On this day 21 March 1986 (Exactly 33 years ago) The Pharaohs of Egypt defeated Cameroon in a titanic final which travelled into penalty shootout to win their third African Cup of Nations at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, Egypt,
Egypt hosted the 1986 tournament and were targeting their third title since winning the first two editions in 1957 and 1959. Cameroon had also popped up as a strong football nation after beating Nigeria 3-1 to win the cup in 1984, two years earlier. Cameroon came to the tournament with the biggest weapon on the tournament then – Roger Milla – who emerged top scorer of the 1986 Afcon with four goals. The two teams played out a goalless draw game but the north Africans were up to the task when it came to the shootouts. The Pharaohs triumphed 5-4 to clinch their third Afcon title.
Match Summary
Egypt 0 – 0 Cameroon
(5) (4)
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Attendance: 95,000
Referee: Ali Bennaceur (Tunisia)
Penalty Shootout
Egypt :Tarek Yehia (Scored), Magdi Abdel Ghani (Scored), Moustafi Abdou (Missed) Alaa Mayhoub (Scored) , Ashraf Quasem (Scored),
Cameroon : Louis – Paul M’Fede (Scored), Emmanuel Kunde (Scored), Gregoire Mbida (Missed), Roger Milla (Scored), Ibrahim Aoudou (Scored), Andre Kana Biyck (Missed)
Egypt Line-up : Thabet El-Batal, Ali Shehata, Mohamed Omer(Alaa Mayhoub 57), Hamada Sedki, Ashraf Quasem, Rabei Yassin, Magdi Abdel Ghani, Taher Abou Zaid (Tarek Yehia 110),Gamal Abdel Hamid, Mahmoud El-Khateeb, Moustafa Abdou
Manager :John Michael Smith (Wales)
Coach :Shehta “Mohamed Seddeek
” (Egypt)
Cameroon Line -up : Thomas Nkono, Ibrahim Aoudou, Victor N’Dip, Isaac Sinkot, Emmanuel Kunde, Andre Kana Biyck, Gregoire M’Bida, Emile M’Bouh, Loius M’Fede, Ernest Ebongue (Mamadou Oumarou 81), Roger Milla
Coach : Claude Le Roy (France )
On this day 21 March 2008 (Exactly 11 years ago) JS Kabylie (JSK) of Algeria beat Ashantigold of Ghana in their first leg fixture of the second round of the CAF Champions League by 3-0.
JSK won the game thanks to a brace from Nabil Hemani after Yacine Amaouche had opened the scoring for the home side, just three minutes into the start of game.
On this day 21 March 1987 (Exactly 32 years ago) Silvio Berlusconi signed Ruud Gullit from PSV for Milan, paying the then world record transfer fee of 18 million guilders as a replacement for Ray Wilkins. Among his teammates at that club were compatriots Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, along with Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. Gullit’s exploits with first PSV and then Milan helped him win the Ballon d’Or award in 1987 which he dedicated to Nelson Mandela
On this day 21 March 1941 (Exactly 78 years ago) Joe Louis TKOs Abe Simon in round 13 for heavyweight boxing title
Location: Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Referee: Sam Hennessey 9-2
Judge: Dad Butler 3-1
Judge: Frank Neville 7-4
World Heavyweight Championship (15th defense by Louis)
The impossible didn’t quite happen but it came close enough to throw a substantial scare into Joe Louis and his fistic family before the Bomber was able to do his work.
With just a whale-sized heart and a dazzling left hand, the New York giant, Abe Simon—the big target who wasn’t supposed to have one chance in a million of lasting more than three rounds—gave Louis a “helluva” fight of it for 12 full heats before running afoul of the Brown Bomber’s big guns in the thirteenth.
With the greatest indoor crowd in Detroit’s fistic history jamming the Olympia and gasping in amazement at Simon’s sensational showing, Abe gave just about as good as he received until the thirteenth. Then, floored twice by heavy-duty right hand shells, he got up and staggered helplessly into the ropes near his own corner. There, Referee Sam Hennessey rushed in and halted the bout with Louis a tired technical knockout winner at 1 minute, 20 seconds of the thirteenth.
A total of 18,908 fans bulged this big arena at the seams and hung from the rafters to see the hometown champion, and Promoter Mike Jacobs said some 3,000 who couldn’t even crowd into the packed standing room sections, were turned away. The gross gate was $56,605.10.
But, although he locked his world heavyweight championship in the safe successfully for the fifteenth time, the great Louis was slightly less than a ball of fire. After it was over, the “experts” agreed he was mighty lucky not to have had to face the speed and left hand of a Billy Conn.
He finished up with a “mouse” under his left eye and the optic half closed and he left the definite impression behind that he is no longer at his peak, although at 202 pounds that night his handlers insisted he was “in the pink.”
Altogether, Louis floored Abe four times during the 13 rounds this scheduled 20-rounder lasted. In the first round—in fact the first punch he threw—Joe whistled a right off Abe’s “wiskers” that dropped him near a neutral corner. He was up without a count, however. In the third, another of the same sat Abe down in another corner, and be stayed grinning on the seat of his pants until the referee reached nine.
Then, although Abe was hurt three times afterward, he didn’t go down until the thirteenth. For several rounds before that Joe had been stalking the mountainous Manhattanite, obviously holding his fire until he had an open shot.
He got it in the thirteenth. A smashing right dropped Abe near his own corner for nine. He got up as Joe rushed in sensing the kill. Three more rights dropped Abe in almost the identical spot, and again he took nine before climbing to his feet. Joe raced across the ring once more, but this time “our Abe,” as Manager Jimmy Johnston calls his gladiator, was helpless and through. He staggered blindly into the ropes and it was all over.
By George ‘Alan Green’ Mahamah
