CAN 2024: new coach of Ivory Coast, Emerse Faé, on duty
Propelled to the forefront after the ouster of Jean-Louis Gasset, Emerse Faé, the former assistant, now interim coach, has the difficult task of qualifying the Ivorians against the Senegalese title holders. A not impossible mission for this former international who intends to pass on to his foes his rage to win.
Emerse Fae, interim coach of Ivory Coast. January 28, 2024 in Yamoussoukro? AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
By: Ndiasse Sambe Follow
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From our special correspondent in Yamoussoukro,
Emerse Faé probably didn't expect this birthday gift. On January 24, his 40th birthday, the former Elephants midfielder learned of his appointment as head of the Ivorian selection following the
dismissal of Jean-Louis Gasset
. A gift that can be perceived as “poisoned”, when we have to take the plunge against the reigning African champion, Senegal.
This Sunday, January 28, the day before the most anticipated round of 16 of
the CAN
, in Yamoussoukro, Emerse Fae appeared at a press conference, official polo shirt of the selection, calm, but with a determined tone. To the journalist who asked him how he would like to see his players behave against Senegal, he replied: “
Did you know me as a player? This is what I’m looking forward to tomorrow
.”
“
I want players who wet their jerseys
”
Those who followed Emerse Faé's career remember a strong midfielder, not technically hampered, with a physique that allowed him to be often present in both areas. A man in the midfield, who loved duels, scratching balls and showing off with his feet rather than with his words. This Monday, against Senegal, he will have to find the words to restore confidence and strength to a Ivory Coast team which is still carrying the trauma of the first round.
Read alsoCAN 2024 calendar and match results
“
I want players who wet their jerseys,”
says Emerse Faé
. Players who take this second chance as a last chance and redeem themselves. I want to see a Ivory Coast team that represents the country, players who live up to the Ivorian people
.” The new coach's message is about to be heard, according to Jean-Michaël Seri, who accompanied his new boss to a press conference. “
He’s a coach who sticks a lot to the discipline
,” describes former
Prix Marc-Vivien Foé (2017)
.
He is instilling his values in us. That’s what we’re focusing on right now
.”
World champion with France
The Franco-Ivorian technician, born in Nantes, raised in the Canaris club, first played in the colors of France in U17, with a World Cup won in 2001, and another in Espoirs. At the age of 21, he chose the jersey of the Elephants with whom he played in the 2006 CAN final, lost to Egypt.
Having passed through OGC Nice, Faé was forced to end his career at just 28 years old, hampered by repeated phlebitis. Nice then entrusted him with its U19 Nationals while he completed his diplomas to obtain the BEFF (Football Coach Trainer Certificate). Before becoming assistant to Jean-Louis Gasset, he has been in charge of the Clermont Foot reserve team since 2019. He is now in charge of the Ivorian eleven, driven by an ardent desire to create an exploit. A mission and a conviction that even the real false
arrival of Hervé Renard
did not shake. “
Honestly, I had other concerns and other things to look at than the rumors about the arrival or not of Hervé,”
he confides
. If he had come, I would have had no problem with it
.”
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