel.

While Maccabi Tel Aviv celebrates its shiny revival, Hapoel Tel Aviv is stuck in thoughts of their glamorous past and current huge debts. 13 championships, 16 cups, UEFA Cup quarterfinals, victories over Chelsea, Milan and PSG, all seem far away now for the red club of Tel Aviv.

Hapoel Tel Aviv is facing a financial crisis in the past few season as a result of some bad management. The results of it are definitely showing on the pitch. After a run of bad results, last week they fired both their coach, Asi Domb, and their technical director, Eyal Berkovic, Israeli football legend, who played for Southampton, West Ham and Celtic.
The new coach is Eli Cohen, an experienced figure in the local scene, nicknamed "The Sheriff". Despite their financial situation, Hapoel Tel Aviv has a few interesting players. Goalkeeper Apoula Edel, who played for PSG and lately won the first ISL title with Atlético de Kolkata; Dudu Biton, who came on loan from Standard Liège and captain Gil Vermouth, one of the Israeli national team attacking midfielders, who played in Belgium, Germany and Netherlands.

Tel Aviv is on fire before every derby game. While everybody keeps in mind what occurred last time those two arch-rivals met, this date is going to be extra hot.

Weekend Guide 22.1.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

The weekend is here, and it's BabaGol’s weekend recap time. This weekend we will travel to Australia, to have a close look at one of the biggest games in the Asian continent. In addition, we will continue our tour in the Caribbean and we´ll meet one of the most ancient leagues in the world. All aboard! 

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Friday, 07:30, Iran – Iraq (AFC Asian Cup)
Due to the region´s history, Middle Eastern rivalries certainly produce some emotional match-ups. An Asia Cup quarterfinal match between Iran and Iraq is exactly the case.
The first Persian Gulf War started when Iraq invaded Iran in 1980. It was the longest conventional war in the 20th century. It was a battle between Shia and Suna, both wished to get several disputed areas like the area of Shatt Al-Arab. The war ended in 1988, as both countries counted thousands of casualties.

While Iran is dealing with nuclear sanctions and ISIS is tearing Iraq apart, it is the right time for a football match between these two great countries. Iran is one of the strongest teams in Asia. They have a long tradition of successful campaigns in the Asian Cup, as they won three consecutive titles in 1968, 1970 and 1972. In the last World Cup they produced an impressive performance, even though they got only one point. Their group stage in the Asian Cup was a bit easier, as they won against Bahrain and Qatar, but the decisive match for the first place against the UAE was dramatic, and only a winning goal in extra time by Reza Ghoochannejhad send them to the next round from the first place. Their manager Carlos Queiroz will try to lead his team to the semifinals, even though in the past few days the main issue in ‘Team Melli’ is a controversy selfie photo. 

The leader of the team is Javad Nekounam, probably in his last tournament. He will tie Ali Daei's record for international caps for the national team, as it will be his 149th cap. Another controversial player is Ashkan Dejagah, who grew up in Germany and played for their youth national team, and even won the 2009 U-21 Euro’s with players like Manuel Neuer, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil. He is a known outsider in conservative Iran, mainly because of his tattoos. "Berlin" is written on one arm, "Tehran" on the second, and on his neck there is a phrase, "Never forget where you’re coming from".

The Iraqi team arrived in this tournament while their country is collapsing. ISIS is murdering thousands of people all over Iraq. Earlier this week, 13 people were reportedly killed by the Jihadists for watching the national team against Jordan. For the Iraqis, all of it doesn't matter. They remember how in the first years of the American invasion to Iraq they made two major footballing achievements: the U-23 team reached the 4th place in the 2004 Olympics, after dominating against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portuguese team. They also won the Asian Cup in 2007. Younes Mahmoud, who scored the decisive goal in 2007 Asian Cup final, is the lone member of this team who is still playing. He is also the most capped Iraqi player with 134 caps. Most of the squad is based in the Iraqi league, but there are several players with experience abroad. Ali Adnan, nicknamed ‘The Iraqi Gareth Bale’, who plays for Turkish side Rizespor, Ahmed Yasin who immigrated to Sweden at the age of three, and Osama Rashid who plays in the Netherlands.

