New coach can join elite list if Ivory Coast win Cup of Nations

ABIDJAN : Ivory Coast interim coach Emerse Fae has a chance on Sunday to join an elite list of Africa Cup of Nations-winning managers just weeks after taking charge of a first senior match when his side come up against Nigeria in the final in Abidjan.

It would be an extraordinary achievement for the 40-year-old French-born former Ivorian international, who played for his country in the 2006 final albeit on the losing side.

He had been assistant to veteran French coach Jean-Louis Gasset over the last 18 months but was thrust into the top job when Gasset was sacked at the end of a disastrous group round at the tournament. The hosts barely scraped into the knockout stage as the last of the best four third-placed finishers.

They needed other results to go their way and it took an agonising three day wait between their last group game - a humiliating 4-0 loss to tiny Equatorial Guinea - and the end of the group games before they knew their fate.

By that time Gasset had been sent packing and Fae put in charge, despite the fact his only previous coaching experience was at youth level in France.

The Ivorians had hoped former coach Herve Renard, a two-time Cup of Nations winner, would be loaned to them for the rest of the tournament by France where he is the women’s national team coach, but their request was turned down.

"We had difficult days emotionally and mentally and we came through the back door," admitted Fae. "Losing 4-0 at home was terrible, and then afterwards we had to wait. Honestly, it was very difficult to work, to heal the wounds while crossing your fingers."

Fae made several key changes and the Ivorians showed impressive mental fortitude in overcoming holders Senegal in the last 16 and neighbours Mali in the