May 19, 2006
READY OR NOT
Angola prepared for 1st World Cup appearance

Despite not getting out of the African Nations Cup first round in Egypt this past February, Angola is primed for its first appearance in the World Cup.

Before qualifying, Angola -- the Palancas Negras -- the Black Antelopes, a breed of antelopes who are threatened with extinction -- had reached the African biennial tournament but twice -- South Africa '96 and Burkina Faso '98. So, that made this astonishing accomplishment even sweeter.

Add the fact that the country has been ravaged by civil war and unrest for the past three decades since it received its independence from Portugal in 1975. So, participating in the world's greatest tournament is seen by some as a potential rallying point to unite the people and to celebrate after the 2002 ceasefire agreement between the Angolan government and rebel forces, the Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA).

"After 30 years of civil war to have qualified for the World Cup is a massive boost for our country and our people and our aim in Germany is try and make them happy and proud," coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves told Reuters.

Added forward and captain Fabrice Akwa: "We have proved that Angola is not just about oil, war and poverty."

Angola has stocked its National Team since 1996 with native players and players with Angolan heritage; there are reportedly four million Angolan refugees in Portugal. Originally, then national coach Carlos Alhinho decided to search for professional players who had roots to the African country, even if they had never stepped on Angolan soil. It worked and slowly, but surely, the Angolan National Team improved.

The less said about the Angolans' performance in the Nations Cup the better. Angola embarrassingly finished third in its group, behind a pair of non-World Cup teams -- Cameroon and the Democrat Republic of Congo. The Angolans lost 3-1 to Cameroon and played the Congo to a scoreless draw before edging fourth-place Togo, 3-2. They missed out by one goal to the Congo in goal differential.

"We got four points but we are not happy to miss out on qualification," Goncalves was quoted by Reuters. "We tried with so much effort but we had no luck. We did all we could do but fell short.

"We had a lack of experience on the field but we will prepare well to overcome this at the World Cup. We got some good experience at this tournament. This run has been very good for us. We will try to use this for our World Cup adventure."

In June, however, Angola's opponents will be much more difficult and a greater challenge than its African competition -- Portugal, Mexico and Iran.

The Angolans' most important World Cup match? Easy. That's against their former colonial masters, Portugal, in Cologne on June 11. They've met twice before in Lisbon and the Angolans haven't fared too well, getting drubbed 6-0 in 1989 and managing to find the back of the net in a 5-1 pasting in 2001, a game in which Angola had four players red-carded. One expulsion would be devastating with so much at stake this time around.

Goncalves hopes the game will have a different result this time around. "At the World Cup, the two national teams have an obligation to leave a good image," he told When Saturday Comes magazine. "Portugal and Angola are almost family, with very strong ties."

Even before a ball was kicked at the Cup, the Angolans suffered a major loss when FIFA suspended left fullback Yamba Asha nine months for drug use. The sentence came down on Jan. 25, several months after his original ban, which was imposed in November, 2005. Asha, the only Angolan to compete in every qualifying match, did not play in the African Nations Cup final because of the suspension.

FIFA has not given details of which drug was involved. Angolan soccer officials said Asha had taken a flu remedy which contained a banned substance.

"It's a big blow for a country like ours to lose these players for Germany," Goncalves told Reuters. "We know FIFA has its rules and regulations and we abide by them but it is a tough ban. . . . He is a person whose life is football, who earns his living from football and we hope they will understand this."

Asha is one of four AS Aviacao defenders who have played regularly on the National Team.

Many of the players perform in the Portuguese First Division, so they have the experience of playing overseas and in Europe. But Portugal's top league isn't considered among the elite in Europe, and that most likely will catch up to many of the players.

If one of their warm-up matches is any indication of what is to come, Angola's first stay in the World Cup will be short and sweet. The Africans dropped a 1-0 decision to South Korea in Seoul on March 1, 2006, a game in which they struggled without Figueiredo, the team's best midfielder.

Groping for excuses for the loss, Goncalves put his own spin on the match.

"Today we played a very strong side," he said about one of the weakest teams in the 2006 World Cup. "We've just qualified for our first World Cup, but step by step we're improving.

"Today we had two opponents, first Korea and second the snow."

As part of its preparation for the Cup, Angola will play four warm-up matches in Germany this Spring -- against Argentina, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.

Angola is a solid defensive side (only six allowed, the second fewest by an African nation), but is expected to struggle to find the back of the net (their 12 goals scored was the fewest of the five qualified countries from the continent), especially against this opposition, even with the likes of forwards Pedro Mantorras and Akwa, the best bet to score goal. The Africans also could use a top-flight playmaker to control the pace.

"Angola will be a very, very strong underdog," LAC radio station's Jose Cunha told BBC.com. "We have a lot of ground to gain to compete with these powerful nations. They will play a collective game with strong emphasis on defense and try to spring a few surprises on the counterattack."

An interesting bit of information for all you World Cup history buffs

As Cup debutantes in 2002, Senegal stunned the world and France by winning the tournament opener over the defending champions, 1-0. The African nation went on to reach the quarterfinals before it was ousted by Sweden.