Paul Put’s men remained unbeaten until the final, only falling to the Super Eagles by the smallest of margins and only conceding three goals throughout the whole competition. The Belgian technician paid homage to his players for their incredible team effort.
“Burkina have grown up through this competition. I am proud of my players. We did the best we could and that we have to accept,” stated Put to RFI after the match. As per their coach, the Stallions have graciously accepted their defeat, admitting the superiority of the Nigerians on Sunday at Soccer City.
“Perhaps we lacked a bit of conviction in our game. In the first half we were tense. We wanted to defend, we wanted to attack and we didn’t know how Nigeria were going to play (…) We hadn’t dreamt of getting to this stage of the competition.
We have to congratulate Nigeria for their mentality and their game,” admitted Charles KaborĂ©, one of the best Burkina Faso players of this Afcon 2013. And their second place, undreamt of at kick-off of the tournament, represents a huge source of motivation for them.
“I think that what is happening to us, despite the defeat, is a good thing for the team. I’m going to continue to work to progress because I believe that I can do even better. I’m not going to give up, I will continue to fight,” promised Jonathan Pitroipa, elected best player of the South African Africa Cup. So now it is with a feeling of mission accomplished and full of confidence that the Stallions’ camp have turned their eyes towards Brazil.
“The road ahead is still long, but it is very satisfying for a coach to see that the work put in over all these months has finally paid off. “Now we have four matches left to qualify for the upcoming World Cup and this second place gives us a bit of confidence,” assured Paul Put.
The players and coaching staff of Burkina Faso are expected in Ouagadougou this Monday, where an exceptional welcome awaits them.
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