World Cup Preview: Ivory Coast
Coach: Sven- Göran Eriksson
Key Player: Didier Drogba
Previous best: Group Stage 2006
In an African World Cup, the Ivory Coast provide the continent’s best hope of winning it.
Only appointed in March, Sven-Göran Eriksson was a surprise choice as coach, but it could prove to be a shrewd one as he brings a wealth of managerial experience with him. His last appearance at a World Cup was as the England manager, where they lost to Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals. Something similar this time around isn’t entirely impossible.
The Swede began the qualifying campaign in charge of Mexico, but after some dreadful performances and results, he got the boot and somehow ended up in England’s League Two at Notts County, but this is Eriksson, and so he always lands on his feet.
His squad consists of players playing all over Europe, but they’ve never quite clicked on the international stage. They possess great promise, but often fail to deliver, and when they turn to their big stars such as Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré, they don’t shine.
They may not have the option of Drogba this time, as a broken elbow in a pre-tournament friendly puts his participation in serious doubt.
It is hard to understand why they haven’t done well in recent years. They have a strong core through the team, with Kolo Touré leading the defence, his brother Yaya playing the anchor role in midfield, and Drogba leading the line. All three provide the steel and winning experience required to be a threat in South Africa.
Ivory Coast will be hoping that Drogba can score plenty of goals and continue the form that saw him land the Premier League’s Golden Boot award. The main man will have to be at his best.
Alongside Drogba will be his Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou, who, like Drogba, Eriksson will hope can contribute with goals.
Since Kolo Touré moved to Manchester City, he has yet to hit the successful form he had at Arsenal. Ivory Coast need a leader at the back, and Touré needs to provide this leadership, something he has been criticised for not doing in the past.
Yaya Toure has the World Cup to take his mind off matters regarding his Barcelona future. It is almost certain that he will not be at the Camp Nou next season. Yaya Toure will be a key player, as he is the destroyer in midfield and the shield for the back four. His physical power, along with his technical skills, brings the much-needed balance to the Ivory Coast team. A player with a winning mentality always helps, and Yaya installs this within the team.
In their first World Cup, they were paired with Holland, Serbia and Montenegro and Argentina. They gave a good account of themselves, but in a group like that it was always difficult to progress. If their key players can finally step up and be counted, then they might stand a decent chance of getting through, especially playing on African territory.
Ivory Coast squad
1 Boubacar BARRY (Lokeren)
2 Benjamin Brou ANGOUA (Valenciennes)
3 Arthur BOKA (VfB Stuttgart)
4 Kolo TOURÉ (Manchester City)
5 Didier ZOKORA (Sevilla)
6 Yaya TOURÉ (Barcelona)
7 Seydou DOUMBIA (Young Boys Berne)
8 Salomon KALOU (Chelsea)
9 Cheik Ismael TIOTÉ (Twente Enschede)
10 GERVINHO (Lille)
11 Didier DROGBA (Chelsea)
12 Steve GOHOURI (Wigan Athletic)
13 Jean-Jacques GOSSO GOSSO (Monaco)
14 Koffi Ndri ROMARIC (Sevilla)
15 Aruna DINDANE (Racing Lens)
16 Aristides ZOGBA (Maccabi Netanya)
17 Siaka TIÉNÉ (Valenciennes)
18 Abdul Kader KEÏTA (Galatasaray)
19 Emmanuel KONÉ (International Curtea Arges)
20 Guy DEMEL (Hamburg SV)
21 Emmanuel EBOUÉ (Arsenal)
22 Souleymane BAMBA (Hibernian)
23 Daniel YEBOAH (ASEC Abidjan)
For previews of the Ivory Coast's Group G opponents click here:
http://www.senore.com/World-Cup-2010-preview-Brazil-a12469
http://www.senore.com/World-Cup-2010-preview-North-Korea-a12471
http://www.senore.com/World-Cup-2010-preview-Portugal-a12472
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