AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast triumph ‘revenge’ for Emerse Fae after early retirement
Emerse Fae says guiding Ivory Coast to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil feels like “revenge” after he was forced to retire from playing early.
The 40-year-old was named as interim coach of the Elephants midway through the tournament, and capped a remarkable run through the knockout stages with a 2-1 win over Nigeria on Sunday.
Fae was part of the Ivorian side that finished runners-up at the 2006 Nations Cup finals – a campaign in which he played in every match – but had hung up his boots because of vein inflammation issues in his legs by the time the West Africans lifted the trophy in 2015.
“It’s a revenge for me, on football and on life in general, because I had to stop playing at 28 as it was jeopardising my health,” Fae told Newsday on the BBC World Service.
“Since then, I’ve decided I was going to win every trophy as a manager that I did not win as a player. I had this idea in mind for a very long time.”
Ivory Coast had trailed in their last-16 tie against Senegal and their quarter-final against Mali but scored late equalisers in both games before beating the former on penalties and the latter with a 122nd-minute winner.
The Elephants also fell behind against Nigeria in the final, but second-half goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller sealed their third continental title and provided a fairytale ending for the side and Fae.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara joined in post-match celebrations at the stadium bearing his name before thousands of fans lined the streets of Abidjan on Monday for a trophy parade.
“It will take some time to soak it in,” Fae said.
“President Ouattara said a massive thank you and he congratulated me. It was important for the country to win this tournament.”
