Thirteen (13) years after hosting the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt is once again the theatre where “La crème de la crème†of African football gather to show their talents to the world.
The Pharaohs were crowned champions for the fifth time then, and they went on to add two more trophies afterwards.
With the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations squad lists unveiled, only three (3) players survived from the 2006 squads. They will return to Egypt once again this summer after reserving their place with their respective national teams for a full 13 years since the continental football showpiece was last held in the land of the Pharaohs.
Carlos Kameni (Cameroon), Tresor Mputu (DR Congo), and John Obi Mikel (Nigeria) were there thirteen years ago in Egypt and had different fortunes then.
Kameni’s Cameroon and Mputu’s DR Congo crashed at the quarter finals, while Obi Mikel’s Nigeria finished the tournament in third place, behind champions Egypt and runner ups Cote d’Ivoire.
Carlos Kameni
(35 now) was then in the ranks of Spanish La Liga side Espanyol. He later played for Malaga before joining Turkey based Fenerbahce in 2017. He last appeared in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2010, missing Cameroon’s fifth glorious campaign two years ago in Gabon.
Tresor Mputu
(33) is still donning local giants TP Mazembe’s shirt as he was 13 years ago. He had a two years spell in Angola’s Kabuscorp (2014 – 2016) before returning to “Les Corbeauxâ€. He’s making a return to “The Leopards†in the continental showpiece after missing the past two AFCON edition, his last appearance being in 2013.
Obi Mikel
(32) was a part of English giants Chelsea squad in 2006. He joined China-based Tianjin Teda in 2017 before returning to England with second-tier Middlesbrough last January. Obi Mikel lifted the cup with the Super Eagles in their last AFCON appearance in 2013.
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Source: Cafonline.com