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The two attackers took very different routes for the Saturday confrontation between Burundi and Gabon.
After finding the net against Crystal Palace in February 2016, in the last days of his career at West Bromwich Albion, Berahino would have spent 913 days without scoring again.
He ended his drought in August 2018, fighting against Huddersfield Town in a showdown at the Carabao Cup.
In the end, the killer had spent 40 hours and 26 minutes – in 48 appearances – without scoring.
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By that time, he had left Albion for Stoke City, although a change of scenery did not improve the fate of the attacker, contrary to what was hoped.
He suffered a relegation with Stoke the last term of the season, bringing only one pbad in his 15 appearances. He has scored only three out of 23 in the championship so far.
He has not played since early February after being arrested again for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Berahino's career has been in an infernal spiral since he scored 14 goals in 38 during the intoxicating days of the 2014-15 season with West Bromwich, before his relationship with Tony Pulls completely deteriorated.
While the 25-year-old struggled, Aubameyang continued to establish himself as one of the most deadly strikers of his generation – in Germany, with Borussia Dortmund, and more recently in England, with Arsenal.
Since February 27, 2016, when the Berahino drought began, Auba scored 75 goals in league games, not counting 11 more in the Champions League.
While the goal of the duo returns in recent years, it is difficult to separate them further and their international career has begun to take completely different directions.
Berahino, who traveled alone to the UK after his father's death during the Burundian civil war, was once announced as a future English star and represented the national selection of the U-16 to U-21 levels.
He was even named to the English national team in November 2014 by his former Baggies coach Roy Hodgson, but did not show up on the field … remaining eligible in Burundi.
After rejecting the Burundian federation's openings earlier in his career, Berahino finally pledged to swallows'Cause in August 2018.
Saido Berahino meets Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza
Expect these smiles to become even wider if they avoid defeat against Gabon on Saturday.# Afcon2019 pic.twitter.com/m1SNqhwiXJ
– Ed Dove (@ EddyDove) March 22, 2019
A month later, he made his debut by opening the score in Libreville against a Gabonese team including Aubameyang, while Burundi, ranked 139th in the world, extended its start to the season without defeat.
While the Arsenal striker canceled the Berahino strike 15 minutes from time, the Panthers drew a disastrous match as they tried to return to the Nations Cup for the eighth time since 1994.
In the lead-up to the last qualifying match this weekend in Bujumbura, Gabon have seven points in five games and, having already lost twice, only one win will be enough to qualify for the biennial show in Egypt. .
Burundi, on the other hand, remains undefeated and is on the verge of joining Group C leader Mali in the Afcon for the first time in its history.
This is a remarkable achievement for a country facing internal political turmoil since President Nkurunziza's controversial inauguration for a third term in 2015, and coach Olivier Niyungeko deserves immense credit for having recruited intelligently and fired the best of a limited harvest.
While Berahino took the lead in running this exciting Burundian game, Aubameyang's role in an increasingly troubled organization in Gabon has become increasingly murky.
Although he is the greatest player of all time – and his world football ambbadador – his motivation with the Panthers has been criticized by his supporters, although he was named captain in 2015.
The goals have not been as free for Gabon as in club, and Auba has been criticized for choosing when he wants to play for the national team and when he wants to stay away.
This "superstar" attitude has been largely tolerated by the federation, but supporters have not forgotten the attacker's decision to remain silent during the post-election crisis that will precede Afcon 2017, when the Gabonese public appeal to influential people to express their opinion.
Similarly, Aubameyang's relationship with Fegafoot was disrupted by the dismissal of his father, former Gabonese international Pierre Aubameyang, who was part of the technical staff of coach Jorge Costa, in anticipation of the 2017 tournament.
While senior Aubameyang was subsequently invited to be part of the new regime headed by Daniel Cousin, the plagues of the federation's decision to turn to José Antonio Camacho before the last Nations Cup did not still really healed.
It is in this context that Aubeameyang has missed the last two matches of Gabon, including a 1-0 defeat against Mali that could prove decisive in the framework of the qualifying campaign for the Nations Cup.
Prior to the Burundian confrontation, he revealed – somewhat unnecessarily – that he was "seriously thinking about his retirement from international football", and after not showing a flight that he was supposed to be this Tuesday, the face national.
"Pierre was definitely called," insisted Cousin. "I did not receive any documents from his club telling us that he refused to take part in this match.
"He knows what I think and what I expect from him."
In the end, Auba went home on Wednesday, welcoming a hero, no less.
He wore a new hairstyle – three stars in the colors of the Gabonese flag, shaved on the side of the head – which left little doubt about his loyalty – at least this weekend – to the cause of his country.
However, on his way, Berahino, a player who also suffered a fractured relationship with his native country, struggled with image problems and controversies off the field.
Their very different career paths led them to this day of destiny in Bujumbura on Saturday, where only one of the two men – Aubameyang or Berahino – can reach the Nations Cup.
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