Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.
Country: Cote d’Ivoire. (Americans call this team "Ivory Coast;" Cote D’Ivoire insists that this is not the name of their team and country, and an incorrect translation to boot.)
Nickname: Les Elephants
This former French colony has enjoyed tremendous prosperity in comparison to its tropical African neighbors, with a booming export trade in cocoa, coffee and palm oil and liberal foreign investment creating a solid infrastructure and economy. It is also a bitterly divided land.
The nation has seen two military coups (1999, 2001) and was cleft by a long and brutal civil war, with a rebel-held north and a ministerial government in the south. A peace accord was struck -- partly due to the efforts of the national soccer team -- and it seems that the peace is holding, but elections have not yet been held. The country is still tense, and struggles with poverty and a lack of opportunity.
On thing that unites the nation is football. Les Elephants are one of the great -- if underachieving -- sides in Africa. They have contributed a number of famous players to the world soccer scene, with top players currently plying their trade in England and France. Most notable are Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Yaya Toure (Barcelona) and Bakary Kone (Marseille).
Let's talk about Drogba for a second. Most European fans think of him as an undeniably gifted striker with a penchant for diving. Many in the English media slag him off because he puts most of the home-grown players in the shade, and because he goes down very easily when fouled (there's a little racism involved here -- Drogba is no more an offender in this way than many of his Premier League teammates and opponents).
That's an incomplete story at best. In Cote d’Ivoire, Drogba is credited as being the man who stopped a war. He is a national hero. Drogba famously begged his countrymen to stop fighting in 2009, and insisted that the team play a key qualifier against Madagascar in the northern city of Bouake. A Southerner, Drogba had not crossed the so-called "green line" since the war had started; his pleas for unity resonated with the population, and the match went off without a hitch.
Here's the problem: The war has also divided the team. As a result, this squad with so much talent has little focus. The pressure on them is intense. They are not only playing to win football matches, they are trying to preserve the peace.
PAST WORLD CUP SUCCESS: This is only their second appearance. They were beat by the Dutch and Argentines in Germany in what was considered one of the toughest groups in 2006.
REGIONAL SUCCESS: Until this year, Ivory Coast's claim to fame was downing regional kingpins Ghana to win the African Nations Cup in 1992. Next best was in 2006, when Ivory Coast lost on penalties to Egypt in the final. This year, they were quarterfinalists.
LEAGUE OVERVIEW: The 14-team Premier Division is weak. ASEC Mimosas are the best-known side and the only ones to have won a major African honor, the African Champions League crown in 1998. More important to CIV's success has been the ASEC Mimosas Academy, set up outside Abdijan by youth team coach and former French international Jean-Marc Guillou. Under Guillou, CIV have developed such talents as Aruna Dindane, the Toures and Emmanuel Eboue.
MANAGER: Sven-Goran Eriksson. Where to begin? Eriksson is a odd choice for a nation that needs a firm hand on the rudder. With England, Eriksson allowed himself to get caught up in WAG culture; with Mexico, he just sank into the mire. He doesn't have any experience with African football. He does, however, have experience with high-profile crybaby stars.
KEY PLAYERS: On paper, these guys have all the firepower in the world. Drogba scored 39 goals this year for Chelsea across all competitions and, despite coming into the Cup carrying a hernia, he will be very hard to stop. Arouna Dindane (Lens) and Kone will run off him, and they're no slouches, either. Yaya Toure and Didier Zokora (Sevilla) are the key men in midfield, forming the spine of the side, with Arsenal's Eboue playing stopgap with Kolo Toure (Manchester City). 'Keeper Boubacar Barry (Lokeren) has experience, but isn't considered top-class.
FIFA RANKINGS: 27th. Highest was 16th (last year); lowest was 75th (2004)
FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS: Brazil, North Korea, Portugal
HEAD TO HEAD: Cote D’Ivoire have never met any of their opponents at the top level.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: They didn't lose a game, and beat out Burkina Faso, Guinea and Malawi.
PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO PROGRESS: 50%. Take a flier on these guys; I think they'll stomp North Korea, play hard against Brazil and frustrate Portugal. The knockout round should be achievable.
TO WATCH: The inevitable distractions. Cote d'Ivoire has a history of bizarre meltdowns and finger-pointing.
ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (KSC Lokeren), Vincent Angban (ASEC Mimosas) Daniel Yeboah (ASEC Mimosas), Aristide Zogbo (Maccabi Netanya)
Defenders: Souleman Bamba (Hibernian), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal), Abdoulaye Meite (West Bromwich Albion), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes), Kolo Toure (Manchester City), Guy Demel (Hamburger SV), Steve Gohouri (Wigan), Benjamin Angoua (Valenciennes)
Midfielders: Emerse Fae (Nice), Koffi Romaric N'Dri (Sevilla), Cheick Tiote (FC Twente), Yaya Toure (Barcelona), Gilles Yapi Yapo (Young Boys), Didier Zokora (Sevilla), Kanga Akale (Lens), Emmanuel Kone (Cluj)
Forwards: Aruna Dindane (Portsmouth), Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Abdul Keita (Galatasaray), Bakari Kone (Marseille), Gervinho (Lille), Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso (Monaco), Lacina Traore (Cluj)
TOMORROW'S TEAM: Serbia
