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Algerians cheer trip to Cup finals

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-20 09:59

ALGIERS: Algerians at home and abroad exploded with joy as the final whistle sounded in Khartoum to send the north African country to its first football World Cup since 1986.

Cheers broke out around Algeria at the end of the match, after what one supporter, 45-year-old Djamel, called "90 minutes of the worst agonies".

In France, celebrations were marred by violence in some areas, with cars set alight and police firing tear gas.

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Hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, flooded into the streets in towns and villages across Algeria, celebrating with flags, fireworks and car horns.

Even a few police officers lost their cool, sounding their sirens to join in the rapture at the triumph of "les Verts" - Algeria's green-shirted side which beat Egypt 1-0 in the do-or-die playoff in Khartoum.

Around Algiers, fans shouted "Thank you, les Verts", "One, two, three, viva Algeria" and "We're going to the World Cup".

Packed into cars and running through the crowded streets, young men and women - many wrapped in the green and white national flag - beamed with happiness.

"It's too much, they've given us everything," said Naima, 18, laughing and crying at once.

"Do you have any idea what the tension was like? We've shown our support for the team since it was beaten in Cairo on Saturday and now we've done it. The dream has come true!" one of her friends shouted.

Huge crowds turned out on the promenade in the western coastal city of Oran and similar scenes of jubilation were reported in other towns and villages around the country.

"The players took their revenge on the pitch and they gave joy to all the Algerian people," said Mohamed Raouraoua, president of the Algerian football federation.

The mood was very different in Cairo, where the normally traffic-packed streets were deserted during the match.

Young Egyptian supporters took to the streets to bang drums and set off firecrackers after their side's defeat but their heart was not in it.

"One day you win, one day you lose," Egyptian supporter Khaled Hassan said philosophically, referring to his team's 2-0 win over the "Desert Foxes" in Cairo on Saturday.

In one cafe a man fainted on the final whistle and was put into a taxi by his friends.

AFP

(China Daily 11/20/2009 page24)