PUNCH
Tony La Russa, an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager once said, “Just because you’re down to your last strike, you’re not out yet. You can always do more. You’ll always have more at-bats to take.”
La Russa’s assertion is a true reflection of Ivory Coast’s journey to triumph as they claimed the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.
Staring elimination right in the face after picking up just three points from their three games in the group stage and suffering a 4-0 humiliation in the hands of tournament surprise package, Equatorial Guinea, it looked like the Elephants’ journey at the AFCON was over.
According to Opta, the 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in the last group match was the biggest shock in 34 editions of the Cup of Nations, stretching back more than six decades.
The heavy defeat left Ivory Coast on the brink of elimination but they squeezed through as lucky losers into the knockout stages, sacked their coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, the federation took a gamble – appointing inexperienced Emerse Fae as interim head coach.
“I told the players we were dead after the defeat against Equatorial Guinea, and we were resurrected after the Morocco game with Zambia,” Fae said immediately after taking charge of the Elephants.
