Senegal's Aliou Cisse, Keshi & local coaches to win Afcon since 2006

Senegal, led by coach Aliou Cisse, finally laid their hands on the Africa Cup of Nations title after defeating Egypt 4-2 on penalties in the final at Olembe Stadium in Cameroon on Sunday.

It was Liverpool forward Sadio Mane who struck the decisive penalty to hand the Lions of Teranga the title after 16 appearances at the continental finals, against seven-time winners the Pharaohs.

The feat saw former player Cisse, who captained the side at the 2002 World Cup, join the list of local coaches to have won the Afcon title.

Below GOAL parades the other local coaches to have achieved the feat with their respective national teams.

Shehata became Egypt coach in 2004 after the sacking of Italian coach Marco Tardelli and he went on to clinch the 2006 edition held in Cairo. The Pharaohs were pooled in Group A alongside Ivory Coast, Morocco, and Libya.

Egypt topped their group with seven points and qualified alongside the Elephants, who had six, and in the quarter-finals, they came up against the Democratic Republic of Congo whom they beat 4-1. In the semi-finals, they floored Senegal 2-1.

In the final, they clinched the title for the fifth time by beating Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 result in regulation time.

The 72-year-old Shehata was in charge again as the Pharaohs headed for the 2008 Afcon edition in Ghana where they had been pooled in Group C alongside Cameroon, Zambia, and Sudan.

The Pharaohs qualified as group winners alongside the Indomitable Lions and they were drawn to face Angola in the quarter-final, a game they won 2-1 to reach the semis. In the last four, they came up against Ivory Coast and won 4-1.

They eventually won their second straight title, but their sixth overall, after beating Cameroon 1-0 in the final at Accra Sports Stadium.

The 2010 edition was held in Angola and Egypt found themselves in Group C alongside Nigeria, Benin, and Mozambique. Under Shehata, the Pharaohs once again emerged as winners of the group followed by the Super Eagles.

They were drawn to face Cameroon in the quarter-finals and they won the game 3-1 after extra time. In the semis, they came up against Algeria whom they thumped 4-0.

In the final, they beat Ghana’s Black Stars 1-0 courtesy of Mohamed Nagy’s effort to clinch the tournament, their seventh Afcon title, and an unprecedented third in a row.

The late Keshi took charge of Nigeria in 2011 and in 2013 he was in charge of the team at Afcon in South Africa. Nigeria were pooled in Group C alongside Burkina Faso, Zambia, and Ethiopia.

The Super Eagles came second in the group and qualified alongside winners the Stallions and in the quarter-finals, they beat Ivory Coast 2-1 before thrashing Mali 4-1 in the semis to reach the final.

Keshi then wrote history, becoming one of only two people, along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the Afcon title as both a player and a coach as the Super Eagles beat the Stallions 1-0 in the final at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

The 45-year-old Belmadi became the manager of Algeria in 2018 and a year later, he led the team to Egypt for the Afcon finals. The Desert Warriors were pooled in Group A alongside Senegal, Kenya, and Tanzania.

They qualified as group winners after amassing nine points and they were drawn to face Guinea in the Round of 16, a game they won 3-0. In the quarter-finals, they beat Ivory Coast 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time and then eliminated Nigeria in the semis after a 2-1 victory.

Algeria defeated Senegal 1-0 in the final, winning their second title and first since 1990.

The 45-year-old Cisse was officially appointed as the head coach of the Lions of Teranga in March 2015, and he was in charge of the team as they reached the final of the 2009 edition in Egypt where they lost 1-0 to Algeria.

However, in the 2021 edition, Senegal were pooled in Group B alongside Zimbabwe, Guinea, and Malawi. They were drawn against Cape Verde in the Round of 16, winning 2-0, then came up against Equatorial Guinea, whom they beat 3-1 in the quarter-finals.

In the semis, they eliminated Burkina Faso after a 3-1 win, setting up a final with Egypt. After a 0-0 result in 120 minutes of play, the Lions of Teranga clinched their first-ever Afcon trophy after emerging 4-2 winners on penalties at Olembe Stadium, in Yaounde.