This rivalry is full of History, tensions, blood and a desire to dominate the other. It is everything a national team’s football match should contain. Don’t dare to miss.

Saturday, 01:00, W Connection – Central FC (Trinidad and Tobago Pro League)
After last week we checked the Jamaican League, we will continue our cruise in the Caribbean, to our next stop: Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidadian football isn't highly developed, and except their one participation in the 2006 World Cup and their all-time greatest player Dwight Yorke, the football scene in this country is almost unknown. On Saturday, ambitious W Connection will meet the league leaders, Central.

W Connection is one of the biggest clubs in the history of the Trinidadian football. Alongside five domestic championships and four domestic cups, they twice won the CFU Club Championship.
Several of the best Trinidadian players are recognized with the club. Kenwyne Jones, Cardiff City’s player, and Arnold Dwarika, who played 73 matches for the national team. Last season they won the championship easily, losing only twice in 24 games. Most of the players in the squad are Caribbean, as the key players are Silvio Spann, a former Wrexham player; Mekeil Williams, who came back after playing in Poland and Denmark, and Gerard Williams, player of the St. Kitts and Nevis national team with 27 caps.

Central is the newest team in the Trinidadian league. It was founded by former international football player Brent Sancho who tried to build their reputation by developing projects in the community. At the end of their first season, they already had 12 community projects, so the connection with its’ fans is very strong.
The current manager is the only non-Caribbean manager in the league, Zoran Vraneš from Serbia, who managed the Trinidadian national team in the 90's and since 2009 leads the U-20 national team. Central’s squad is based only on Trinidadian players and some of the notable names are: Jan-Michael Williams, who has 49 international caps, Hector Sam, who played for lower level teams in England, and Ataullah Guerra, who came back to his home nation after one year in RoPS from Finland. Another interesting name is defender Elton John, who might sing the national Trinidadian anthem before the match (not seriously).

When the champions are facing the new title contenders it’s always exciting, especially if it’s in Trinidad & Tobago.

Saturday, 10:30, Kitchee – Eastern (Hong Kong Premier League)
Here´s an interesting fact: Hong Kong is one of the oldest football nations. The local cup tournament has been played since 1896, and the league’s first season was in 1908.

This weekend, league leaders Eastern will play 4th spot Kitchee. The five point gap between the two is not crucial, as Kitchee has two games in hand compared to Eastern. 
Kitchee is the reigning champion and one of the biggest teams in Hong Kong’s history. They won six domestic titles and last season they reached the semifinals of the AFC Cup, the second-tier trophy of the Asian football.

Kitchee’s manager is the Spaniard José Francisco Molina, who was the goalkeeper of Atlético Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna. The team has some other Spanish faces in their roster. Juan Belencoso was a Spanish lower division player until his transfer to Hong Kong. Since his arrival he can't stop scoring: in the last season he scored 16 goals in 17 matches and this season he scored 5 in 6. More key players are Fernando Recio, home-grown player of Espanyol, and captain Lo Kwan Yee, who played 37 times for Hong Kong's national team. Another interesting name is Nigerian Christian Annan, who has been playing in Hong Kong since 2005, and also married a local and played for the national team.

The league leaders, Eastern, are one of the veteran clubs in Hong Kong, established in 1932. Nevertheless, Eastern won only four domestic titles and their last one was back in 1995. Their great opening to this season makes them believe that now it's possible to win the title after a long time. Their current manager is Cristiano Cordeiro, a Brazilian who played for 14 years in Hong Kong, became a permanent resident and even was the captain of Hong Kong's national team. The main player is Brazilian Giovane, who has a great experience in Chinese and Hong Kong football. More notable names are the goalkeeper Yapp Hung Fai, the current Hong Kong national team captain, and Rohan Ricketts from England, who was part of the youth system of Arsenal and now plays in the tenth nation of his career (after England, Canada, Hungary, Moldova, Germany, Ireland, India, Ecuador and Thailand).

