What a tournament, what a finale! We didn’t see a 0-0 score and a penalty drama, but it was still a thriller, with the hosts coming from behind against strong Nigeria to win it all in front of the 57.000 strong home crowd in Abidjan. This whole success is even bigger considering that they nearly went out of the competition in the group stage. The Ivorians lost 1-0 to Nigeria in their second match before losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea, their heaviest-ever home defeat. That made them the first AFCON hosts in 40 years to lose two group games and cost coach Jean-Louis Gasset his job.Life is a miracle! Cancer survivor Haller scores a stunning late winner for Ivory Coast’s AFCON titleAnd then came in the 40-year old assistant Emerse Fae on an interim basis and did his magic. Ivory Coast are the first team to win the AFCON being hosts since Egypt did it in 2006 and Fae was on the losing end of that game, as a player. And how he managed to straight things out and called his team “miracle survivors”.”It is more than a fairytale. I am struggling to take it all in. 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” said Fae after the game.Ivory Coast football Legend, 🇨🇮Didier Drogba at the final whistle 🙌 Man loves his country ! pic.twitter.com/T2flZJQ4vy— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) February 12, 2024 And the main reason why they were in the finals in the first place was a new format, where the four best third-placed teams were allowed to continue to the knockout stage, and Ivory Coast was one of them. With Fae, they beat holders Senegal on penalties in the last 16 after equalizing late in normal time. They beat Mali 2-1 in the quarter-finals with a winner in extra time, having been reduced to 10 men in the first half and trailing into the 90th minute. That was followed by 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. I can’t properly express my joy. It is massive. I dreamed of winning the AFCON as a player and didn’t manage it. Now I have had the opportunity as a coach, albeit in strange circumstances. I took over when we were not even sure of getting out of our group. It was a strange birthday but thankfully we got a second chance and grabbed it” added Fae.Champions of AfricaCote d’Ivoire’s Elephants celebrate after winning the 2023 AFCON. pic.twitter.com/JpfY1PXLTW— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) February 11, 2024 The story of Haller’s own tournament was remarkable too, with the Borussia Dortmund striker scoring the winner in the semi-final and the final.”We dreamt of this moment so many times. 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. It was one of my main goals to give everything I could at the AFCON. 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 the game” an emotional Haller told French broadcaster beIN Sports.##NAJAVA_MECA_7863325##
