Team Squad List 2010 - Cote d'Ivoire

Nr.	Name	Date of Birth	Position	Clubs	Height
1	Boubacar BARRY	30/12/1979	GK	Lokeren (BEL)	180
2	Brou ANGOUA	28/11/1986	DF	Valenciennes (FRA)	178
3	Arthur BOKA	02/04/1983	DF	VfB Stuttgart (GER)	166
4	Kolo TOURE	19/03/1981	DF	Manchester City (ENG)	183
5	Didier ZOKORA	14/12/1980	MF	Sevilla FC (ESP)	183
6	Steve GOHOURI	08/02/1981	DF	Wigan (ENG)	187
7	Seydou DOUMBIA	31/12/1987	FW	Young Boys (SUI)	183
8	Salomon KALOU	05/08/1985	FW	Chelsea (ENG)	175
9	Ismael TIOTE	21/06/1986	MF	Twente Enschede (NED)	175
10	GERVINHO	27/05/1987	FW	Lille (FRA)	179
11	Didier DROGBA	11/03/1978	FW	Chelsea (ENG)	180
12	Jean Jacques GOSSO	15/03/1983	MF	Monaco (FRA)	177
13	ROMARIC	04/06/1983	MF	Sevilla FC (ESP)	187
14	Emmanuel KONE	31/12/1986	MF	International (ROU)	177
15	Aruna DINDANE	26/11/1980	FW	Portsmouth (ENG)	174
16	Aristide ZOGBO	30/12/1981	GK	Maccabi Netanya (ISR)	183
17	Siaka TIENE	22/02/1982	DF	Valenciennes (FRA)	176
18	Kader KEITA	06/08/1981	FW	Galatasaray (TUR)	184
19	Yaya TOURE	13/05/1983	MF	Barcelona (ESP)	189
20	Guy DEMEL	13/06/1981	DF	Hamburger SV (GER)	191
21	Emmanuel EBOUE	04/06/1983	DF	Arsenal (ENG)	178
22	Souleymane BAMBA	13/01/1985	DF	Hibernian (SCO)	190
23	Daniel YEBOAH	13/11/1984	GK	ASEC Mimosas (CIV)	187

Coach: Sven Göran ERIKSSON (SWE)

Coach 2010 - Cote d'Ivoire

• Name: Sven Göran ERIKSSON
• Country: Sweden
• Date of Birth: 5 February 1948

 Coaching Career

• Mexico (MEX) : From 2008 to 2009
• Manchester City (ENG) : From 2007 to 2008
• England (ENG) : From 2001 to 2006
• Lazio (ITA) : From 1997 to 2001
• Sampdoria (ITA) : From 1992 to 1997

• Benfica (POR) : From 1989 to 1992
• Fiorentina (ITA) : From 1987 to 1989
• AS Roma (ITA) : From 1984 to 1987
• Benfica (POR) : From 1982 to 1984
• IFK Göteborg (SWE) : From 1979 to 1982
• Degerfors IF (SWE) : From 1977 to 1978

Playing Career

• Västra Frölunda (SWE) : From 1973 to 1975
• KB Karlskoga (SWE) : From 1972 to 1973
• SK Sifhälla (SWE) : From 1971 to 1972
• Torsby IF (SWE) : From 1966 to 1971

Vahid Halilhodzic’s successor in the Elephants’ dugout, Sven-Goran Eriksson will be contesting his third FIFA World Cup™ this summer, having overseen England’s bids in 2002 and 2006.

The Swedish coach embarked on three ultimately doomed adventures after leaving that post, each fading his image as a winner and one of football’s most astute tacticians, but the Côte d'Ivoire Football Association still saw plenty of reasons to hand him the keys to the national team in March this year. While his extensive big-tournament experience certainly impressed, his knowledge of the English game – in which most of the team’s stars ply their trade – also helped seal the deal, and officials hope his high profile will now help raise the Elephants to the level craved by an expectant nation.

Forced to hang up his boots at the age of 27 due to a knee injury, Eriksson swapped his modest playing career for a far more successful one when he began his first coaching assignment at Degerfors. He took the club from the Swedish third division to the elite in three years and, in 1979, was rewarded with the top job at domestic titans Gothenburg. Together they won two league crowns and a Swedish Cup, but the highlight unquestionably came in 1982, when Eriksson led the side to UEFA Cup glory.