Hong Kong is a nation with a long tradition of football. This game is surely going to be an important chapter of it.

Weekend Guide 15.1.15

One weekend, three games. All the information.

While the Asian Cup is reaching the final moments of its groups stage, the AFCON (African Cup of Nations) is about to begin this week, in order to complete a quality time of continental football. In addition, we will observe an interesting and exotic league, accompanied by the sounds of Reggae. Let's go!

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Friday, 08:00, Jordan – Palestine (AFC Asian Cup)
The match between the two Middle Eastern national teams will be the main event in Friday for millions of Arabs, and not only because of the football.

The Palestinians are one of the biggest ethnic groups in Jordan, as they compose almost a third of the population. Mainly concentrated in the regions of Amman, Zarqa and Irbid, The Palestinians are represented in the football scene by one of the biggest clubs in the country, Al-Wehdat, which sends seven players to the Jordanian national squad. In fact, Jordan versus Palestine is a rare and unique derby, as it has all the right ingredients for a hot football meeting. 

The history between the two nations goes way back. 

The Jordanian control of the West Bank until 1967, King's Hussein's refusal to recognize the Palestinian national aspirations. and the 1970 incidents, commonly known as Black September, which influenced and torched the collective memory of both populations, are among the main historical clashes between the two.

Now, let's play some football.

The Jordanian team is one of the most fastest emerging sides in Asia. After years of failures, Jordan qualified for the Asia Cup for the first time in 2004. It was the beginning of an improvement, as they qualified again in 2011 and now as well, but their real peak was in the last World Cup qualifiers. Jordan made a great campaign when they finished their group in third place, achieving heroic home victories against Japan and Australia, and having eliminated Uzbekistan in the playoffs. Even though they have lost 5-0 to Uruguay in the intercontinental playoffs, they cannot be disappointed.

All the players in the Jordanian squad are playing for Arab teams. The majority play in the domestic league, while two of the major players are goalkeeper Amer Shafi and striker Ahmed Hayil, who play for the Kuwaiti team Al-Arabi. In the squad there are also two players with European experience, who were also the first Jordanian players to play in Europe – Abdallah Deeb, now playing for Al-Riffa from Bahrain, and Odai Al-Saifi, now playing for Al-Salmiya from Kuwait. The Palestinian national team’s situation is different. The fact that they participate in the tournament is their main achievement. As the blockade on the Gaza Strip continues, the Palestinians faced many difficulties in recent years. 

Despite the bad conditions for creating a decent team, Palestine succeeded in creating an interesting mixture of players from different backgrounds, in their national team. Players from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Arab Israeli players and Palestinian origin players are all part of Jibril Rajub’s  project. Abdelatif Bahdari plays for the Jordanian-Palestinian team Al-Wehdat, the goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh, now without a club, but with a great experience in the the Egyptian League, and the team’s star, Ashraf Nu'man from the Saudi team Al-Faisali. Additionally, there are Palestinian-origin players, like Alexis Norambuena who plays in Poland, Mahmoud Eid who plies his trade in Sweden and Jaka Ihbeisheh who is competing in Slovenia. With them, Palestine is demonstrating a varied and interesting side which can surprise Jordan.

With history and nationalism on the background and Palestine's great hype at the tournament, this match is a serious encounter. Don't miss it.

