El Hadji Abdoulaye Seck, a video analyst for the Mauritania national team, breaks down hundreds of African games every year. From his analysis, he has drawn a surprising conclusion: countries that focus on dancing with their feet tend to be weaker in aerial play. "While studying Cape Verde's game, I noticed that teams from the Arabic nations, Cameroon, or Senegal consistently give them trouble because they’ve identified their major weakness: aerial duels," he explained. This observation about the Blue Sharks was confirmed during their 3-0 loss to Egypt in September, where Egypt kept attacking with two players down each flank to send in crosses. “Cape Verde is actually one of the few teams on the continent that shuts down the wide areas and forces opponents to play through the middle,” noted the Senegalese analyst. For him, the reason for this weakness may lie in cultural factors. "We see the same gap in aerial play in southern African nations. In these countries, the common thread is that people predominantly dance with their feet, unlike other nations where dances involve the head, torso, and arms, helping to develop natural physical abilities."
Brief
El Hadji Abdoulaye Seck (right), video analyst for the Mauritania national team, with former coach Amir Abdou / ©DR