It's the last chance for Ivory Coast's golden generation to make their mark, writes Matt Spiro
IT IS fair to say Didier Drogba was not ecstatic when he learned the Ivory Coast’s fate in the draw. “We’ve got the top team in the Fifa rankings (Brazil) and the team that’s third (Portugal),” the Ivorian captain said. “And they are our first two games. At least we’ll find out soon enough if we’re going home early.”
The Chelsea striker was not being negative, just realistic. For the second World Cup running, the Elephants have been terribly unlucky. In Germany, they found themselves in a similarly formidable section and came up short, losing to Argentina and the Netherlands first up.
The fear now is a repeat would see the most talented generation of African players in the modern era go down in history as serial underachievers.
In 1998, ASEC Abidjan won the African Champions League with a brilliant young team packed full of graduates from the esteemed local academy set up by Frenchman Jean-Marc Guillou. Kolo and Yaya Toure, Didier Zokora, Bakari Kone and Aruna Dindane were among the first batch to leave ASEC for Europe. Salomon Kalou, Gervinho, Ndri Romaric and Emmanuel Eboue have followed.
All will feature in the summer, but this will surely be the last chance for the ‘golden generation’ to show their worth. After all, their talisman Drogba, one of the few not to have passed through ASEC, is 32 and almost certainly preparing for his last hurrah.
On their day Ivory Coast can beat anyone. The trouble is this side has not yet claimed any silverware and head to South Africa shrouded in doubt after another disappointing Africa Cup of Nations and yet another change of coach.
Having been eclipsed by Egypt in the previous two editions, Ivory Coast were eliminated by Algeria in the quarter-finals earlier this year. Although it was Vahid Halilhodzic’s only competitive defeat in 18 months, he was ruthlessly sacked and replaced by Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The decision prompted Sepp Blatter to criticise the lack of patience shown by African sides. Drogba agreed with the Fifa president, saying: “In Africa, there’s no continuity. Changes are made on a whim. As soon as there’s a bad result it’s a case of ‘next please’.”
Those words are ironic considering Drogba reportedly played an important role in Halilhodzic’s downfall, lobbying for the Bosnian to be replaced by Guus Hiddink. According to Guillou, who remains close to many of his former proteges, the skipper’s iconic status has become a problem. “Drogba wields too much power,” he stated. “It’s an issue the new coach must address.”
Eriksson will surely struggle to get to the bottom of any lingering issues before the World Cup begins. He has only just met his players and must be finding communication tricky given he does not speak French. The Swede will probably use Drogba as his mouthpiece in the dressing room, and the message he will be trying to get across is simple: start the tournament flying.
Ivory Coast need a positive result in their opener against Portugal to stand a realistic chance. Carlos Queiroz’s men looked unconvincing throughout a qualifying campaign that saw Cristiano Ronaldo fail to register a single goal. Despite Sporting’s Brazilian-born forward Liedson switching allegiances, Portugal still lack a top-class striker.
Should Portugal edge the first game it is easy to imagine the west Africans imploding. Their next opponents Brazil look virtually unbeatable under Dunga. They won the Copa America in 2007, the Confederations Cup last summer and have lost just one game in two years.
The former midfield terrier has moulded a team in his own image, placing the emphasis on discipline and hard work and ignoring those who do not always put the team first. Ronaldinho and Adriano have missed out as a result, leaving the less celebrated Luis Fabiano of Sevilla to lead the attack. This Brazil lack the flair of past teams but are extremely athletic and have the look of winners.
North Korea are the one side Ivory Coast will be confident of beating, but will the two teams be playing for third by the time they meet? Drogba thinks not, insisting lessons have been learned from 2006. “Back then we were content merely to play attractive football,” he explained. “That’s no longer enough. We’re no longer debutants. This time we are going there to win matches.”
Our call on Group G:
1st:Brazil
2nd:Ivory Coast