Sunday, 20:00, Tunisia – Cape Verde (African Cup of Nations)
The African Cup of Nations is on next week. The tournament was originally planned to be hosted by Morocco, but the Ebola epidemic saga made them turn down the option, and Equatorial Guinea was chosen as a replacement. The tournament has an interesting group stage, but this specific match has a special story behind it. The last duel between Tunisia and Cape Verde was in the last World Cup qualifiers, as the Cape Verdeans qualified to the playoffs after winning in a decisive match against Tunisia (2:0) and finished one point above them. After the group stage was concealed, it was revealed that Cape Verde fielded an ineligible player, Fernando Varela, and FIFA decided to award the match to Tunisia, which qualified to the next stage. This match will be the opportunity for both of the teams to show, once and for all, who is the better side.

Tunisia is a member of the AFCON for the past 23 years, and the last time the they missed the competition was in 1992. Even though they’ve won the cup only once, the Eagles of Carthage are considered as one of the strongest teams in the continent. After the failure to qualify for the last World Cup, Tunisia appointed new coach, Belgian George Leekens, who previously led his national team and Club Brugge. The two most capped players in the team, Hocine Ragued and Aymen Mathlouthy, both play for Tunisian teams. They will lead a group of players, who play in the domestic league and Europe. Amine Chermiti, who plays for FC Zürich in the last five years, his teammate Yassine Chikhaoui, and Jamel Saihi, a home-grown player of Montpellier.

The little island of Cape Verde is seeing its national team rise in past years. The Blue Sharks were one of the weakest teams in the continent, until they qualified for the first time to the last AFCON, reached the quarterfinals and had a tremendous appearance in the World Cup qualifiers. Their current coach, Rui Águas, played in his home nation Portugal for Benfica and Porto, but as a coach he failed to provide such a success.

After many years that all the Cape Verde international players played for Portuguese clubs, now they are coming from all over Europe. The most popular player in the team is Héldon from Sporting Lisbon. Alongside him is Babanco, who plays for Estoril and made 40 international caps. More interesting names are Elche winger Gary Rodrigues and Steaua Bucharest defender Fernando Varela.

The Sharks have a lot to prove in this match, so expect a great fight at the AFCON group stage.

Sunday, 21:00, Montego Bay – Harbour View (Jamaican Premier League)
Jamaica is well-known for its sun, weed, great sprinters and Bob Marley. Even so, football fans remember Jamaica for ‘The Reggae Boyz’, the national team which played in the 1998 World Cup. This weekend we have great opportunity to meet two of the major teams in Jamaica, as they face each other in the local league.

In Jamaican local competition there are 12 teams, playing in three rounds and a final series which includes only the top four. This Sunday, Montego Bay, the defending champions, will host Harbour View. Montego Bay won last year's finals 5-2 against Waterhouse and currently are ranked in the 3rd place. They have only five loses this season and their last one came after eight games without losing.

Most of the players are unknown, but the notable player is Allan Ottey, a Jamaican youngster and the team’s top scorer this season, with 6 goals. Evan Taylor and Dino Williams, who played in the USA, and Bahamian international star, Lesly St. Fleur, are also major figures at the club.  Foreign coaches are not common in the Jamiacan league, but Spaniard Aitor García, is the coach of Montego Bay, has some success so far.

Harbour View was eliminated in last year's semifinals against Montego Bay and they are now holding the fourth place, two points behind their opponents. A few years ago they were considered to be the best team in Jamaica, winning twice the CFU Club Championship, the Caribbean Champions League.

Harbour View has only Jamaican players in the squad, and a Jamaican coach as well. The top player of the team is the home-grown defender, Kemar Lawrence, from the current Jamaica national team squad. He is so popular that he was chosen to be part from the last Pepsi campaign alongside players like Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero.

More players with decent resumes are Jermaine Hue, who played in the MLS and the Swedish league, Fabian Taylor and Eric Vernan, who played for Norwegian lower league teams. Keith Kelly, who 15 years ago made decent tournament with the U-17 team of Jamaica which earned him a spot in the Paris Saint-Germain youth team, is also part of side.

Jamaica has a tropical climate, but the meetings between these two sides always turn the island up-side down. Stay tuned.