Senegal’s players made no secret of their joy, getting on Sunday night after the suspense against Egypt ended after their first coronation in their history.
Senegal has waited 3, 20, 57 years for this African championship title… It has been three years since the final was defeated by Algeria in Egypt. It has been 20 years since the other final was lost to Cameroon in 2012, when Aliou Cissé, the coach of the Telanga Lions, is still a player.57 years have passed since their first of 16 appearances African Cupa record of the number of matches without a title.
So when Sadio Mané put his shot in the net, the fifth goal of the game and the one that finally provided Senegal with the desired title, the Senegalese exploded: On the ground we saw dance, we saw joy, we saw tears, we saw the weight of the history written by 28 people who were aware of Ariu Cisse.
“It’s been a good year”
In the mixed zone, Teranga’s lion has no head in the interview. They prefer to continue enjoying the moment, singing loud music, waving flags and most importantly embracing the gold medal they have been waiting for for years.
“We’ve been waiting for years, and this year it’s right”, Cheikhou Kouyaté savors in front of France 24’s microphone. “They want to take us [aux penalties] So we think we’ll win [aux penalties]. »
“There’s a lot of mixed emotions. There’s joy. There’s pride. Happiness and great relief are inevitable. I believe we haven’t realized what we’ve done,” Abdul Diallo noted.
“It’s an amazing thing. We made a lot of sacrifices to get here and it’s done! We mark the history of our country,” said Nampalys Mendy happily.
“We wanted to give it to our staff. I remember being laughed at. Everyone said we always had a good team, but we never won,” Idrisa Gueye marveled.
‘We’ll bring the others back’
Senegal finally won the trophy, having missed a lot after two losses in the final. Aliou Cisse has suffered two defeats, first as a player in 2002 and then as a coach in 2019.
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“I’m very happy. Proving again that with hard work, perseverance and never giving up, you can get what you want. We’re proud, very proud, because we beat Egypt, which has seven African Cups, and that’s important. I’m so touched that because of this cup, we won it for all the Senegalese who have been asking for it for over 60 years. We will have our stars too,” the coach said with gusto, before seeing his press conference being swept away by his men. interrupted.
“I hope we don’t stop, we bring in others”, Nampalys Mendy has said.
??? “I remember people, they laughed at us, they said ‘every time you have a good team, but you never win’, this time it was right! »
Idrissa Gana Gueye responds to Teranga Lions slander #Senegal #SENEGY #EGYSEN ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/cTZ1qNLzlg
– France 24 French (@France24_fr) February 7, 2022