Gary Al-Smith

LIBREVILLE, GABON – He took a step back. It was then I knew something was about to happen. I did not have to wait long. In a flash, the hand turned into a fist, flying into the open window of the bus.

Wham!

The fist reached its destination. Out of the window came another hand, opening the door from the back. The owner of the hand from inside the vehicle was furious. He charged at the man in orange and white who had just hit him in the jaw.

“You stupid idiot!” the man in the orange and white robes swore in French, while retreating backward.
Before the recipient of the blow could respond to the goodwill gesture, two or three gendarmes separated both men. French was spat in rapid fire, arms flailing, tempers fraying.
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Ali Gagarin, 1974

A common stat you may have heard in the past few days: the last time Sudan won the African Cup was 42 years ago, 1970.

A story from the intervening years: In 1987 there was nothing like the African Champions’ League. It was known then as the Champions Cup, and in an age where radio was king, television was a baby and internet had not even been conceived across much of Africa, that club tournament was the pride of African football.

It meant a lot, unlike today when the average African has no idea what’s going on in the continent’s club knockout tournament.

The second leg of that year’s second Champions Cup semi-final was hugely anticipated. Canon Yaounde, the club from Cameroon, had experienced a great season, but they had a big job ahead of them. Al Hilal (from Sudan) led 1-0 from the first leg. The Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo was packed—all 38,000 seats, including terraces, were filled.
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Equatorial Guinea started the competition with an emotional win over Libya last Saturday. Seven other games followed, after which the first round of games ended. One Zambian fan, not much in tune with the football, was surprised his team were to play again so soon.

“Why we playing today? Yesterday was group D, right? When’s group E??” he tweeted.

Someone picked it up and responded with the joke of the moment: “Group E is the Group of Death”: Nigeria, SA, Egypt, Cameroon – so dead they never made it!”
As funny as it was, it mirrors the general feeling that perhaps the games would have been more exciting had those four been in the mix.

I disagree.
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I stood in the discotheque, transfixed. I looked at the bouncer, quizzically. He looked at me, stonily. His biceps were breathing in anticipation. But I asked what I wanted to ask anyway. “Was that Drogba I just saw entering the lounge?”
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