The Elephants defeated Australia 1-0 today, to move on to the next stage. They will face Nigeria next, a foe they are very familiar with. I’m feeling giddy, so I wanted to post a quick note! I’ll be back later with a preview of the next match….

Hooray!

Well, that isn’t exactly a guarantee, but…..it looks like des éléphants are beginning to show the confidence to match their skills.

Here’s a link to the article (French):

Here is a short summary:

The Serbians felt the wrath of our poor showing against Argentina. We knew that if we lost, our chances of advancing to the next round would evaporate. In the tune up matches, I didn’t score many goals, but so far during this tournament I have been putting the ball in the back of the net. We are starting to play well together. We know the Australians and we know what it takes to beat them.

Cisse also talks a little about his move to the left side of the attack. He says that Gili asked him to play a false left winger, but he is not really comfortable at that position. He likes to attack.

The Ivorians proved a lot in their match against Serbia and I look forward to the Australians. Advancement to the next round is well within reach…

Incase you missed it:
Cote d’Ivoire v. Serbia

The Australia/Serbia tie bodes well for Cote d’Ivoire right now…

The answer, of course, is Yamoussoukro.

If you knew the answer to that, then you are one step ahead of me. You might then ask why I would write a blog about the Cote d’Ivoire national team. The answer is simple, sort of. First off, I have a passion for African football. I love the more agressive, yet stylistic nature of game on the massive continent. More importantly, though, is the fact that I am a Chelsea supporter, so clearly I have links to the tiny west-African country. Even as the transfer rumors swirl, my interest in Drogba’s native land continues. Finally, about a month back I had the opportunity to see Salomon Kalou play in a charity game with the likes of Steve Nash, Thierry Henry, Jozy Altidore and, well, Baron Davis, among others. I was absolutely floored by him. He seemed about twice as fast as his competition and always one step ahead. My eyes were glued on him the whole game. Why isn’t this guy in the Chelsea XI??? He is absolutely phenomenal.

Well, I think it’s time for the world to take notice. This tournament will be the big coming out party for Mr. Kalou. He will be center stage for an Elephants team without an exception player. He will be asked to rise above and, mark my words, he is going to do it. Be prepared Argentina.

Here are a few pics from the game. Kalou was so fast that I could barely capture any shots!

I’ll be back tomorrow after the big game to ring in with my thoughts. Let me know what you guys think. More information on Cote d’Ivoire can be found here.

It is a strange questions that when posed sounds an awful lot like an old philosophy question.  But I keep asking myself why am I not more upset after the loss, why have I not lost sleep over this loss like I have with past Azzuri and AC Milan (my calico passions) losses?  It is because this tournament never really had the chance it deserved in my eyes because of lack of convenience.  I could not DVR it, I could not listen, the news was always second hand, and the games felt more or less like a simulation than the real thing.  This method of delivery did not ignite my passion and left in somewhat of a void in terms of feelings and posts.  As I wrap up my odd ranting I would like to step down before the third place match.  First and foremost, because I hate third place matches they are glorified friendlies with an often poorer atmosphere, secondly because I truly feel deprived of something special.  That something for me was a final that I craved, IC vs. Ghana, and as I sit here feeling like a failed blogger and even worser failed Elephants fan.  I would like to sign off and ask if no one is reading am I really signing off…?  I will continue to blog over the offside.com AC Milan blog, and continue to rant about and love Didier Drogba until he one days wear the Rossoneri, but until then my Elephant days are numbered.  

The semifinals will be a repeat of the 2006 semifinal with the Pharaoh’s of Egypt having the unenviable task of going against the juggernaut of
Cote d’Ivorie.  The 2006 version of the semifinal ended in PK’s in favor of
Egypt, I am inclined to think PK’s may not be a problem here.  The Elephants have seemingly been able to score at will in the second half of matches, and it is reasonable to think that they will continue their run of strong play against an Egypt side who did very little to impress against Angola.  The defending champions have done well to be where they are and would surely relish the role of giant killer in this tournament.  You just have to believe that a Cote d’Ivorie vs.
Ghana final is in the cards and very little can stop that, Thursday will prove a very exciting day as the tournament winds down. 

