Meet the Elephants: Keepers

Before the tournament I would like to introduce everyone to the players on the IC squad, and though I will not cover all them. I want to do my best to really spotlight the large amounts of talent on this squad. We will work our way from front back, please feel free to add in any other pieces of info in the comments.

Goalkeepers are not the strong spot on the Cote d’Ivorie squad, and in fact they are not the strong spot for most of the teams in the African Nations Cup. It is somewhat of an enigma to me that a country so adept at producing imposing strikers and defenders has yet to find a player extremely adept in between the pipes. There is not a doubt in my mind that an African team will go deep into the WC2010, it will most likely be the one with the most solid keeper.

Uli Stielke, and now Gerard Gili, have three keepers on squad and I would like to introduce them to the Elephant fans.

Boubacar Barry: The 29 year old is the most seasoned on the team, and most likely the first team favorite for the coaching staff. Gone is Tizie from the World Cup, who at age 35 is no longer first choice material. Barry is relatively unproved but will get a strong chance to shine early in the tournament against a tough Nigeria squad. He currently plys his club trade in Belgium, and is commonly referred to as Barry or just plain “Copa.”

Stephan Lobue: The second choice keeper currently plays in the second tier of the Bundesliga. As I mentioned with Barry, we are not talking world beating goalies here but clearly has shown enough to the staff to be considered for the team. Born and raised in Germany he has yet to earn a cap for the Elephants.

Tiasse Kone: The last keeper and really only their in case of injury, will gain some valuable big game knowledge as he sits on the bench during the ANC. Kone plays his club ball in Cote d’Ivorie for the champion club, African Sports National, clearly a strong future consideration in tournaments to come.