His standing now raised around Europe, the Sunne native looked to continue his progress overseas, kicking off his extraordinary spell of itinerancy at Benfica that same year. Between his switch to Portugal and his appointment as England manager in 2001, the 62-year-old collected silverware wherever he went and built himself one of the most formidable reputations throughout the continent. With Benfica, he won championship titles in 1983 and 1984 and returned for a second stint from 1989 to 1992 that yielded another Portuguese league crown in 1991 as well as a run to the European Champion Clubs’ Cup final in 1990. He likewise engineered a trio of Coppa Italia successes with Roma in 1986, Sampdoria in 1994 and Lazio in 1998, while also steering I Biancocelesti to their UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup triumph in 1999 and the Italian league-and-cup double the following year.

Those feats persuaded the Football Association to reward him handsomely for taking the England helm, but the recruitment of a foreigner did not go down well in all quarters. Eriksson experienced some fierce criticism during his five years in charge and never succeeded in taking the side beyond the last eight in his three major tournament campaigns.

Next came Manchester City, where despite a promising start he only stayed a year – which proved longer than he survived in the Mexico job soon afterwards. A surprise move to serve as Director of Football at fourth-tier English outfit Notts County similarly came to a premature end, but the Elephants coach now has a superb chance to confound his detractors and reacquaint himself with the kind of success that decorated the early part of his career.

Team Profile 2010 - Cote d'Ivoire

Profile

If an African team is to make a major impact on the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ finals in South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire are seen by many as the most likely candidates. And with world class talent throughout the starting 11, it's no wonder. Les Elephants also a point to prove after being eliminated in the first round at Germany 2006, albeit in an extremely difficult group, where they lost 2-1 to giants Argentina and the Netherlands before coming from two goals down to beat Serbia and Montenegro 3-2.

With more experience, and a little more luck in the draw, Didier Drogba and Co are certain to be a handful in attack as they look to cement their emerging pedigree on the international level at South Africa 2010.

The road to South Africa
Befitting their status as one of the continent's powerhouses, Côte d'Ivoire strode through qualifying without losing a match, running away with their final qualifying group ahead of Burkina Faso, Malawi and Guinea. There only moment of genuine uncertainty came when they were on the brink of qualifying, although - as usual - Didier Drogba responded when his team needed him. The Chelsea man's decisive 70th-minute goal at Burkina Faso gave the side just enough insurance to hold off the Stallions 3-2 in Ouagadougou, and fittingly, it was his dramatic equaliser after coming off the bench against Malawi that gave the West Africans a 1-1 draw and the point they needed to reach South Africa. All told, the Chelsea man was top scorer for Les Elephants, with six goals in five matches.

The star players
Les Elephants feature top-drawer talent throughout their side, with the Chelsea pair of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou a formidable duo up front. Sevilla's Didier Zokora and Barcelona's Yaya Toure provide bite in midfield alongside Marseille's diminutive Bakary Kone, while the England-based pair of Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure combine with Stuttgart's Arthur Boka to form one of the best defences in Africa.

The coach
Vahid Halilhodzic took the reins of his first national side when he assumed control of Côte d'Ivoire after the 2008 CAF African Cup of Nations. However, the Bosnian only made it through the next edition of the continental contest when he was sacked after a disappointing quarter-final finish at Angola 2010. After Guus Hiddink and Bernd Schuster were both linked with the job, Sven-Goran Eriksson was given the helm just months before the start of the finals.

South Africa 2010 will be Eriksson's third FIFA World Cup after leading England to the quarter-finals at both the 2002 and 2006 finals. He had an unsuccessful stint with Mexico in the first half of qualifying for 2010, but he was sacked after less than a year. He is a vastly experienced club coach, having led Gothenburg to the UEFA Cup in 1982, and leading teams in Portugal, England and Italy.

Record
• Côte d'Ivoire were the only nation at Germany 2006 whose squad was made up of players entirely based at clubs outside their home country.
• They are the only team to never failed to score in a FIFA World Cup match.
• Côte d'Ivoire conceded early goals in all three of their 2006 matches, with all six of their goals against coming before the 40th minute.

