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Hervé Renard, Côte d’Ivoire coach, is seeking
to become the first boss to win two separate African Cup of Nations tournaments
with different clubs (Photo: ESPNFC)
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Côte d’Ivoire face what
is likely to be their sternest test of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations when they
tackle Ghana Sunday in what has been dubbed the 'dream' final. Two of Africa's football
powerhouses are in dire need of a continental trophy after long, frustrating
waits.
Ghana have won the Cup of
Nations four times but their last conquest was 33 years ago, while the Ivorians
only triumph was in 1992 and, ironically, it was at the expense of Ghana.
Côte d’Ivoire beat their West
African neighbours 11-10 on penalties after 120 minutes of action did not
produce any goals in Dakar.
In the absence of
defending champions Nigeria and record seven-time winners Egypt, two of the
continent’s most consistent teams will clash for African football's biggest
prize.
Both started this
tournament slowly – the Ivorians needed to win their last group game against
Cameroon to reach the knockout stage, while Ghana fought back from an
opening-day loss to Senegal to make the final.
Former Nigeria skipper
Sunday Oliseh, who won the Cup of Nations in 1994 and came close to another
title in 2000, has tipped Côte d’Ivoire to win, but also warned Ghana are
capable of causing an upset.
"Côte d’Ivoire is
clear favourite to win the final,” said Oliseh on his website.
"Player for player, Côte
d’Ivoire has better individuals than Ghana and they are playing better as a
team now, especially when not in possession.
"Ghana are quite
impressive and, with (Christian) Atsu and the Ayew brothers (Andre and Jordan),
are becoming unpredictable and champion material.
"They go into this
final as underdogs but with less pressure, unlike Côte d’Ivoire, due to the
fact that not many would have bet on them coming this far when the tournament
kicked off."
The "new
generation" Black Stars have flourished under former Chelsea manager Avram
Grant and displayed strong character throughout this campaign.
"The boys do not
give up, they have fought till the end of every match," remarked skipper
Asamoah Gyan, who remains an injury doubt after sustaining an abdominal injury
in the quarter-final against Guinea.
Côte d’Ivoire, on the
other hand, have been tactically shrewd and well organized when they do not
have the ball.
They have been able to
combine talented stars like Yaya Toure and Gervinho with hard-working
team-mates.
Gervinho said they are
gunning for history against Ghana.
"It has been a long
time since we have had a final between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and we want to
write our history too. This is our chance and we hope to take it," the
Roma forward told AFP.
"We are very
motivated. From the beginning of this competition, we said we have six games to
play -- we have played five and there is one remaining."
Renard on the
brink of history
Condemning Côte d’Ivoire to
one of their more harrowing defeats of the "golden generation" era,
Zambia beat Les Elephants in one of the most renowned and exciting finals in
recent history in 2012, as the memory of the deceased Chipolopolo of 1993
carried them through to a memorable win on penalties. As the emotional
celebrations ensued after the game, they tossed their manager in the air in the
centre of the field, as the man who managed them through to this glorious
victory. That man was Hervé Renard.
Now he finds himself in the other dugout and flirting
with continental record books. He stands on the edge of being the first manager
to win the African Cup of Nations with two different countries, asserting his
reputation as one of the best managers that Africa has ever seen.
He has worked miracles with this Ivory Coast team,
transforming them from a defensive monstrosity to a secure unit that is very
difficult to break down. Except this time, with a greater bucket of talent to
pluck players from, his is able to create an impressively cohesive team.
The hard work is not over, however. His opposition
manager in 2012 on that night in Libreville was Francis Zahoui, who utilised
similar tactics to Renard, based on defensive solidity and hitting the other
team on the counter. Zahoui's team bottled it that day, not having the mental
capacity to cope. In order to triumph against Ghana, Renard needs to instil a
mental fortitude in this team to not crumble under pressure -- luckily
something he is very good at.
If
he manages it, he will not only bring a trophy back to the country who have
suffered so much in recent years, he will also secure his position in the upper
echelons of African football.
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