République de Côte d'Ivoire
Fédération Ivoirienne de Football (FIF) 1960
Coach: Sven Göran Eriksson
Confederation: CAF
FIFA Ranking (Dec 09): 16
Previous Appearances: 1 (2006
Background
With just one appearance in the World Cup, 2006 Germany, - in the "Group of Death" with Argentina and the Netherlands - the braves from Ivory Coast showed the world what they were capable of. But being first timers, they were short on experience at top flight football and their full potential was not realized.
But the story is different four years later. The Elephants now boast off some of the best talents in the world and have become the hopes of Africa in the coming World Cup along with Ghana. Expectations from them are very high and the Ivorians will have to perform.
Road to South Africa
The campaign for the 2010 World Cup for Ivory Coast started from the Second Round.
Second Round
The group consisted of Mozambique, Madagascar, Botswana and the Ivory Coast. The campaign started off on a good note the Elephants beating Mozambique 1-0. Cisse was the scorer. In the clash against Madagascar they could pick up one point from a goalless draw. This was again followed by another1-1 draw to Botswana. But the home team trounced Botswana 4-0 in the return match. Cissé scored a brace.
After a break of three months, Ivory Coast drew 1-1 with Mozambique, an away victory still eluding them. The second round was over with a 3-0 victory against Madagascar and the Elephants marched into the third round.
Third Round
Malawi, Burkina Faso and Guinea were the contenders In Round 3 apart from Ivory Coast. They won five of the six games and drew one. The first of these was a 5-0 thumping against Malawi, followed by a 2-1 victory away to Guinea. Burkina Faso was defeated 3-2 and 5-0 away and at home respectively. Malawi then ended the Elephants’ winning streak and drew 1-1., Drogba scoring the equalizer. The last match against Guinea went the Ivory Coast way 3-0 and the West Africans were through to the World Cup finals, topping the group with ease.
Strengths
Abundant talent is the main strength. Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Gervinho, Boubacar Sanogo, Aruna Dindane, Amara Diane, Bakari Kone……the list just goes on. Most of them are in the starting line-up of famous European clubs and plays with distinction in the prestigious leagues. The fire power is enormous.
Weaknesses
The abundance of talent in itself sometimes becomes counter productive. The egos are all big sized and this affects team work. Eleven great players pursuing a target of one’s own will not lead the team anywhere. The incidents during qualifications was an indicator of things to come and the expulsion of Salomon Kalou was a glaring example of what could happen if the team is not united with a common goal.
THE COACH
Sven-Goran Eriksson took over as the coach of the Elephants only in March 2010. the former England and Mexican coach from Sweden has his task cut out: how to gel the abundant talent in the squad. But the players have enormous confidence in him and may be the veteran mentor is finally going to have his day in the sun.
Star Men
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
One of the most well known names in today’s football Dider Drogba is an icon in African sports. His popularity is unprecedented. Highly opportunistic on the field, he has a very strong finish. Things just seem to happen with him around..
Kolo Toure (Manchester City);
The elder of the Toure brothers, he is a natural leader. Right from his training times at the Academie des Mimosas of ASEC Abidjan, he has been a guide for everyone around him. Seen by many as the godfather of the squad, he is a big-time performer. His being in form will be instrumental to the success of Ivory Coast in South Africa.
Salomon Kalou;
Along with Drogba, Kalou will be the spearhead for the Elephants. Least bothered about the physical side of football, he works untiringly and is a constant threat to the enemy goal line.
Best Footballing Moment
Ivory Coast won the 1992 African Cup of Nations in Senegal. That was undoubtedly their best moment of international football, where penalties decided the fate of the trophy. The most astonishing feat was that no goals were scored against them in the six matches of the tournament. But there has been a dearth of championship victories ever after that.
World Cup Objective
Placed in the ‘death group’ along with Beazil, Portugal and North Korea, it will be tough going for Ivory Coast. Each game will be hard fought, but still they can aspire to reach the second round and then may be a go at the quarter finals. Even that would be an improvement on Germany 2006.
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