The interim head coach of the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire Emerse Fae says his team made it all the way to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations by using what they noticed as the strength of the Nigerian team, who are their opponent on Sunday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Fae was appointed as the coach of the team in interim capacity following the sacking of French coach Jean-Louis Gasset after a very performance in the group stage, where they made it to the round of 16 finishing as the bottom team in the league of the best third placed team after the conclusion of all group games.
He has since turned the fortunes of the team around with victories against Senegal, Mali and Congo Dr in the round of 16, quarter final and semi final respectively.
Looking ahead to the tomorrow’s final against Nigeria, Fae said they used what they noticed in the Nigerian team to steady their campaign at the tournament.
“When we look at teams that are still in the competition, like Nigeria, for example, we have learned since their match against us that they have defensive solidity.
“They have a team that has been very united, who defends together and who attacks together, and it’s this solidarity coupled with the individual qualities of the players that they have, as well as their team spirit, which has allowed them to reach the semi-final”, he said after the1-0 win over Congo Dr in the semi final.
“So we wanted to prepare for the round of 16 to recreate this state of team spirit because I knew personally that I had quality players individually, and if we recreated this collective dynamic we would arrive and manage the steps, one after the other, to regain confidence.”
