Africa Cup of Nations - blog

Finding a drink at Lubango airport

by Paul Myers

Article published on the 2010-01-27 Latest update 2010-01-27 12:56 TU

Nigeria's Elderson Echiejile challenges Zambia's Joseph Musonda during their quarter final in Lubango
(Photo: Reuters)

So farewell Lubango, hello aeroporto dometico Luanda.

I checked in at 11am on Tuesday for a flight scheduled to leave Lubango at 1pm. I took off closer to 7pm.

I lost my Tuesday to an 85 minute internal flight.

Question: Why is Angola state airline called TAAG? Answer: Because it takes you all day to fly somewhere.

It’s that kind of galgenhumor that keeps you going at the international airport in Lubango. It was officially opened on 29 December 2009. And it is so shiny and new that there is no restaurant.

So if you are waiting for say seven hours for a flight -  there’s nowhere to get a hot or cold drink.

The bit I liked was the little café which was open after you’d been through the security checkpoint.

The duo running it didn’t know what had hit them when the the passengers were allowed through.

The café owners should set up another outlet before the baggage screening and they’d make a fortune.

On the subject of getting it right. I’ve been re-evaluating my soothsaying processes. And I predict things can only get better.

One out of four of my quarter final calls was right. True I didn’t apply my Saint and Greavesie zeitgeist theory until Monday’s games.

My Cameroon punt was looking good. The Indomitable Lions went for Egypt and got the opener. But they conceded through two individual mistakes and then there was the catastrophic error of the referee who gave a goal when the ball hadn’t crossed the line.

I have to admit I hadn’t considered the phantom menace in my calculations.

Got the Nigeria call correct. Right down to the fact it would go to penalties. I was spot on.

Wanna know the secret of such transcendant brilliance ?

Add the literary imperative to the Saint and Greavesie syndrome.

Zambia had their chances to win the game. But from Zambia captain Chris Katongo to Nigerians Dickson Etuhu and Peter Odemwinge, all were agreed: the Super Eagles were lucky.

Whereas Cameroon were not. The ref’s decision to allow a non existent goal is very bad luck for them. Great for Egypt..

The Indomitable Lions had huge tranches of good fortune before the game.

Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen had told me luck was a very important side of football.

It’s also a very important aspect of anything actually, Paul. And no that’s not an assertion of self -actualisation, though heaven knows I need one after a day with TAAG.

But I still believe that football, like soothsaying, is about seizing the moment – exploiting the instance.

About two weeks ago I got an email from a mate of mine from my days on the Nottingham Evening Post newspaper.

He wrote with his usual barrage of friendly insults, a couple of poor taste football jokes and to say he and his partner were doing OK.

After the quarter-final line up was confirmed, I wrote back saying that Zambia – the Chipolopolos – the Copper Bullets – had reached the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in 14 years and were going up against Nigeria.

I said it had to go to penalties because if Zambia were then defeated I’d use the line: ‘the Copper Bullets lost the shoot out.’

Result.