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Borussia Dortmund’s Aubameyang Leaves for Africa Cup of Nations

By John Harbeck

Equatorial Guinea's midfielder Randy (R) vies with Gabon's forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the 2015 African Cup of Nations group A football match between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, on January 25, 2015 in Bata. AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA (Photo credit should read CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images)
Equatorial Guinea's midfielder Randy (R) vies with Gabon's forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the 2015 African Cup of Nations group A football match between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, on January 25, 2015 in Bata. AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA (Photo credit should read CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has officially left for the bi-annual Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted in Gabon.

It is no surprise that Borussia Dortmund’s Aubameyang was called into his national team of Gabon to represent the country at the Africa Cup of Nations.  He is without a doubt the most accomplished player on the squad and is in the running for African player of the year (and should win it).

The nation of Gabon will play host to the Africa Cup of nations for only the second time, and first as a solo host.  They haven’t been a traditional power in the African soccer scene (quarterfinal best finish every) so it remains to be seen just how long Borussia Dortmund will be without the star striker.

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With the tournament to run through February 5th, Aubameyang could miss as many as three Bundesliga matches and more should he need time off after the tournament.

With Gabon hosting the tournament, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to imagine Gabon making a deep run, especially for BVB fans as we have seen Aubameyang play on the counter.

Gabon will almost certainly be playing on the counter as if they wouldn’t have been selected to host the tournament, they would have been seeded 10th. That means based on past results within the African region, there are plenty of nations that have produced much better results.

Without much knowledge of the African Cup of Nations, other than there can be some wild results, it is safe to say Borussia Dortmund should prepare themselves for Gabon to experience some success.

If Gabon doesn’t make it out of the group stage, that would mean their tournament would end on January 22nd.  That would mean Aubameyang would return having missed only the first match back from the winter break.  The one match missed is assuming that he doesn’t need any additional rest.

Here are the other members of the Gabon squad and their fixture list:

GABON SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Didier Ovono (KV Ostende/BEL), Yves Stéphane Bitséki Moto (CF Mounana/GAB), Anthony Mfa Mezui

Defenders: Lloyd Palun (Red Star/FRA), André Biyogho Poko (Karabukspor/TUR), Aaron Appindangoye (Laval/FRA), Franck Perrin Obambou (Stade Mandji/GAB), Bruno Ecuélé Manga (Cardiff City/WAL), Yoann Wachter (Sedan/FRA), Johann Serge Obiang (Troyes/FRA), Benjamin Zé Ondo (Mosta/MAL)

Midfielders: Junior Serge Martinsson Ngouali (IF Brommapojkarna/SWE), Levy Clément Madinda (Nastic Tarragona/ESP), Guélor Kanga Kaku (Red Star Belgrade/SRB), Merlin Tandjigora (Meixian Hakka/CHN), Didier Ndong (Sunderland/ENG), Samson Mbingui (Raja Casablanca/MAR), Mario Lemina (Juventus/ITA)

Forwards: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Malick Evouna (Tianjin Teda/CHN), Denis Athanase Bouanga (Tours/FRA), Serge Kevyn Aboue Angoue (Uniao Leiria/POR), Cedric Ondo Biyoghe (CF Mounana/GAB).

Fixtures:

January 14th 2017

Gabon v Guinea-Bissau

January 18th 2017

Gabon v Burkina Faso

January 22nd 2017

Cameroon v Gabon

I’ll attempt to watch and chronical the entire tournament and let you know how to catch the matches, but don’t be surprised if they are difficult to find.

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