'New' Libya indebted to veteran Aboud
The national football team of the 'new' Libya was indebted to long-serving goalkeeper Samir Aboud as they defied the odds again at the weekend to reach the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Aboud, who turns 40 next year but boasts the cat-like agility of someone half his age, pulled off several superb saves as the North Africans forced a 0-0 draw away to Group C winners Zambia and clinched one of two slots reserved for the best second-place sides.
"My team-mates and I dedicate our qualification to all Libyans -- to our revolution," Aboud told reporters in mining town Chingola while the rest of the team danced and sang to celebrate what will be only a third appearance at the biennial African football showcase.
Hosts Libya lost a penalty shoot-out against Ghana in the 1982 final and were eliminated after the first round in Egypt five years ago when Aboud was part of a squad composed almost entirely of home-based players.
"We did not play that well but that does not really matter," admitted silver-haired Brazilian coach Manuel Paqueta after a match in which 1974 and 1994 Cup of Nations runners-up Zambia rattled the woodwork twice.
Libya finished second -- one point behind Zambia and five ahead of Mozambique in a group completed by the Comoros Islands -- despite playing only one of three home fixtures at the 60,000-seat Tripoli national stadium because of the revolt against dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
They defeated the Comoros 3-0 in Bamako seven months ago and snatched a crucial 1-0 victory over Mozambique behind closed doors in Cairo last month after the fixture was switched from the Malian capital at the last minute for security reasons.
The popular uprising against Kadhafi had a direct impact on the squad with one star banished for calling dead rebels "rats and dogs" while others refuse to wear the new national colours of red, green and black until the entire country is liberated.
At the height of the struggle against Kadhafi, the squad risked their lives driving along the Mediterranean coast from Tripoli to Tunisia where they teamed up with Paqueta, who last received a salary six months ago.
Many of the Libyan squad are based in Tripoli and as Nato bombing of regime targets around the city intensified, competitive football was abandoned last March to leave the South American coach with dedicated but rusty stars.
Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia will join Libya and Zambia at the January 21 to February 12 tournament.
The remaining two places in the 16-nation field will be filled late Sunday with Morocco expected to defeat Tanzania in Marrakech and win Group D, which would also ensure Sudan make it as the second best runners-up.