Afcon 2023: Ivory Coast win in 'revenge' against Emmers Fé after early retirement

Emmers Faye says it feels like “revenge” for him to lead Ivory Coast to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil after he was forced into early retirement.

The 40-year-old was appointed as Elephants' interim coach midway through the tournament and capped off their remarkable run to reach the finals with a 2-1 win over Nigeria on Sunday.

Fay was part of the Ivory Coast team that finished runners-up in the 2006 Nations Cup final and played in every match, but by the time the West Africans finished, he was no longer wearing shoes due to leg phlebitis problems. 2015 Trophy.

Fay told the BBC World Service's Newsday: “This is revenge for me on football and life in general, because I had to stop playing at the age of 28 due to failing health.”

“From then on, I was determined to win all the trophies as a manager that I didn't get as a player. This idea has been in my mind for a long time.”

The Elephants lost to Nigeria in the final, but second-half goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller sealed their third continental title, providing a fairy-tale ending for the team and Fay.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara took part in post-match celebrations at the stadium that bears his name on Monday, before thousands of fans lined the streets of Abidjan for the trophy parade.

“It's going to take some time to sink in,” Fay said.

“President Ouattara expressed his great gratitude and congratulated me. It was important for the country to win this competition.”

Fay was born in Nantes and won the Under-17 World Championship in 2001 with France's youth team, defeating Nigeria in the final.

He played for his hometown club and in 2005 switched allegiance to Ivory Coast, the homeland of his parents. He then retired in 2012, then he played for Reading, then Nice in the Premier League.

Fay coached Nice's youth teams and French Ligue 1 club Clermont's reserve team before being appointed as Gassett's assistant in May 2022.

His family shared in the emotional win in just his fourth game as senior manager. However, his father was “too stressed” to travel to Abidjan to watch in person, and his mother has sadly passed away.

“I asked my dad in Nantes if he would like to fly out and watch the final, but he said he couldn’t handle the pressure,” Fay said.

“He had to watch the game alone at home with no one around, and that means a lot to my family as well.

“My mother had a lot of sisters, so I have a lot of cousins ​​here in the Ivory Coast who made it through the competition.

“They were with me, encouraging us, texting us. They also saw what I went through over the years when my mom passed away, so this win is the same for them. is.”

Fay was awarded 100 million CFA francs (approximately $163,000) for replacing Jean-Louis Gasset in the dugout and helping lead Ivory Coast to an upset after a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in the final group game. .

This result left the Ivorians on the brink of an embarrassing early exit from the tournament, but when other results were favorable nonetheless, the Elephants received a second life and were one of the four highest-ranked third-place teams. I finally got out.

“There was a lot of sadness. We wanted to show the world that we are better than that,” Fay said.

“I left the group stage saying to the players that we need to forget about it and move on.

“The team was split in two and we felt there was no cohesion on the pitch, so we needed to be more cohesive and together and build a more compact block.

“In the round of 16, it seemed obvious that we would lose to Senegal, one of the best teams in the tournament, but we wanted to show the world that we can beat.”

Returning to Fay's ambitions and trophy collecting, he was rejected during his playing days.

Ivory Coast will aim to defend their Nations Cup title at the 2025 tournament in Morocco, while the next FIFA World Cup will be held in North America in 2026.

Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the world tournament in 2022, but Fay hopes to move up two notches above the Atlas Lions.

“Some may say I'm too ambitious, but why win the World Cup? That's a dream,” he said.

“First of all, we missed the last Qatar tournament, so we want to take this team to America, Mexico and Canada.

“But before that we have another Nations Cup in Morocco and that will also be difficult.”

However, it is unclear whether Fay will remain in the Ivorian dugout despite achieving the sometimes improbable continental title.

Fay had refused to discuss his permanent appointment with Ivorian Football Federation president Yassin Idriss Diallo during the Nations Cup final.

“During the tournament he wanted to confirm my status as coach, but I told him I didn't want to talk about it until the tournament was over,” Fay said.

“We'll see how things go. First I'm going to take some time off and go on vacation with my wife and two daughters next week.

“We're tired. It's been a long tournament. My neck hurts so I need some time off. It's stressful for my family as well, so I deserve some time off.”