The phrase “history repeats itself,” coined by the renowned German philosopher Karl Marx, holds a profound resonance for the Ivorian coach Emerse Faé, who harbors hopes of rewriting the narrative that unfolded in Cairo nearly two decades ago.
Faé witnessed the tragedy firsthand on February 10, 2006, when the “Golden Generation” of Ivorian football, led by the iconic Didier Drogba, suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Egyptian hosts in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The interim coach played the entire final match before a crowd of 80,000 at the Cairo International Stadium.
He watched as his teammates, Drogba and Bakary Koné, missed penalty kicks against goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, who jubilantly celebrated atop the crossbar while the opposing fans wept in despair at the loss of the coveted trophy.
Described as the “Golden Generation” due to the abundance of star players, many of whom were renowned in Europe and participated in two World Cups in 2006 and 2010, the Ivorian team fell short of clinching the continental title multiple times.
Their aspirations waned after 2010, with most of the squad aging, including Faé, who retired from both international and club football in 2012 to swiftly transition into coaching.
Now, after 18 years since the painful defeat in Cairo, Faé, once a right winger, faces a final test in the Africa Cup of Nations, this time from the sidelines as a coach.
The Elephants will contest the final of the ongoing tournament on Sunday in their capital city, Abidjan, against the Nigerian Super Eagles, following their victories in the semi-finals against Congo and South Africa.
As the tournament commenced last month, the retired winger served as an assistant coach to the Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset. However, following poor results and the loss of two out of three matches, Gasset was dismissed at the end of the group stage.
Faé was subsequently appointed as the head coach, guiding the team through the knockout stages after securing a spot as one of the best third-placed teams.
Against Senegal, then Mali, and finally Congo, the hosts progressed to the final, placing the interim coach at the helm of his country’s dream of clinching the African title for the third time, following their triumphs in 1992 and 2015.
This time around, as Faé turns 40 on the day of Gasset’s dismissal, he faces a different reality on the pitch, one that promises to compensate for the bitterness of 2006 and bring joy to nearly 60,000 spectators expected to fill the stands of the Stade Houphouët-Boigny.
Before this historic assignment, the former player coached youth teams at the French club Nice and the reserve team of Clermont.
Currently, he also holds the position of coach for his country’s under-23 team.
