To the Shores of Tripoli

Published: 30^th Jan 12 8:26 pm

by Eric Imhof
Soccer Blogger

RANT It!

Considering the state of their country’s affairs, it’s somewhat of a miracle that Libya even fielded a team for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament, let alone played with such heart. Sadly, however, even though they fended off Senegal with a 2-1 win on Sunday, they have failed to advance to the knockout stages due to Equatorial Guinea’s loss to Zambia.

According to this AFP report: “Fairytale qualifiers Libya enjoyed a bittersweet day on Sunday, defeating Senegal for their first Africa Cup of Nations win since 1982, yet missing out on the quarter-finals.” I hope that their effort, although falling short of their ostensible goal of advancing to the next round, will nonetheless still hearten their fellow Libyans, who by all means need any bit of consolation available.

Thomas Paine wrote in The Crisis that “to pass from the extremes of danger to safety—from the tumult of war to the tranquillity of peace, though sweet in contemplation, requires a gradual composure of the senses to receive it.” From the current vantage, peace seems a far way off for the people of Libya and the entire North African region (the “Arab Spring” didn’t suddenly end last June, after all), but for the moment let us pause with a certain composure of senses to appreciate just what the Libyan football team has accomplished, simply by attending.

Connect with Rant Sports