Boco ready for Benin challenge

After all, Benin have already achieved what most people felt was the impossible by even qualifying for the African Cup of Nations.

But don't expect to hear the confident 22-year-old saying that anything they get from being pitted against Mali, Ivory Coast and Nigeria will be a bonus.

"When we start, on paper they are a lot better than us, but on the pitch, it will be about who is best on the day," said Boco, who is flying the flag for Accrington Stanley as well as his father's homeland.

"We have nothing to lose but everything to win because if we do very well we can spring a surprise.

"And being underdogs brings us together."

While Mali are taking Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Sissoko to host country Ghana, the Ivory Coast have Didier Drogba leading a crop of Premier League stars that include his Chelsea team-mate, Salomon Kalou and Arsenal duo Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue. Nigeria pose an equally strong threat with Chelsea's John Obi Mikel, Everton's Yakubu and Joseph Yobo, Portsmouth's Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka and acrobatic Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins in their ranks.

Boco, however, is the only Benin player who has managed to break into the English game. The rest of his team-mates are scattered around the leagues of France (only one in Ligue 1), Switzerland, Sweden, Italy and Portugal.

They can't even turn to their nickname for a shred of intimidation.

The Eagles of Mali, Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Elephants of the Ivory Coast will hardly be running scared from the Squirrels of Benin.

But Boco and the fearless Beninese have prepared well for the tournament, after spending 10 days in Brazil to train and acclimatise to the hot conditions, and are facing the formidable task head-on.

"We said it was a good thing for us to be in that group. It's a challenge and better than if we were in an easy group," said the versatile French-born midfielder, who is set to start in their first Group B game against Mali on Monday night, following the opening match between Ghana and Guinea tomorrow.

And he wouldn't back against an upset.

"There are some good teams in our group, but Mali don't like playing against us. Playing against Benin, it's very hard to win," he said.

"The first game will be very important for confidence.

"If we don't lose, it will be very good for us.

"We had two games against them in qualifying and we drew twice, away and at home.

"But I think we're capable of beating them.

"We should be confident, because this time it's a competition so everyone is capable of winning games.

"It will be hard for us, but we try to make it difficult for other teams. We've been together for four years and are getting better all the time."

It was seven months ago that their eyes were truly opened to the possibility of qualification.

"We had a good month in June," Boco explained. "Two games against Mali and Togo were very good; we drew with Mali but beat Togo 4-1. After that it was like our future was in our own hands.

"We just had to beat Sierra Leone away - we were quite confident about that and we won 2-0.

"Our players believed in it. In our country, everyone said we should qualify because we missed the last one."

The prospect of securing a place in this biennial jamboree for only the second time in their history gripped the tiny West African country, and over 200,000 people welcomed their heroes home following their Sierra Leone success.

"It wasn't a surprise to see all those people. In Africa, everywhere I've been it's the same - they live for football," said Boco, who was part of the Beninese 2004 African Nations Cup team that finished bottom of their group in the first round of the competition, failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.

While Accrington Stanley supporters won't be able to back him in equal number, there is a pocket of Hyndburn that has adopted a passion for Benin through their young French star and will be right behind them, most likely sitting in the Crown Pub on Whalley Road, pint in hand, watching the big screen.

But there is no-one more proud of Boco's achievements than his 60-year-old father, Paul, who moved to France from Benin to study. He met his wife, Elizabeth, at university in Toulouse and they later moved to Normandy where they had five children - four boys and a girl, with Rommy the fourth-born.

"It wasn't always my dream to play for Benin because I had always been in France so that's who I supported. But my attentions turned to Benin when I was 18," said the former Niort youngster, who was raised in Picardy, near Paris.

"I love playing for Benin. It's a bigger challenge. We can't expect to win the World Cup, but this is a different thing.

"My dad's very proud and very happy because it's his name.

"People thank him for what he did and say we know your son'.

"I called him from Sierra Leone after we qualified. He was so happy because he would love to see us play in the African Nations. I'm going to try to get him over for a game if I can."

A hero in his father's homeland and dubbed the King of Benin, Boco was immediately taken to Stanley's hearts when he signed from French club Niort in the summer of 2005. He scored four goals in the Reds' Conference winning season, but arguably his most significant strikes were the ones that secured their first win on their return to the Football League, at home to Barnet in August 2006.

However, he hopes the best is yet to come.

"It would be a dream to score in the African Nations," he smiled.

"I'm hoping this is the best thing in my career so far."