Côte d’Ivoire – the country, the football
The Ivory Coast is a francophone country located in West Africa and better known as “La Côte d’Ivoire” (in French). It is surrounded by Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Liberia, and by the Atlantic Ocean on the south.
Besides being proud of their country’s French influence due to the colonialism, Ivoirians believe in their national anthem “L’Abidjanaise” and in their motto “Unity, Discipline, Labour”. The country endured and has been enduring hard times politically as well as economically. But the people can find joy and harmony in football.
With a population composed of over 18,000,000 inhabitants, the country possesses a big amount of football supporters. The Elephants of La Côte d’Ivoire received the backing of millions of fans as they comfortably imposed themselves as (arguably) the best nation currently in African football.
La Côte d’Ivoire will now make their 18th appearance (four short of Egypt's record) in the finals of the continent’s most prestigious competition, the Africa Cup of Nations, where participants battle it out for Africa’s greatest honor and trophy.
The 1992 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Senegal saw the Ivory Coast triumph and lift the trophy for the first and only time in the entire history of football.
The people of Ivory Coast have not celebrated any cup glory for 17 years. Now, with the internal troubles that exist in their country, the nation will feel it is time for the Elephants to conquer Africa in the name of peace.
Côte d’Ivoire – the road to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations
It wasn’t a matter of anxiety but rather a matter of entertainment and domination. La Côte d’Ivoire never struggled throughout the qualification stages to reach the finals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
Even if they drew thrice in six games throughout Round 2, La Côte d’Ivoire went unbeaten – scoring ten goals and allowing only two.
But fans of the Elephants expressed wariness at the fact that their team didn’t live up to expectations with away wins and a flurry of goals against minnows like Madagascar and Mozambique.
In response to the supporters’ criticism, La Côte d’Ivoire put up a string of excellent results in Round 3 against stronger oppositions such as Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Guinea all in Group E.
They never knew defeat and they drew only once in order to finish well above the rest in the table, with 15 points and an average of 3.16 goals per match.
Based on these statistics, the 1992 African champions proved how much of an attacking side they are. Their excellent form and results ahead of the tournament which will take place in Angola also explained why and how they achieved their highest FIFA ranking in November 2009.
La Côte d’Ivoire are currently in the top 20 best nations around the entire world and they occupy the 16th place precisely.
La Côte d’Ivoire – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations group stage
During the draws, La Cote d’Ivoire were placed in Pot 1 as top seeds. The Elephants are now in Group B, known as the tournament’s “group of death”.
The only side that might do them a favor is Burkina Faso, which they met and defeated 8-2 on aggregate during the qualifiers.
Otherwise, the likes of Ghana and Togo could create a nightmare for the Ivoirians.
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Match-day One:
La Côte d’Ivoire will stand the chance of kick starting their 2010 Africa Cup of Nations on a wonderful note when they face Burkina Faso at the Estadio Chimandela in Cabinda. The Elephants will play at 16:00 GMT, one day after the opening of the tournament.
Match-day Two:
It will be a repeat of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations third-place final as La Côte d’Ivoire clash against the Black Stars of Ghana in a late kick off on January 15th.
The match could come up as the game of the group stages in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations championship. Anxious fans will be desperate to watch Didier Drogba in action against his Chelsea teammate and Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien…
Match-day Three:
Will it be a must-win game for the Elephants of La Côte d’Ivoire? Will it see them waving goodbye to the crowd with tears of despair and anguish? Or will it be of no importance at all as they’d have already booked their tickets for the quarter-finals?
Well, it will be Côte d’Ivoire v Togo on January 19th at 16:00 GMT in the last match of Group B.
La Côte d’Ivoire – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations squad
La Cote d’Ivoire’s coach, Vahid Halilhodzic, didn’t pull out any surprise as he cut his 30-man list to a final 23-man squad. Here are the names of the players that will take part in The Elephants’ team for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola:
Goalk
eepers:
V. Angban; Copa; A. Zogbo
Defenders:
B. Angoua; S. Bamba; A. Boka; G. Demel; E. Eboue; A. Meite; S. Tiene; K. Toure
Midfielders:
E. Fae; J. Gosso; E. Kone; C. Tiote; Y. Toure; D. Zokora
Attackers:
A. Dindane; D. Drogba; Y. Gervinho; S. Kalou; A. Keita; B. Kone
La Côte d’Ivoire – What to expect from the country and its top stars
Scintillating football, fluidity, goals, dominance, and sweet victories are all what the public will want to see from La Côte d’Ivoire at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
Throughout the qualifiers, the Elephants created themselves an image of strength and beauty – much to the envy of several other African nations.
Should they flop during the tournament, it will just raise doubts on whether Africa is prepared to face the world’s best in next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.
Didier Drogba
Speaking of the stars, the Elephants’ captain Didier Drogba will definitely be on the radars of the fans and the media.
The Chelsea striker has been enjoying his best form in over three years for his English club and his performance in the national team has not been disappointing either.
For example, Drogba was the man on target after only two minutes of play as a substitute as La Côte d’Ivoire sealed its place in the finals of the 2010 World Cup.
Hungry supporters will prefer to see Drogba’s aggressive side on the ball instead of the desperate Drogba who is susceptible of missing glorious and costly chances for his country.
Is anyone tipping him as the top scorer at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations?
Salomon Kalou
The upcoming 2010 Africa Cup of Nations championship will give Kalou the perfect opportunity to impress more.
The Chelsea winger knows all about partnering with Didier Drogba in attack and he could be the source of more troubles against La Côte d’Ivoire’s opponents.
Kolo Toure and Yaya Toure
The Toure brothers keep offering their country the best of their abilities. In club football, both are having different experiences.
Kolo Toure, once an Arsenal player, now plays in Manchester City and he is living the challenge of helping the Sky Blues to become a big European club. Meanwhile, Yaya Toure went through hard times with Barcelona a couple of years ago but he can now boast of cup success with the Spanish outfit.
Kolo Toure and Yaya Toure will definitely be asked to inject more winning mentality in La Côte d’Ivoire’s team. A satisfying performance from the pair will make it very difficult for the Elephants’ opponents to attack them.
La Côte d’Ivoire – Africa Cup of Nations record
La Côte d’Ivoire have a strong Africa Cup of Nations record with 17 previous appearances and it will only come as a surprise to know that they’ve won the continent’s biggest tournament only once in their entire history of football.
The first time they entered the championship was back in 1965 and they finished third. After several attempts, La Côte d’Ivoire finally triumphed on the podium after beating Ghana in Senegal in 1992.
The Elephants had the chance to repeat their success in 2006 in Cairo but controversy saw the cup fly into the hands of the hosts, Egypt. In the last edition in Ghana, La Côte d’Ivoire succumbed to the Pharaohs of Egypt’s power in the semis.
They couldn’t find consolation in the third place final either as they let a 2-0 lead slip against the Black Stars of Ghana to lose 4-2 in the end.
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2010: Qualified
2008, 1970: Fourth place
2006: Runners-up
2002, 2000, 1996, 1990, 1988, 1984, 1980, 1974: Round 1
1998: Quarter-finalists
1994, 1986, 1968, 1965: Third place
1992: Champions
With the strong contention that La Côte d’Ivoire will face in Group B “the group of death”, does anyone see the Elephants heading home early?
To know more about La Côte d’Ivoire’s progress throughout the tournament, check back on Live Soccer TV where you will get exclusive coverage on the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament hosted by Angola.
