More than a month after the Algerian fiasco at CAN 2021, Djamel Belmadi held a press conference to explain the failure of the Fennecs. And some of the reasons mentioned are surprising…
Before the start of CAN 2021, Algeria was considered the big favorite of the competition. Djamel Belmadi’s men, who remained on an incredible series of 33 matches without defeat, aimed to seek a second CAN in a row. In a group made up of Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast, it was unimaginable to think that the Fennecs would not pass the first round. Even more in a competition with 24 where 66% of the teams pass in 8th. However, this is what happened with two defeats and a small draw for Algeria in this CAN. “I have a bitter taste of this CAN, the players have a feeling of humiliation. You have to be strong not to go to the 8th finals. It stays with me”first explained the coach of Algeria to the media.
In this press conference that he wanted to do to discuss what went wrong, Djamel Belmadi surprised his world by already announcing a lot of cases of Covid within the selection during the preparation. Because Algeria had only announced one positive case: Belaïli. The others had therefore been deliberately hidden by the staff or the federation. “I can’t say everything, but it’s up to you to understand. We have five players who have not had the Covid. Depending on where we were, there are laws. Belaïli, when he returns from Algeria, he is positive for Covid. 10 days of quarantine. I spoke about Belaïli because you know he was positive. But 23 out of 27 players tested positive. Half the staff too. It was a carnage, the preparation was chaotic”, he launched. An announcement that made people react.
The emotional shock of the Arab Cup
These many positive cases have logically impacted the preparation of the group and especially the state of form of the players who appeared to be physically suffering during this AFCON. “We didn’t have the strength to run. This is athletic data. These are our fundamentals, it shows in training. We will give credit to our medical staff and our stewards. It was impossible to manage. We did tests every morning. We were scared every morning to find out who wouldn’t be available.”, detailed Belmadi before discussing the arbitration in this AFCON. An arbitration that he considers quite strange and in particular against Equatorial Guinea. “We played an African Cup match against a Spanish-speaking team with a Guatemalan referee. After 8 minutes, we had 2 yellow cards, he attacked our players and myself.
The 45-year-old technician also addressed the mental aspect and pointed to the Arab Cup which took place a month before the CAN. Algeria, which won the competition, fielded several players from team A such as Mbolhi, Belaili, Bounedjah and even Belamri. And chaining two competitions in a month, especially when coming out victorious, is not easy according to Belmadi. “Two competitions that follow one another, emotionally, they were drained. It’s not just the physical aspect. You have to be hungry again. It takes great mental strength. If you don’t have that, it’s problematic. But if they didn’t play it, they would have had a lack of playing time. There was a lot of excitement. I could no longer say to Madjid Bougherra (note: coach of team A’) “don’t play Belaïli against Morocco”. Part of the group, maybe the whole group played the Arab Cup. There was no lack of humility. It was a form of self-satisfaction, a little too much certainty. »
Cup goal
But for Algeria, we must now look ahead with the Cup play-offs against Cameroon. Djamel Belmadi has not forgotten him. “We want to make our people happy. A qualification in March will allow us to prepare in euphoria. I wanted to do this job to play in a Cup. This is the last time we have a Cup in this configuration. Mahrez has never played in the Cup. It’s a priority for him.” To satisfy the Manchester City player, it will be necessary to dominate Cameroon. A country that did not succeed at the Fennecs a month ago.
The first leg will also be played in the stadium where Algeria was eliminated against the Ivorians during the CAN. “Normally, they play in Yaoundé. Exceptionally, they make us play at Japoma. We are traumatized by the pitch, not by the stadium or the city. We are not traveling for tourism.” he first launched to defuse any controversy. “It is not with the same ingredients and just with the desire that we are going to go to the Cup. Cameroon also wants to go to CDM. It’s going to take something exceptional. I have an optimistic and ambitious nature. We are going to have to play a very, very big match. It’s for a CDM, it can’t be a simple match.
