AFCON 2015: Burkina Faso's Biggest Obstacles in Advancing from Group A
Dec 19, 2014
Burkina Faso's Jonathan Pitroipa, top, with teammate celebrates his goal during their African Cup of Nations quarter final soccer match against Togo at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, Sunday Feb. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
With less than 30 days to go until AFCON 2015 kicks off, teams from across Africa are eyeing up their opponents, plotting and scheming to work out their best route out of their respective groups, and onto continental glory. After dazzling their way to the final in the last edition of the tournament, Burkina Faso will be evaluating how they can produce similar success this time round—without the "surprise" factor they had last time.
Drawn in Group A, the people at the Burkinabe federation must have been rubbing their hands together at the draw their country received, as they missed out on all the big guns to garner themselves a relatively easy group. Sitting alongside Gabon, Congo and the hosts Equatorial Guinea, a glance at Group C—the tournament's official "Group of Death"—shows you how much worse it could have been for The Stallions.
However, this group is arguably a bigger challenge than it would seem, with the windy road out of Group A littered with challenges at every turn.
Playing a superb brand of attacking football, AFCON 2013 was where Burkina Faso truly announced themselves to the world of football, as they floated through to the final in South Africa—only to be beaten by continental giants Nigeria. As noted by Jonathan Wilson for Betfair, they were seen as minnows at the start of this competition, and since have asserted themselves as one of the premier teams in Africa.
With no real "big names" to speak of, they go against the traditional model of an African national team with a winning formula based on a strong team mentality, rather than a single big ego.
Whilst of course they have their star players, with AFCON 2013 Player of the Tournament Jonathan Pitroipa's incredible record of 11 goals in the last 17 games particularly notable, the manager Paul Put has got a perfect blend of talent and players who complement one another.
Indeed, Put himself represents the philosophy he has instilled in this team, quoted by Belgian AFP in the Mail and Guardian as saying, "there were a lot of doubters when I first arrived in Ouagadougou to take up my post. I believe many were hoping for a Mourinho-type coach."
Paul Put has instilled a real sense of group ethic in his Burkina Faso side.
Two years on since their arrival on the big stage, The Stallions are proving that 2013 was no fluke. Missing out on World Cup 2014 on away goals in the playoff against Algeria, they will be hoping that they see more success in Equatorial Guinea in January. However, after one of their less convincing qualification campaigns in recent years, they should be wary looking forward—with some old foes up against them in Group A.
Facing each other in Bata in the opening round of games, they will play Gabon, just 94 days since the last fixture between the two. Gaining just a single point from the two games against The Panthers in qualification for this tournament, Burkina Faso will be understandably concerned about this game, up against a team who caused them a lot of problems, with the 2-0 defeat in Libreville just their second competitive loss since the final against Nigeria in Johannesburg.
The second game could also prove a mighty challenge, as they come up against the hosts. With AFCON tournaments renowned for the hosts doing well (the last host nation to not make it out of the group was Tunisia in 1994), the home crowd could push Equatorial Guinea on at expense of another member of Group A. A very difficult team to predict, with a controversial policy of naturalised players making them difficult to prepare for, Burkina Faso have a troubling unknown to deal with.
Finally, there is Congo,who they play in their final game of the group. Qualifying ahead of Nigeria, Congo proved to be a difficult outfit to face, with their low-scoring but also low-conceding style making them an intriguing challenge, having only conceded six goals in qualifying, keeping three clean sheets. Managed by the very experienced Claude Le Roy—about to manage in his seventh AFCON—the final showdown against the Congolese could prove one of their most difficult games.
There is rich reward in the knockout stage for whoever advances from Group A, as they will face the teams from Group B—arguably the weakest group in the tournament—which could put in motion a trip all the way to the final.
Professionalism is something that Burkina Faso have in abundance, and is what they will need to get out of this group. A fairly straightforward task on the face of it, remaining focused on the job at hand should see The Stallions on for another excellent tournament.
Remaining as consistent as they have done over the last two years will also be important, harnessing the power of their solid defence and stunning attack.
One slip-up, though, and it could all be curtains.
