- By Piers Edwards
- Football writer in Ivory Coast
image source, Getty Images
Mabululu (second left) helped secure top spot in Group D for Angola at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
As Angola prepare for their first Africa Cup of Nations knockout match in 14 years, captain Freddy says his side are motivated to prove their critics wrong.
Written off by many back home before traveling to the delayed 2023 finals in Ivory Coast, the Palancas Negras have made it past the first round for the first time since reaching the last eight as hosts in 2010.
In addition, they won two games to top their group – with both achievements taking first place in the Cup of Nations – ahead of higher-ranked rivals Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
“In our country, people didn’t have much confidence in the team, but that was an extra motivation for us – to prove them wrong,” Freddy told BBC Sport Africa.
“We are very happy because nobody expected this. The journalists said that Algeria will beat us, but I said they have to prove it on the pitch. We have proved that we are a tough team.
“Match by match, we have the feeling that we can do something and the confidence is growing. Now we are among the best 16 teams [in Africa] and now we believe in the dream”.
On Saturday, Angola will face neighbors Namibia in the Round of 16, with both teams looking to win a knockout game for the first time.
Both of the Palancas Negras’ previous quarter-final appearances came when the Cup of Nations finals were 16-team.
Fighting to make Angolans happy
Angola fell behind to 2019 champions Algeria in their Group D opener but responded with brave resistance as they fought back brilliantly to draw 1-1 thanks to striker Mabululu’s second-half penalty.
A thrilling 3-2 win over what Fredy described as a “very good” Mauritania followed – their first win in 10 finals appearances, a run dating back to 2012 – with Gelson Dala becoming the first Angolan to score twice in the tournament at 12 years.
The South Africans knew a win against Burkina Faso in their final group outing would secure top spot and Mabululu and Zine scored in a 2-0 victory to equal the country’s record goals in a group stage (six).
They had done it before, going through the group stage unbeaten last time at home 14 years ago, and the mindset of those back in Angola also drives the team.
“People are dancing, having fun and everyone is like that in the country now, but in Angola, the lifestyle is not easy,” said average Freddy.
“These wins give them happiness and that makes us very proud – it’s one of the best motivations we have.
“I was lucky as my mother and father moved me and my five siblings to Portugal and gave us a different life, but I played in Angola for a year and a half and saw how difficult it is to live there.
“The players and I know that and we know that even if people don’t have bread to eat at night, if we win they can sleep. Even if it’s not the best way, we know it can help.
“We try to do everything and fight to give more moments like this.”
Despite having one of the fastest growing economies in the world thanks to its vast mineral and oil reserves, economic growth is highly uneven in Angola.
According to a A website supported by the United Nations, On average, 54% of Angolans “experience multidimensional forms of poverty” – covering not only income, but also nutrition, education and child mortality among other factors.
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Coach Pedro Goncalves has guided Angola to two wins at the 2023 Nations Cup – the first time the team has won more than one finals
Just like Cup of Nations holders Senegal, who won their first continental title seven years into the reign of coach Aliou Cisse, one of the keys to Angola’s success has been the longevity of Portuguese coach Pedro Goncalves.
Having first started coaching in 1997 and then spent over a decade with Sporting Lisbon’s youth academy in his home country, the 47-year-old has been in Angola since 2015.
He first coached the youth teams of top club Primeiro de Agosto before taking charge of Angola’s Under-17 team in 2018, leading them to the 16s in their first World Cup a year later.
Three of this group – Zine, Zito Luvumbo and Beni – traveled to Ivory Coast.
“Pedro is the best example of how you can develop football in Angola,” said Freddy, a former Portugal youth international.
“He took these players from the under-17s and when he came into the first team he said to me, ‘Fredy, with the young players and the experienced players, we can do something amazing’. He has proved that.”
However, Goncalves was without Benny after the midfielder requested a return to Portuguese Primeira Liga side Casa Pia after failing to feature in the opening two games, while Loide Augusto – who played the opener against Algeria – left the camp. for disciplinary reasons.
Those left behind in Ivory Coast are a tight-knit group, which the captain credits for their bright start to 2024.
Angola entered this year with just one goal from nine hours of play and Freddy says the team’s “family bond” has been instrumental in their turnaround.
“We respect each other and have a very good relationship,” added the 33-year-old.
“We also have experience. A lot of those players moved to Europe and when they did, the mentality changed and they started to believe more and become more professional.
“And Pedro is a very good guy. He’s open and listens to what the team has to say – he’s not like the coaches who think they know everything. He gives us confidence, he’s one of us and regularly, he’s a smart guy.
“Without him, we can’t do what we did.”
Rise to the challenge
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Freddy plays for Turkish club Eyupspor after spells in Portugal and Holland
Striker Mabululu, with his dreadlocks and elaborate celebration which he told BBC Sport Africa was supposed to be imitating a lion, is one of many Angolans who have stepped up when needed.
After being called up at the end of 2022 after two years out of the international game, his 13 games since have returned four goals, including two in the ongoing Cup of Nations for the 34-year-old based in Egypt.
“Mabululu is an amazing guy, he’s fun and he loves to score goals – he’s got that hunger,” Fredy said.
“He’s an example to the young players that when the time comes you have to be ready and he’s shown he’s ready every time.”
The same can be said for home-grown midfielder Gilberto, only in the squad after Fiorentina’s M’bala Nzola turned down a call-up to focus on his Serie A career, and team-mates Eddie Afonso and Kinito.
All three play in Angola’s top flight with Petro Atlético, who have impressed in this year’s African Champions League.
“It’s an amazing motivation for us because you look at these guys and they’re ready and they’re going to fight for us. I want to thank them and say ‘congratulations – keep it up’,” Fredy added.
In Bouake, where Angola have been based since the start of the competition, the team ranked 117th in the world will face neighbors Namibia (ranked 115th) for the right to play either Cameroon or Nigeria in the quarter-finals.
“Namibia are like brothers, but they are a tough team and have improved a lot,” Freddy said.
“If we beat them, we’re in the quarter-finals and when you’re there, you can’t think teams are better than you.
“Anything can happen in a match and you have these dreams because if you beat them, you can go to the semi-final and think, ‘OK guys, why not the final?’
“But we still have our feet on the ground and we know what we have to do.”