What they said
"At the last World Cup we played really well, but we were unlucky because we were in a very tough group with Argentina and Holland and went out in the first round. But I think with this kind of experience, it will be possible at South Africa 2010 to do much better. Perhaps we can make the quarter-finals and then semi-finals; this is something we can achieve," Côte d'Ivoire striker Didier Drogba.

source: fifa.com

Cote d'Ivoire national football team-Custom

Côte d'Ivoire

Nickname(s)	Les Éléphants (The Elephants)
Association	Fédération Ivoirienne de Football
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Head coach	Sven-Göran Eriksson
Captain	Didier Drogba
Most caps	Didier Zokora (80)
Top scorer	Didier Drogba (44)
Home stadium	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny
FIFA code	CIV
FIFA ranking	27
Highest FIFA ranking	16 (November 2009)
Lowest FIFA ranking	75 (March 2004)
Elo ranking	28
Highest Elo ranking	12 (February 6, 2008)
Lowest Elo ranking	69 (October 1996)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Côte d'Ivoire 3–2 Dahomey (Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Mali (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 13 March 1985) Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Botswana (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 11 October 1992) Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Niger (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 15 July 2000) Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Madagascar (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 1 July 2001)
Biggest defeat
Côte d'Ivoire 2–6 Ghana (Côte d'Ivoire; 2 May 1971) Malawi 5–1 Côte d'Ivoire (Malawi; 6 July 1974)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (First in 2006)
Best result	Round 1, 2006
African Cup of Nations
Appearances	18 (First in 1965)
Best result	Winners, 1992
Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (First in 1992)
Best result	4th, 1992

Cote d'Ivoire national football team

The Côte d'Ivoire national football team (written as "Ivory Coast" in English), nicknamed Les Éléphants (The Elephants), represents Côte d'Ivoire in international football and is controlled by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Football. Until 2005, their greatest accomplishment was winning the 1992 African Cup of Nations against Ghana on penalties at the Stade Leopold Senghor in Dakar, Senegal.
They have qualified for two World Cup finals, first in Germany in 2006, losing to Argentina and the Netherlands and beating Serbia and Montenegro as they failed to progress beyond the group stage. They qualified again for South Africa in 2010.

Honours

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations :

• 1 Time Runners-up

CEDEAO Cup :

• 3 Times Champion (1983, 1987, 1991)
• 1 Time Runners-up

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1930 to 1970	Did not enter
1974 to 1978	Did not qualify
1982	Did not enter
1986 to 2002	Did not qualify
2006	Round 1	19	3	1	0	2	5	6
2010	Qualified	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	2/19		3	1	0	2	5	6

FIFA Confederations Cup record

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1992	Fourth place	2	0	0	2	2	9
1995 to 2009	Did not qualify
Total	1/8	2	0	0	2	2	9

African Nations Cup record

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 1 Appearances: 18
Year	Position		Year	Position		Year	Position
1957	Did not enter		1976	Did not qualify		1994	Third Place
1959	Did not enter		1978	Disqualified		1996	Round 1
1962	Did not enter		1980	Round 1		1998	Quarterfinals
1963	Did not enter		1982	Did not enter		2000	Round 1
1965	Third place		1984	Round 1		2002	Round 1
1968	Third Place		1986	Third Place		2004	Did not qualify
1970	Fourth Place		1988	Round 1		2006	Runners-Up
1972	Did not qualify		1990	Round 1		2008	Fourth place
1974	Round 1		1992	Champions		2010	Quarterfinals

Coaches

• Martial Yéo 1992
• Robert Nouzaret
• Philippe Troussier 1993
• Henri Michel 2004–2006
• Uli Stielike 2006–2008
• Gérard Gili, 2008 (interim), the under-23 coach acted as temporary replacement for Stielike
• Uli Stielike, 2008 (interim), on temporary contract expiring April 15, 2008
• Vahid Halilhodžić 2008–2010
• Sven-Göran Eriksson 2010–

