African Cup of Nations Preview: Côte d’Ivoire

January 10th, 2008 | by: Daryl | Comments(6)

With just 10 days until African Cup of Nations kick off, we have 10 more teams to preview. We’ve already looked at Group A and half of Group B, today we continue the latter with Côte d’Ivoire.

The Elephants have a formidable depth of talent competing in the best leagues in Europe, a talismanic captain returning from injury, two Brazilian style fullbacks and are the only team we’ve been officially asked not to refer to in English. So come on in and meet Ivory Coast Côte d’Ivoire.

Nickname: The Elephants

Bonus Knowledge: The reason Côte d’Ivoire is referred to in French and not the English-language Ivory Coast is that the government officially discourages use of the English language name and requests that the country be referred to as Côte d’Ivoire in all languages.

Jersey: All orange (home.) All white (away.)

Geography: “The Republic of the Ivory Coast, on the south coast of the western bulge of Africa, is bordered to the north by Mali and Burkina Faso, to the east by Ghana, to the south the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by Liberia and Guinea.” – The Africa Guide

History: Côte d’Ivoire narrowly lost the African Cup of Nations 2006 final to Egypt by losing a dramatic penalty shoot out to Egypt. They won the tournament in 1992 and made their first appearance at the World Cup in 2006.

Manager: Frenchman Gerard Gili has stepped up from the Under-23s in the last few days, following the tragic news that German coach Uli Stielike’s son had slipped into a coma. Stielke has taken leave to be with his family and Gili will be in charge for the tournament.

FIFA World Ranking (December 2007): 37

Expectations: Big. With all the talent, Côte d’Ivoire will expect to go one better than last time and win the whole thing. They’ve been drawn in a tough group and have probably the toughest start possible (vs Nigeria) but will still be confident of making the later stages.

Pros: Where to start? There’s captain Didier Drogba, possibly the best striker in the world right now. He’s classy with the ball and deadly in front of goal but also physically immense and great in the air. Chelsea didn’t seem too keen on him playing at the African Cup of Nations but he seemed to more or less demand it. Salomon Kalou (also Chelsea) is an exciting talent going forward, as are Abdul Kader Keïta (Lyon, see below) and the Koné brothers Arouna (Sevilla) and Bakari (Nice). In the middle of the park Yaya Touré (Barcelona) and Didier Zokora (Tottenham) can hang with any other midfield at the African Cup of Nations, but Côte d’Ivoire’s real strength is in defence, which is not something you’d say about many of the teams at the tournament. Central defender Kolo Touré (Yaya’s brother) dominates all-comers in the Premier League, Emmanuel Eboue is a key part of the same Arsenal team. With Eboue getting forward from right back and Stuttgart’s Arthur Boka marauding from left back, opposition teams can expect an Elephants stampede down both wings.

Cons: Didier Drogba’s injury is obviously a concern. He’s barely played since having knee surgery so Côte d’Ivoire will be hoping he’s recovered and match fit. There’s plenty quality to back him up, but no one quite so talismanic as captain Drogba. The only position lacking in quality is goalkeeper, with none of the three squad keepers having played at the top level. We’ll have to wait and see the effects the unfortunate late managerial change that was forced on The Elephants, though Gilli will be familiar with the players and the Côte d’Ivoire setup.

Player to Watch: Didier Drogba is always worth watching, but the whole world already knows what he can do. The man to really keep an eye on is Lyon striker slash winger Abdul Kader Keïta whose terrifying pace and technique (a little like Cristiano Ronaldo) have caught the eye of our resident Côte d’Ivoire blogger Gianfranco. Enjoy…

Fixtures: In Group B with Mali, Nigeria, Benin
Côte d’Ivoire vs Nigeria (Sekondi, January 25th, 17:00)*
Côte d’Ivoire vsBenin (Sekondi, January 25th, 17:00)
Côte d’Ivoire vs Mali (Accra, January 29th, 17:00)
*don’t miss this

Team Blog? Yes. Gianfranco will be following The Elephants on the Côte d’Ivoire blog.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren), Tiasse Kone (Africa Sports), Stephan Loboue (SpVgg Greuther Furth)

Defenders: Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart), Constant Djakpa (Pandurii Targu Jiu), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal), Steve Gohouri (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Abdoulaye Meite (Bolton Wanderers), Kolo Toure (Arsenal), Marc Zoro (Benfica)

Midfielders: Emerse Fae (Reading), Christian Koffi Ndri (Le Mans), Siaka Tiene (St Etienne), Gneri Yaya Toure (Barcelona), Didier Zokora (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Aruna Dindane (Racing Lens), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Abdul Kader Keita (Olympique Lyon), Arouna Kone (Sevilla), Bakary Kone (Nice), Gervais Yao Kouassi (Le Mans), Boubacar Sanogo (Werder Bremen).