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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Tillamawnin[/i] [br][b]Diouf sees his value soar as Senegal close in on final[/b] By Gary Rathbone WHAT an incredible year it has been for El Hadji Diouf. The Senegal striker, with the distinctive dyed blond crop and the uninhibited insouciance of youth, has seen his national team reach the finals of the African Nations Cup, where he missed a penalty but made a big enough impression to be acclaimed the African Footballer of the Year. His nine goals during the World Cup qualification campaign proved to be the deciding factor that saw Senegal reach the finals for the first time in their history. His speed and almost magnetic ability to control the ball while scything through opposition defences won him the man of the match award in the opening game of the tournament, where Senegal upset France, the defending champions — all of this in the first six months of 2002. But there’s more to come. Today, he will be the key instigator in the Senegal front line charged with harassing the Turkey defence as Senegal fight for the honour of becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals. But win or lose, Diouf has already seen his currency soar. In three years he has gone from French league obscurity to the prized fighter that Liverpool require to partner Michael Owen in their attack. According to Diouf, the mercurial 21-year-old talent will be joining the Liverpool squad for pre-season training right after the World Cup, despite continuing reports that cast doubt on the agreement. “It doesn’t matter what you read in the press. I can tell you, the deal is done and I will be joining them after the World Cup,” he said. “Why would I not want to take an opportunity to play for a club like that? The deal is done.” Although there is no doubting his individual brilliance, Diouf seems to thrive on the team spirit and camaraderie that characterises the Senegal set-up. “The spirit in this team is excellent,” he said. “We’re confident and we feel we can beat anyone. But that doesn’t mean we think we’re too big, no matter what we’ve achieved so far.” Success at Anfield will depend as much on his playing ability as his willingness to become part of the bootroom spirit that has long been an essential ingredient in their success and the main reason for Nicolas Anelka’s failure to secure a deal with the club. But, unlike Anelka, Diouf is very much a team player, and he is quick to attribute a large portion of his success to the team as a whole as well Bruno Metsu, Senegal’s French coach. “Bruno is not just my coach . . . he’s more like a father . . . my brother . . . he’s my family.” While one can’t see Gérard Houllier taking over the familial role that Metsu has played in Diouf’s development, it is clear that he thrives on the kind of close-knit atmosphere that he will be expected to be part of at Liverpool. Looking to today’s quarter-final against Turkey, Diouf and his team-mates remain supremely confident. “The team’s morale is good,” Metsu said and although he had said he would have preferred to face Japan, he is still optimistic about his team’s chances. “I’m quite sure about it . . . we are going to the semi-final.” Although they managed to subdue Sweden without him in their second-round victory, Senegal will also welcome back Khalilou Fadiga, their playmaker, who was suspended for that second round encounter. Fadiga will be an important factor for Senegal and Diouf. Against Sweden, Diouf was confined to a more creative role — taking responsibility for holding up defenders, taking them on to create space for Henri Camara, Pape Thiaw and Pape Bouba Diop to exploit. With Fadiga back, Diouf will have greater licence to attack the goal, working with someone who can feed his instinctive creativity. But something else he can expect is more of the rough stuff that has been meted out to him in the competition so far. Statistics show that in their battle to contain him, defenders have fouled Diouf 21 times in the past four matches — more than any other player in the tournament. While Diouf himself was guilty of deception when he dived in the goalmouth to earn Senegal a penalty in their final group game against Uruguay, he has certainly been more sinned against than sinning in this regard. And one of the players he will be up against in the Turkey match will be Alpay — the Aston Villa defender that Diouf will get to know a little more intimately once the FA Barclaycard Premiership season gets started. While victory against Turkey will ensure a permanent place in the history books for the Lions of Taranga, Diouf is already assured of a lot more than a footnote for posterity. With youth and confidence on his side, he looks set to become the defining African player of the decade — a George Weah or an Abedi Pelé Ayew of the modern African football generation. Win or lose today, Diouf’s canonisation as the continent’s latest patron saint of the football field is already complete. Across Africa people are in no doubt — with El Hadji Diouf about, the miracles will come. Gary Rathbone is the producer of African Soccer, a television show broadcast throughout Africa. __________________________________________________ Live simply so that others may simply live. Mohandas K. Gandhi Edited by - Tillamawnin on Jul 10 2002 19:15:46 [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.