Co-hosts Gabon take on Mali in their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final at the Stade d'Angondjé in Libreville on Sunday. And the battle might be as much between the competing coaches as the players on the pitch.
Mali boss Alain Giresse coached Gabon from 2006 to 2010 before being replaced by Gernot Rohr, his good friend and former team mate at French side Bordeaux during their playing days.
Gabon goalkeeper Didier Ovono says coming up against his former mentor Giresse will be an emotional experience.
"He's the 'Papa' to all of us. We're in contact with him all the time," Ovono says. "He helped many of us find clubs in Europe. He understood that for us to get better, we had to play at a high level.
"Alain Giresse knows us all, he knows our qualities and our faults. But we're not individuals, we play as a team, a solid group, and that makes a difference.
"We're a group that fights together, a group that supports itself. It's a bit of a shame we're meeting him in the quarters. We'd have preferred to meet him in the final.
"What does Gabon need to beat Mali? Mental strength, heart and lots and lots of hard work," the keeper added.
Rohr was equally complimentary about his opposite number, but says friendships will be put aside on the day.
"I met Alain at a wedding a couple of months ago and we joked about our paths crossing in the quarter-finals," Rohr said.
"We played together in Bordeaux, he's a friend, and now the competition has thrown us together. He is facing his old side and his old fans, but now I'm coach of Gabon and he's coach of Mali."
Gabon's success or failure could depend on the form of their front two, strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Daniel Cousin.
Aubameyang has been a revelation in this tournament, scoring in all three of Gabon's group matches, but took time out to offer praise to veteran Cousin, who was Gabon's top man until the arrival of the youngster on the scene.
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"Daniel Cousin is an example to all other Gabonese footballers," Aubameyang said. "He played for [Scottish side] Rangers and in England, so he inspires the rest of us in our careers.
"He is a strong striker and I enjoyed playing alongside him. In the last Africa Nations Cup finals in 2010, he scored in our draw with Cameroon. He's a top guy."
Aubameyang says the group stages will have helped his side prepare for the match against Mali.
"Each match has been different, with different kinds of play and opposition, but we are happy to have come out of the group as leaders," he said.
If Mali are to have any chance in this game, they will have to keep these two quiet. But then Giresse will know that more than anyone.
