Eaglets set to soar again

STRife-torn country makes heads turn with its football as 2015 finalists eye the big prize

BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO | OCTOBER 16, 2017, 04:06 AM IST
Eaglets set to soar again

 

MARGAO
‘Les Aiglonnets' or ‘The Small Eagles', as the Mali football colts team is known, have never let insurgency or government interference in their football federation get the better of their performance. Each time the eaglets have soared from the unrest and challenges at home with their mental fortitude being their overpowering trait. Their youth football in particular has given them a distinct identity at the world level and even more so on the continental level.
Mali's Football Federation (FEMAFOOT) was banned from global football in March this year after FIFA had taken it unkind to their government's interference in the game. So much so, the runners-up of the last FIFA U-17 World Cup were at risk of not even playing their Confederation qualifiers. The reversal of their fate came a month hence when the Malian Sports Minister took a firm stance to dissolve the Executive Committee of FEMAFOOT. With the ban lifted, Mali were handed the opportunity to defend their U-17 African Cup of Nations title.
Mali has witnessed resurgence in their age-group football in the last few years. After qualifying for three successive FIFA U-17 World Cups between 1997 and 2001, they had a spiral downwards for the next ten years which saw them not making it through to the tournament. It has been only been since the last few years that Mali has become a force to reckon with at the U-17 level.
Speaking exclusively to ‘The Goan', the Les Aiglonnets coach Jonas Kokou Komla revealed that the set of players in India have been part of a system working together since their U-15 days. "I have been working continuously with the members of this squad since the last three years. As such, there has been a good rapport that I have developed with them," the tactician said.
"Just after the (FIFA) suspension was lifted, we played in Africa (Gabon) and won the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. It (the ban) did not affect us in any way," the Malian gaffer said. "During the ban, my side played approximately 50 matches and played well to win all of them. They played two matches a week against teams belonging to the First Division, Second Division at home," he informed. On his impressions on India, he has much good to say. "I have a good impression of India. The players, stadiums are very nice. The hotels are very nice, and the people welcoming," Komla said, adding that he would love to take up a coaching assignment in India.
"I would like to bring the African style of play. This is because the Indian style is lagging behind and we want to contribute to Indian style of playing by bringing in Malian style which is at par with world standards," he said.
The influence of their dynamic former midfielder, Seydou Keita who is their most capped international and leading goal-scorer with 102 appearances and 25 goals is very telling. Acknowledging his role in Malian football, Komla stated that the former Barcelona player had been the pillar for football in Mali. With strife being a perennial problem in Mali, how have the Small Eagles managed to keep their spirits on a high? "The political-driven strife is basically a problem in the north of the country. Bamako (capital and largest city) is several miles away from the conflict zone. So politics has nothing to do with what is happening in football. The game is completely separated from the political situation which has no impact on the players and their performances," Komla explained.
The Confederation champions of Africa in successive editions and runners-up to Nigeria in the last FIFA U-17 World Cup, does the stack of expectations weigh heavily on his team?' "As a trainer, it is my personal ambition to go farther into the competition. We do not have any kind of pressure that is affecting our performance. It is our internal desire to do much better and to be the best," Komla, who would look to go one step ahead of Baye Bah who helmed the Malian Colts to the finals in Chile 2015, said.
But to make that a reality, he said it is up to the AIFF to invite him here and give him a free hand to choose young talent, train them and inculcate into their game the African style of speed and tactics. Solidarity, team spirit and the ferociousness to win the match is the philosophy imbibed by Komla into the eaglets which have seen them soaring to resounding wins in their last two matches against Turkey (3-0) and New Zealand (3-1) after a reversal to Paraguay (2-3) in their opening game. Much can be said but Mali with their sublime skills, lightning speed and indefatigable endurance have the wherewithal to
go the distance.

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