Players

Current squad

30 man preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Caps and goals updated as May 30, 2010.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Boubacar Barry 30 December 1979 (aged 30) 43 0 KSC Lokeren GK Aristide Zogbo 30 December 1981 (aged 28) 6 0 Maccabi Netanya GK Daniel Yeboah 13 November 1984 (aged 25) 4 0 Abidjan GK Vincent Angban 2 February 1985 (aged 25) 2 0 ASEC Mimosas DF Arthur Boka 2 April 1983 (aged 27) 54 1 VfB Stuttgart DF Steve Gohouri 8 February 1981 (aged 29) 11 3 Wigan Athletic DF Guy Demel 13 June 1981 (aged 28) 20 0 Hamburger SV DF Emmanuel Eboué 4 June 1983 (aged 26) 51 1 Arsenal DF Kolo Touré 19 March 1981 (aged 29) 77 2 Manchester City DF Sol Bamba 13 January 1985 (aged 25) 17 2 Hibernian DF Abdoulaye Méïté 6 October 1980 (aged 29) 48 1 West Bromwich Albion DF Benjamin Angoua 28 November 1986 (aged 23) 7 1 Valenciennes DF Siaka Tiéné 22 March 1982 (aged 28) 53 2 Valenciennes MF Didier Zokora 14 December 1980 (aged 29) 79 1 Sevilla MF Yaya Touré 13 May 1983 (aged 26) 46 5 Barcelona MF Gilles Yapi Yapo 30 January 1982 (aged 28) 46 2 FC Basel MF Kanga Akalé 7 March 1981 (aged 29) 33 3 RC Lens MF Romaric 4 June 1983 (aged 26) 39 2 Sevilla MF Emerse Faé 24 January 1984 (aged 26) 37 1 Nice MF Cheick Tioté 21 June 1986 (aged 23) 9 0 Twente MF Emmanuel Koné 31 December 1986 (aged 23) 12 0 FC Internaţional MF Jean-Jacques Gosso 15 March 1983 (aged 27) 7 0 AS Monaco MF Abdul Kader Keïta 6 August 1981 (aged 28) 53 11 Galatasaray FW Gervinho 27 May 1987 (aged 22) 14 4 Lille FW Didier Drogba 11 March 1978 (aged 32) 67 44 Chelsea FW Salomon Kalou 5 August 1985 (aged 24) 28 11 Chelsea FW Aruna Dindane 26 November 1980 (aged 29) 55 16 Lens FW Bakary Koné 11 November 1983 (aged 26) 34 9 Marseille FW Seydou Doumbia 31 December 1987 (aged 22) 5 2 CSKA Moscow FW Lacina Traoré 20 May 1990 (aged 19) 0 0 CFR Cluj

Recent call-ups

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Ibrahim Koné December 5, 1989 (1989-12-05) (age 20) 0 0 Boulogne GK Badra Ali Sangaré May 30, 1986 (1986-05-30) (age 24) Olympic Charleroi 16 GK Stephan Loboué August 23, 1981 (1981-08-23) (age 28) 3 0 Greuther Fürth GK Stéphane Dimy (v. Tunisia on March 26) November 12, 1980 (1980-11-12) (age 29) 0 0 Africa Sports GK Tiassé Koné (v. Ghana, February 9, 2009) October 17, 1987 (1987-10-17) (age 22) 1 0 Africa Sports DF Igor Lolo 22 July 1982 (aged 27) 9 0 AS Monaco DF Constant Djakpa October 17, 1986 (1986-10-17) (age 23) 3 0 Hannover DF Diarrasouba Viera December 21, 1986 (1986-12-21) (age 23) 0 0 Internaţional DF Marco Zoro December 27, 1983 (1983-12-27) (age 26) 21 1 Benfica DF Bakary Soro December 5, 1985 (1985-12-05) (age 24) 0 0 Lorient MF Cissé Abdouljabbar Ousmane January 28, 1989 (1989-01-28) (age 21) 23 5 Istres MF Kanga Akalé (Friendly v. Israel, 19 November) March 7, 1981 (1981-03-07) (age 29) 33 3 Lens MF Christian Manfredini (Friendly v. Israel, 19 November) May 1, 1975 (1975-05-01) (age 35) 1 0 Lazio MF Felix Dja Ettien (Friendly v. Guinea, 20 August) September 26, 1979 (1979-09-26) (age 30) 6 1 Unattached 8 MF Abdou Razack Traoré (WCQ v. Botswana, June 14) December 28, 1988 (1988-12-28) (age 21) 0 0 Rosenborg MF Kafoumba Coulibaly October 26, 1985 (1985-10-26) (age 24) 1 0 Nice MF Thierry Doubai (v. Tunisia, March 26, 2009) June 1, 1988 (1988-06-01) (age 22) 1 0 Young Boys MF Lionel Bah February 2, 1980 (1980-02-02) (age 30) 4 0 FC Astra Ploieşti MF Did'dy Guela June 19, 1986 (1986-06-19) (age 23) 0 0 Arminia Bielefeld FW Sekou Cissé May 23, 1985 (1985-05-23) (age 25) 4 3 Feyenoord FW Boubacar Sanogo December 17, 1982 (1982-12-17) (age 27) 12 8 Saint-Étienne 9 FW Kandia Traoré (WCQ v. Botswana, June 22, 2009) June 5, 1980 (1980-06-05) (age 29) 25 8 Sochaux FW Amara Diané August 19, 1982 (1982-08-19) (age 27) 1 1 Al-Rayyan FW Bonaventure Kalou January 12, 1978 (1978-01-12) (age 32) 51 12 Heerenveen FW Guillaume Dah Zadi June 1, 1978 (1978-06-01) (age 32) 1 0 Unattached