Thoughts and well wishes out to the family of former Cote d’Ivorie coach Uli Stielke who lost his son this week, Uli had left the team to cope with the family situation. It seems a bit unfair that Uli had really put in the time in effort to the Elephants, and African football and he is not able to reap the benefits of the juggernaut he has helped create. If all things go as planned, and Cote d’Ivorie hoist the trophy, Uli will get what his wish and hopefully another opportunity to prove his value as a coach.

AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR

It is not official yet, but it appears that next African Footballer of the Year will be the Elephant’s own Didier Drogba. I can not say enough about this man, as a leader for both club and country, as a striker, and as a pure player. The just plain does what a striker is supposed, SCORE. He also proves time and time again that he is a big game player as he has in this tournament. The elephants have scored 8 goals in the first round and Drobga has 2, but had a hand in many more, and was on the pitch for all but one.

Drogba will join the likes of players like Eto, Kanu, and Weah who have won the African Footballer of the year on more than one occasion, truly exceptional company. He has beat out his Chelsea teammate Michael Essien yet again, I am sure we will get to see more of those two at Chelsea, and maybe in the finals of the ANC.

ONTO THE QUARTERFINALS

With a dominate first round behind them, Guinea is next in line on the march to the final. Guinea finished second in Group A to hosts Ghana, with a win, loss, and draw under their belt. Guinea lack the star power of the other sides in this tournament but played well in the first round scoring a fair amount of goals and giving a Ghana a very tough first win. It will be up to the Elephant defense to silence Pascal Feindouno who scored two goals in the first round.

I would expect a much closer game seeing that it is the quarterfinals, but with the run of play of the boys in orange it is tough to tell how the game will completely play out. The eight goal outburst in the first round may prove to continue through, with very little resistance from the fans, everyone loves a goal fest, especially Elephant fans. Gili was able to find a nice mix of starters and subs in the first round leaving him with tons of great potential and players ready to step on the pitch.

Nine minutes into the match Didier Drogba made a stamp on the group stage of the African Cup of Nations, scoring the sixth goal of the tournament for the Ivorians, and the only goal needed to defeat upstarts Mali. But the elephants did not stop there, they added two more goals one from Marko Zoro and another from Constant Djakpa to take a 3 goal victory.

With three dominating performances the Ivory Coast is easily the strongest team going into the knockout stages and is a sure favorite to work their way into the final. The group stage has the key points of the Elephants:

1. Drogba is here, healthy, and wants to establish himself as the best African Footballer. He has also proven extremely valuable as a leader, even assisting interim coach Gerard Gili as an assistant and on field general. Anyone who questioned his health, desire, or ability can politely shove it.

2. The loss of Uli Stielke only gilded a team that is playing with a desire to win. The team who was a close knit group as it was, but as the tournament has rolled on this team has gotten stronger putting dominant offense performances scoring goals seemingly at will.

3. Everyone knew this team had firepower in the attack but was has really been the story is the fact that have given up only one goal, and that goal was to Benin in the 89th minute of a match that was already sealed. Who would have that Boubacar Barry, BOUBACAR BARRY, would have one of the best save percentages in the African Cup of Nations. Everyone on this team has come to play.

A litte about todays match. Drogba kicked off the scoring in the 40th minute, after a string of strong play from Benin, forcing Boubacar Barry to make some good saves and keep his team strong. Once Drogba opened the scoring the rest was history, Yaya Toure struck again four minutes later on a sublime cross from his brother. A two nil lead at halftime doubled by the 63rd minute with Keita and Dindane also finding the back of the net.

Gili ran the squad quite shrewdly today even being able to get Didier twenty minutes of rest. Gili will continue his mastery of the lineup and most likely play a second squad will could feature the likes of Bakari Kone and Marco Zoro. Gili has favored the Kalou and Drogba pairing which found very good results today with Keita, but late in the first half. I am in favor of resting the big eleven or at least a few, but not at the cost of the teams chemistry. But with the group looking like this:

Elephants 6
Mali 4
Nigeria 1
Benin 0

It makes for very interesting upcoming game with the Elephants being able to draw with Mali and see them through along with their opponents, and in the process politely leave Nigeria behind. Oh the possibilites…