Do you still remember him? “Oltean” Mariko Daouda tells us 7 players to watch at the African Cup » What he's doing today
Article by Remus Dinu – Published on Thursday, 25 December 2025, 20:40 / Updated on Thursday, 25 December 2025 20:42
Mariko Daouda, 44 years old, the Ivorian who played at U Craiova – the disaffiliated team – but also at Dinamo, FC Argeș and CS Mioveni, watches from the former capital Abidjan, where he shepherds a football academy, the matches of the Africa Cup, a competition in full swing, which will end on January 18.
For almost a month, international football has been keeping an eye on the African Cup, the renowned competition that has reached its 35th edition.
The African tournament that started on December 21 has consumed its first matches, with the favorites for the trophy already ticking off a first appearance in the group stage. Who has impressed and who has disappointed so far? The calculations of the specialists are in full swing, and the Ivorian Mariko Daouda does not make a discordant note from these discussions.
GSP challenged the African who arrived in Romania in 2002 to name some of the footballers who caught his attention during the first matches played at the African Cup. Who caught the eye of the charismatic Daouda?
“I liked Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and of course Ivory Coast. But we are only at the beginning of the tour…
Here are some players to watch: Yan Diomande and Amad Diallo from Côte d'Ivoire, El Kaabi from Morocco, Danny Namaso, Christian Kofane and Karl Etta Eyong from Cameroon and Mamadou Sangare from Mali. Beautiful competition!”, Daouda pointed out, in a dialogue with GSP.ro.
Among the first foreign footballers who came to Romania in the early 2000s, Mariko Daouda spent a good part of his career in our football. In November 2023, Mariko Daouda spoke nostalgically about her time in Romania, in an exclusive interview with Gazeta Sporturilor.
“I have an academy, «Mariko Daouda Academy», made up of two groups. The first one is with players under 19 years old, a team of talented players, made up of 25 players. And the second one is with players under 13 years old, which includes 20 children”, the former defender of the Juves told us.
The Super League has 7 players at the Africa Cup
The Romanian Superliga sends seven players to the competition on the African continent, and FCSB is the team with the most representatives, three. And Dinamo, FC Argeș, Petrolul and U Cluj have footballers summoned to the African Cup.
The FCSB champion has the most players who have received call-up telegrams, three in number: Siyabonga Ngezana (South Africa), David Kiki (Benin) and Baba Alhassan (Uganda). Devis Epassy (Dinamo – Cameroon), Yohan Roche (Petrolul – Benin), Elio Capradosi (U Cluj – Uganda) and Esteban Orozco (FC Argeș – Equatorial Guinea) are also present at the tournament in Morocco.
The tournament started on December 21 and ends next year on January 18, 2026. It is the second edition hosted by Morocco, after the one in 1988. Morocco was originally going to host the 2015 edition, but withdrew due to fears of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.
Romania is also represented by a Romanian at the African competition. It is about Mario Marinică, the Zimbabwe national team coach. This is not the first exotic adventure, because he was also on the bench of the national teams of Malawi and Liberia.
