Are you not entertained?

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) came to a close last Friday with Algeria beating Senegal 1-0 in the final at the Cairo International Stadium. The tournament was hugely entertaining overall with a number of subplots and stories to follow throughout, not all of them good, as well as some thoroughly entertaining football being played.

Madagascar, competing in their first ever AFCON, captured the imagination of many by beating one of the pre-tournament favourites, Nigeria, topping their group and getting through their round of 16 tie before falling to Tunisia. Egypt too, having only been awarded the right to host the 2019 AFCON in January of this year due to safety concerns in Cameroon, had a few surprises for us. Midfielder Amr Warda returned to the squad for their round of 16 tie, having been expelled before the tournament for allegations of sexual harassment, only to be heading back home straight after the surprise defeat to South Africa. Holders Cameroon fell at the same hurdle after an uninspiring nil draw with Benin in their final group game saw them draw and then beaten by Nigeria.

Algeria took home their second AFCON crown, 29 years after their first, and for many played some of the best football throughout the tournament. They were worthy winners and the most exciting team in a tournament packed with beautiful flowing football.

There was one problem though; they decided to abandon all this in the final in the search of glory. I imagine the team talk beforehand was embarrassingly brief – “win by any means necessary.” Djamel Belmadi said in his post-match interview that the players followed his instructions incredibly well, as a top level coach it is difficult to imagine that his instructions were ‘don’t attack for 88 minutes’. His side, having taken the lead after two minutes with a hugely deflected effort, did not manage another shot in the game. They resorted to time wasting, diving and surrounding the referee at every point they could. Winning was the be all and end all.

For some Algerians perhaps this was okay, certainly in the immediate aftermath, I can imagine that the triumph outweighed the performance but does it take the edge off to not win in style? They took the crown but not the glory they deserved. I just imagine 40 years from now of an elderly Algerian couple telling their grandchildren about the great 2019 AFCON success, reminiscing about how beautiful it was to watch Riyad Mahrez in his prime and going on and on before having to add at the end “but remember, don’t actually watch the final.”

Opinion is certainly split amongst players, coaches and fans as to whether it is more important to win or play with your own identity. Almost every fan base in the world has an idea of how their team should play and they expect to be able to win in that style also. The ‘Barcelona’ way is different from the ‘Juventus’ way but the supporters are just as demanding that success is found in their own unique style.

Manchester United fans became restless under Louis Van Gaal for his style of football; Chris Smalling said that the chants of “attack, attack, attack” would soon disappear if United were to win a title or trophy. Van Gaal won the FA Cup and was sacked. Jose Mourinho replaced him, won the League Cup and Europa League and yet the discontent was still apparent, the chants of “attack, attack, attack” were appeased for a small while but just two and a half years later Mourinho eventually met the same fate.

Prior to the first of the two meetings with Manchester City last season, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admitted – “I really think the most important job of football is entertaining the people. Because, it’s only football. We don’t save lives; we are only good at football. If we do not entertain the people, why do we play it?”

The late Brian Clough was a similar advocate of style being at the forefront of the way his team played. When questioned about ‘long ball football’ a style directly in contrast to his own, he replied, “If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there.”

Football, in its own arrogant way, is the self-proclaimed beautiful game, yet many are ready to accept that for fans, winning is the only thing that truly matters. Is this really the case?

With the new season just around the corner, would you take winning a league cup whilst playing a style that is boring and tedious or would you rather be entertained week in, week out?