Emerse Fae, the coach of Ivory Coast, hailed his team as “miracle survivors” following their remarkable journey to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday.
Their triumph, achieved with a 2-1 win over Nigeria, marked one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in major tournament history.
“It is more than a fairytale. I am struggling to take it all in,” Fae remarked after Ivory Coast recovered from a halftime deficit at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium to secure victory, with goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller.
“When I think about all we have been through, we are miracle survivors. We never gave up, and we managed to come back from so many tough blows.”
Sunday’s triumph, witnessed by over 57,000 spectators in Abidjan, allowed the Elephants to clinch their third continental title. They became the first host country to win the Cup of Nations since Egypt in 2006, despite nearly exiting in the group stage.
The Ivorians suffered a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria in their second match before enduring a crushing 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea, their heaviest-ever home defeat. This led to the dismissal of coach Jean-Louis Gasset.
However, they advanced to the last 16 as the last of the four best third-placed teams, with former player Fae assuming an interim coaching role.
Ivory Coast overcame holders Senegal on penalties in the last 16, beat Mali 2-1 in the quarter-finals with an extra-time winner despite being reduced to 10 men, and secured a 1-0 victory against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the semi-finals before another comeback win in the final.
“All our games were difficult. We kept having to come from behind, and we really had to draw on all our physical and mental reserves,” noted Fae.
“I can’t properly express my joy. It is massive. I dreamed of winning the AFCON as a player and didn’t manage it,” added Fae, who played in the side beaten by Egypt in the 2006 final.
“Now I have had the opportunity as a coach, albeit in strange circumstances.”
The story of Haller’s tournament was remarkable too, with the Borussia Dortmund striker scoring the winner in both the semi-final and the final.
“We dreamt of this moment so many times,” an emotional Haller shared with French broadcaster beIN Sports.
“These scenes of joy, the country deserves this too. We kept believing until the end. My teammates pushed me to stay on the pitch for as long as possible, and thanks to them, I scored.” Haller had missed the group stage due to an ankle injury suffered in December and did not start a game until the semi-final.
“It was one of my main goals to give everything I could at the AFCON,” he expressed. “I was lucky to be here. Now we can say it, they were telling me six to eight weeks with my injury, so based on that today could have been my first match. My ankle still isn’t fully healed, but it was OK for today.”
Reported By AFP.
