ACTUALITE |
09.02.2002
The end of the five-year plan
BBC Sport Online`s Martin Davies says the five-year plan is over and asks the players, "what next?"
Mali`s five-year plan to build towards the finals of the tournament they were to host is finally over.
Following the 3-0 defeat to Cameroon on Thursday, the team has finally bowed out of the Nations Cup, although having put up much more of a performance than anyone expected.
The defeat marked the end of something more significant though: a plan to build for the future and really establish Mali as a force to be reckoned with in African football.
Much of the side defeated on Thursday first came together in 1997 at Under 17 level, with the target being the 2002 tournament staged in their country.
Now, the players have been sharing their views on what went wrong in their semi-final defeat at the hands of Cameroon.
Vincent Doukantie, who came on as a half-time substitute, said Cameroon`s experience had shone through.
"It is a team that we know very well and it has been together for about six years," he pointed out.
Goalkeeper Mohamadu Sidibe said his side had wasted chances and been punished for it.
"This game was very difficult but Cameroon are a big team," he said.
Magnanimous
"We had a couple of chances early on, did not score and they scored twice. We then got a little bit down and then they won the match."
But Sidibe was magnanimous in defeat.
"I think they were the best team and I say good luck to the team of Cameroon," he said.
Other team members were equally upbeat.
French-born Doukantie said he was positive about what lay in store for the side.
"We are a young team and I believe that we have a bright future," he argued.
And keeper Sidibe says the team will not be broken up now.
"We will stay together and in two or three years time we can be the best in Africa," he said.
"I think that all the people of Mali are satisfied and that we have done our best," he added.
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