January 2023 will eternally hold a special place in the heart of Angolans thanks to their excellent showing at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
And for head coach Pedro Gonçalves, this will unceasingly be the memorable day that the Palancas Negras registered a historic second group stage win at the AFCON 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire – a feat that had eluded them in all previous eight editions.
As the Portuguese tactician returns to the West African nation this week where he achieved what he has since referred to as a defining moment in his coaching career, he is excited to be amidst the crème-de-la-crème of African Football.
The CAF Coaches Symposium is set to take place from September 12-13 with over 50 coaches from across the continent set to be in attendance in Abidjan to focus on the performance of national teams at the AFCON 2023 – an edition widely considered as the best in the 67-year history of the competition.
“In many African countries I have been to, people are generally welcoming and kind. Côte d’Ivoire especially the city of Bouaké where we played three of the five games, will forever remain in our good memories,” Gonçalves reminisced to CAFOnline.
“In my opinion, the last AFCON elevated the competition. Africa and her football have charm, talent and are the future. I think the level was really good which translated into good football and sporting balance.”
“Generally speaking, we saw the competition as a great opportunity to reveal our qualities and potential. This involved the players and the entire team in a spirit of availability to perform functions and above all, being available to be a team capable of playing with different tactical structures.”
Angola’s fluidity across the board could be seen largely in their transition from defence to offence. This transition awareness saw them bully teams with speed, precision and accurate passes that eventually saw them score an impressive six goals in the group stages and was the only team to score in every game in Group D.
With a total of seven points – their highest tally since debuting at the AFCON in 1996, Angola marched into the Round of 16 with the same swagger and exuberance to see off neighbours Namibia 3-0 and reach the last eight for the third time in history.
Reaching the quarterfinals was a significant breakthrough especially for this generation as Angola had struggled to reach this stage of the biennial tournament since the 2010 edition at home. Group stage exits in 2012, 2013 and 2019 coupled with failing to qualify to the 2015, 2017 and 2021 editions had rendered the Palancas Negras underperformers.
“Our perspective is always to overcome our opponents, but in a group with Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mauritania, anticipating that we would be the group winner with seven points, I don’t think many people would believe it,” Gonçalves explained.
“However, we always felt that we had potential to progress to the next stage including one of our goals was to win two matches in the group stages as Angola had never achieved this in previous editions. We have the perspective of playing an intelligent game with fair play that allows us to enjoy the game. Basically, there must be a communion between the fun part of the game and the seriousness of completing the tactical missions.”
Talking about the fun part of the game, Angola’s entry into the stadium became a sight to behold as they danced to the sound of their iconic Kizomba songs bringing a touch of the southern African nation to the celebration of Africa.
“Football is a game played by people with emotions and states of mind. Furthermore, it is by far the most loved sport in Africa. It is normal for the players to practice having a social dimension. The players must feel free to show their emotions. There will always be rules limiting some actions, but I really identify myself with freedom of expression and the communion of emotions and energies. I believe this only strengthens our team.”
The dancing continues for Angola this month as they have already amassed maximum points in the AFCON 2025 Qualifiers ending Ghana’s unbeaten 24-year-old history at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi 1-0 before going on to defeat Sudan 2-1 to lead Group F.
Should Gonçalves choose to walk with a spring in his step at the CAF Coaches Symposium this week, no one will blame him.
Angola have already surpassed their highest number of wins in a calendar year standing at 11 in September with at least two more international windows to go in 2024.
After their impressive run at the AFCON 2023, the Palancas Negras went on to win the COSAFA Championship in July after making light work of Namibia 5-0 in a one-sided final in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
In celebration of the AFCON 2023 legacy, the CAF Coaches Symposium will be an opportune moment for discussions around tactical analysis, statistics and overall technical performance among many other topics from the continent’s finest.