Burkina Faso: The unlikely finalists of AFCON

Burkina Faso or ‘The Stallions’ as they are otherwise known, reached their maiden finals in the African Cup of Nations by defeating one of the pre-tournament favourites, Ghana through tie breakers. Before the start of the tournament, Burkina Faso was neither known to be a strong footballing force to reckon with, nor it can boast of many super stars in their ranks, but it was the result of sheer determination and team work that led them to the glory.

In the semifinals, even though the entire regulation time and extra time scoreline (1-1) suggests an evenly contested game, in reality it was not the case. It was a complete dominating performance by the Stallions to oust a star studded team of Ghana comprising of star players like Asamoah Gyan, John Pantsil, Badu and Kwadwo Asamoah in their playing eleven.

Not only in the semifinals, but they have been on a song in the entire tournament as they haven’t lost a single game en route to finals. In their first game they held another star-studded team Nigeria (whom they are going to clash in the finals) by scoring an injury time equalizer Their second game was something special where they completely dismantled the Ethiopians with an emphatic 4-0 victory. In their last league game they held off the last year’s champions Zambia to a goalless draw that ultimately led the end of campaign for the Champions. In their quarterfinal clash against a strong opponent Togo, saw them pull an extra-time goal through their only star player Jonathan Pitroipa, that put them in the semifinals.

In their semifinal clash against Ghana, the sudden injury to Ghanaian full-back John Pantsil in the early stages of the game came as a boon for the Stallions as his removal from the field saw a paradigm shift in the formation of Ghanain defence and their over reliance on counterattacks made them pay. Ghana had to shift its strategy, even though after being one goal up, credit must go to Burkina Faso’s attackers Pitroipa and Bance. Pitroipa in particular terrorized the Ghanain defence with his runs from the wings into the centre, that finally paid for Burkina Faso.

Even though Burkina Faso will be the underdogs in the finals against Nigeria, it’s a dream come true for them and their run to the finals speaks something special about the team and its players. At the start there were hardly any stars other than Pitroipa and now they can really boast of some star power who have come to prominence through this tournament like Alain Traore, Aristide Bance and Florent Ruamba.

Whatever be the outcome of the game, this team and its game play has won the hearts of the football fans.