Soccer-Nations Cup proves taxing for top players

By Mark Gleeson

LIBREVILLE Feb 3 (Reuters) - As snow and ice causes havoc with weekend soccer fixtures in Europe, players at top teams might be tempted to envy club mates supposedly sunning themselves at the African Nations Cup.

Such envy is misplaced, say players at the 16-team tournament, co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which is now at the quarter-final stage.

With tropical heat and near 100 percent humidity, the Nations Cup is more taxing than top-level club football and the tournament is sapping mental and physical strength, players and coaches say.

"We have had to redouble our efforts. The premier league is technical but the Nations Cup is physical with a lot of aggression. I can move in the game in England but not here," said African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure in an interview this week.

"The Nations Cup is certainly not the European Championship. The temperature, the humidity, the pitches, the atmosphere, it's a big change for the players coming from European clubs," added the Ivory Coast midfielder, who plays in the Premier League for Manchester City.

His coach Francois Zahoui took the opportunity to rest Toure and other key players once the Ivorians had qualified for the quarter-finals.

Zahoui had earlier told his players, heavily fancied to win the cup, that they were in for a hard three-week slog if they were to win the title.

Poor organisation at the tournament can also tax patience. Teams have encountered accommodation with no running water and training facilities far from their hotels, involving bumpy bus rides.