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Fearing a fix Tunisia coach urges Nigeria and Morocco to play fairly
Posted: Tuesday February 01, 2000 05:42 PM
LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Tunisia's Italian coach Francesco Scoglio, his team on the brink of elimination from the African Nations Cup, urged Nigeria and Morocco to be "fair" when they play on Thursday. "Let both teams play a fair game with the right result and not a fixed drawn match," Scoglio told Reuters on Monday before leading his team to Kano in the north of the country. Tunisia will be playing Congo in Kano as the Nigeria-Morocco game is on in Lagos. Nigeria and Morocco, each with four points, top Group D but the Nigerians lead on goal difference. A drawn result ensures both sides will qualify for the quarterfinals. But a win for Congo or Tunisia could see one of them going through if there is a decisive result between Nigeria and Morocco. Scoglio said: "The sport is for the spectators who pay money so teams should play matches for their enjoyment and not bring the game into disrepute." For Scoglio, known in his native Italy as "The Professor," this is his first coaching experience in Africa. Before the start of the tournament he predicted his team could reach the final. Although he maintains that could still happen, he admitted they lost 4-2 in their opening match against Nigeria because they did not have the right mental attitude. "On each of the four occasions we conceded a goal the boys were not focused. We didn't play with the right frame of mind," he said. He dismissed critics who slammed him for not bringing to the tournament Tunisia's highly-rated strikers Ben Slimane and Faouzi Raoussi. "I don't like criticizing my players but both of them did not measure up during our preparations for this tournament," he said. "Besides, I'm looking at the future. Look at [Ali] Zitouni, [Bechir] Mogaadi and Zied Jaziri, they're all young talents who should start getting the experience early." Tunisia's best performance in the Nations Cup is winning a silver medal in the 1996 edition, where it lost 2-0 in the final to hosts South Africa. Meanwhile, underdog Congo is still hopeful of progressing. "We can still reach the quarterfinals so we will give our all and play the game of our life against Tunisia," said defender Camille Oponga, who plays his club soccer with French third division side Red Star. Congo's Red Devils, trained by native coach David Memy, have won numerous fans in this tournament for their neat and attractive style of play. They were unlucky to lose 1-0 to Morocco and only draw 0-0 with Nigeria. Memy, back in charge for a third time, said they could achieve still their modest pre-tournament ambition of reaching the last eight. "I know we have a team whose players are with lower division clubs abroad or unpopular in Congo and that Nigeria and Morocco have the edge, but we are undeterred," he said. Congo's best performance in the Nations Cup came in 1972 when it beat Mali 3-2 to win the trophy. Congo reached the semifinals two years later, but it has only qualified for the tournament three times since.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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