“We went to get it, the cup
,” rejoiced Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé after the victory in the final of the African Cup of Nations against Nigeria (2-1) after a journey of
“miracles”
.
To discover
African Cup of Nations: schedule and results
African Cup of Nations ranking
“It’s more than a fairy tale, I still find it hard to realize that we did it, when I think of everything we’ve been through. We are miracles, we went to get it, the cup, because we didn't give up. We fought until the end, we were able to overcome the hard blows
,” added the coach at a press conference.
“Our matches have always been complicated, we have always been forced to come back to the score, physically, mentally, we have been forced to draw on our reserves
,” added Faé, who replaced the Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset at the head of the Ivorian selection after the group stage.
The
“Elephants”
had just completed this first round with a scathing 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea, and, third in their group, snatched the last ticket for the round of 16.
Before going to the end.
“With the mentality we were able to come together and catch up and be African champions
,” added Simon Adingra, elected man of the match and best young person in the competition.
“I can't even measure my joy
,” continued Faé,
“it's enormous what's happening to me, I dreamed of winning the CAN, as a player I didn't know how to do it (he lost the final in 2006, Editor’s note)
. ”
Appointed number one coach after the withdrawal of Gasset, of whom he was assistant, Faé concluded by
“congratulating Jean-Louis, because it is also his victory”
.