Africa Cup of Nations 2013: The Elephants of the Ivory Coast

The Elephants are the favourites to win South Africa 2013

The 29th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Johannesburg (South Africa) on the 19th January 2013, with host nation South Africa facing Cape Verde. Amidst the controversy of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) hosting two Nations Cup tournaments within a year (2012 & 2013), as a result of the tournament being moved to odd-numbered years, the focus of attention will be on the football when Africa's showpiece event gets underway.

The Chipolopolo of Zambia stunned the entire continent by beating overwhelming favourites the Elephants of the Ivory Coast in 2012 . The Elephants and the Black Stars of Ghana were both highly fancied to reach the reach the final in the absence of other continental giants; Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria, but the Zambians threw a spanner in the works to claim their first Nations Cup title. The Ivorians have regrouped and head to South Africa with a hugely talented squad. Here is an insight into the enigmatic Elephants of the Ivory Coast.


The Elephants of Ivory Coast
Winners: 1992  
Runners-up 2006 & 2012
Predicted position: Winners

Key Players: Didier Drogba (Shangai Shenua),  Yahya Toure (Manchester City), Gervinho (Arsenal), Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United), Romaric (Real Zagaroza), Salomon Kalou (Lille) and Max Gradel (Saint-Etienne)

Talismanic captain Didier Drogba will lead the Elephants in South Africa

The Elephants were regarded as favourites to win the previous four tournaments, and once again they go into South Africa 2013 as the out-right favourites. The favourites tag has not been too kind to the Ivorians as they have failed to win any of the last four tournaments despite having a squad that is the envy of many nations on the continent. While some Ivorians have accused the players of lacking the mental fortitude required to win the Nations Cup, others have pointed to ill-fortune as the team reached two of the last four Nations Cup finals (2006 & 2012), but lost both on penalty shoot-outs.

Yaya Toure; the African Player of the Year 2011 & 2012

Despite failing to concede a single goal at the 2012 Nations Cup, the Ivorians fell short yet again as they faced a spirited Zambian team that was determined to honour the memory of the victims of the 1993 plane crash that took the lives of 18 Zambian team members. The Ivorians could have ensured victory had their talismanic captain Didier Drogba not miss a spot kick in the final, confirming the fears of some fans that perhaps fate has conspired against them yet again. Drogba's penalty miss was the catalyst for a final that was ultimately decided on penalty shoot-outs with the Zambians prevailing 8-7.

Yaya Toure being consoled by his President Alassane Ouattara folloing the 8-7 defeat to Zambia on penalties

The defeat sent an entire nation into mourning, and the team was inconsolable. When the dust settled, the Ivorian FA applied the typical knee-jerk reaction that is synonymous with most African Football Associations and fired local coach Francois Zahoui, despite going through the entire qualifying campaign, and the tournament itself without technically losing a competitive match. Zahoui was to be the fall guy for the team's failure to deliver the Nations Cup. His replacement was the inexperienced former French international Sabri Lamouchi, who ensured that the team qualified for South Africa 2013 with relative ease. However it must be emphasised that the current generation of players have breezed through the qualifying stages of the last four tournaments, nonetheless winning the tournament has remained elusive.

Gervinho

Lamouchi will be the fifth coach of the Elephants at the last five Nations Cup tournaments, with none of his predecessors getting a chance at successive Nations Cup tournaments. The likes of Henri Michel (2006), Gerard Gili (2008), Vahid Halihodzic (2012) and Francois Zahoui (2013) only had one shot at the Nations Cup. Lamouchi has selected an experienced squad for South Africa 2013, and he is counting on his players to finally deliver the Nations Cup. Time is running out for this golden generation of Ivorian players and this could be the last Nations Cup appearance for the likes of Didier Drogba, 34, and Didier Zokora, 32.

Drogba will be seeking redemption following his crucial spot-kick failures at both the 2006 and 2012 Nations Cup finals. He has had a brilliant career characterised by his Champions League winning performance against Bayern Munich, but winning the Nations Cup has become the Holy Grail in his illustrious career.  The Ivorians can also count on Manchester City's Yaya Toure; the current African Player of the Year, Arsenal's Gervinho, Newscastle United's Cheick Tiote, Lille's Salomon Kalou, Max Gradel of Saint-Etienne and Romaric of Real Zaragoza. Lacina Traore of Anzhi has also been in good form this season and he could be a threat for the Ivorians, should he get the chance to play in this hugely talented team. The Elehpants are without doubt the continent's strongest team on paper, and they are yet again the overwhelming favourites, but as the last four tournaments have shown, the favourites tag might just be too heavy a burden for the Ivorians. They will be hoping to finally deliver the Holy Grail in South Africa.