Previous squads

• 2006 African Cup of Nations squad
• 2006 FIFA World Cup squad

Côte d'Ivoire was the only nation to name a 23-man World Cup squad comprised entirely of players who play their club football outside their home country.

2006 World Cup information

Côte d'Ivoire qualified through a tough qualifying group which included African powerhouses Cameroon and Egypt, despite losing home and away to the former. On the last day of qualification, they confirmed their spot with a 3–1 win over Sudan, while Cameroon faltered and could only manage a 1–1 draw at home to Egypt.
Côte d'Ivoire lost their opening game 2–1 in the 2006 World Cup in Germany to an Argentine side. The goals for Argentina came from Hernán Crespo and Javier Saviola. Côte d'Ivoire's goal came from Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. They lost their second match to the Netherlands by the same scoreline and were thus eliminated from the tournament. The Netherlands' goals came from a Robin van Persie free-kick in the 23rd minute and a Ruud van Nistelrooy strike in the 27th minute. Bakari Koné scored in the 38th minute for the Africans to pull the score to 2–1. Côte d'Ivoire's final game was against Serbia and Montenegro. The Serbian team scored two quick goals and it appeared that the Côte d'Ivoire was destined for a three-loss World Cup campaign. However, the Africans came back, led by two goals from Aruna Dindane, and won the game 3–2 to finish in third place.

2010 World Cup Qualification

On 10 October 2009, Côte d'Ivoire secured a place at the 2010 World Cup after Didier Drogba struck within two minutes of coming on as a substitute to clinch a 1–1 draw with Malawi.^[1]

FIFA World Cup 2010

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2010-06-15 16:00 UTC+2	Côte d'Ivoire	v	Portugal	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

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2010-06-20 13:30 UTC+2	Brazil	v	Côte d'Ivoire	Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg

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2010-06-25 16:00 UTC+2	Korea DPR	v	Côte d'Ivoire	Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Korea DPR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Côte d'Ivoire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Trivia

The Côte d'Ivoire team is notable for having participated in (and won) the two highest-scoring penalty shoot-outs in international football competition – the 24-shot shoot-out in the final of the 1992 African Cup of Nations when Ghana was defeated 11–10, and the 24-shot shoot-out in the quarter-final of the 2006 African Cup of Nations, when Cameroon was defeated 12–11.
After Uli Stielike left before the Africa Cup 2008, due to his son's health situation, Gerard Gili, the co-trainer, took his position. To compensate of the lack of another co-coach, Didier Drogba acted as a "players trainer" (player and a coach). This was only the second time that a player had also acted as coach in the Africa Cup, after George Weah was both player and coach for Liberia during the 2002 tournament.
Côte d'Ivoire is the only team to have never been shut in any World Cup match. The team scored in all three games of their 2006 World Cup campaign, against Argentina, the Netherlands, and Serbia and Montenegro.

References

1. ^ "Ivory Coast qualify for 2010 World Cup finals". ESPN. 2009-10-10. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=262941&cc=5739. Retrieved 2009-10-15.