Coach
Sven Goran ERIKSSON
05.02.48
Coach since March 2010
The Ivorian job is a short term expedition for the charismatic Swede, who coached England at the last two World Cups. It is only his second venture out of Europe, where his pedigree was built at Benfica in Portugal and in Serie A with Lazio. Recent ventures with Manchester City, Mexico and Notts County have sullied Eriksson’s allure but not enough for the Ivorians to pick him to replace Vahid Halilhodzic, who was fired after a quarter-final exit at January’s Nations Cup.
Goalkeepers
Boubacar BARRY
30.12.79
Lokeren (Blg)
43 caps (0 goals)
Wildly popular player originally from the ASEC academy but also maddeningly inconsistent. Has won both awards and derision in Belgium for the variance in his performances. Played one match at the last World Cup and has been first choice ever since.
Aristide ZOGBO
30.12.81
Maccabi Netanya (Isr)
6 caps (0 goals)
Has had a first season in European football since moving from nearby Egypt. Also emerged as the back-up goalkeeper in the squad. Made a name for himself at Issia Wazi, who went to two back-to-back Ivorian FA Cup finals.
Daniel YEBOAH
13.11.84
ASEC Mimosas
4 caps no goals
Yeboah was the only domestic based player to be picked for the Ivory Coast World Cup squad.
Defenders
Benjamin ANGOUA
28.11.86
Valenciennes (Fra)
7 caps (1 goal)
Worked his way up through the junior ranks of the Ivorian national team set-up, including the 2008 Olympic Games, before debuting in a friendly against Israel in late 2008. Played at Africa Sports in Abidjan until moving in 2006 to Honved in Hungary. French club Valenciennes signed him in January.
Souleymane BAMBA
13.01.85
Hibernian (Sco)
15 caps (1 goal)
Paris-born defender who was a junior at Paris Saint-Germain but after a single game in the first team went to Scotland for trials and has played since for Dunfermline Athletic and now Hibs. Competed for the Ivorians at the Olympic Games and also the World Youth Cup and won his first full cap at the end of 2007.
Guy DEMEL
13.06.81
Hamburg (Ger)
23 caps (0 goals)
On the books at Arsenal for a year a decade ago but went after one fruitless season to the Bundesliga where he played at Dortmund before transferring to Hamburg in 2006. French-born full-back, who started his career at Nimes.
Emmanuel EBOUE
04.06.83
Arsenal (Eng)
40 caps (1 goal)
Plays at right-back for the Ivorians but has demonstrated at Arsenal he can play virtually anywhere on the pitch, making him a firm fan favourite. Arsenal signed him in 2005 from Beveren in Belgium. Now closing in on 200 appearances for the Gunners.
Steve GOHOURI
08.02.81
Wigan Athletic
11 caps 3 goals
After initially joining on loan, Gohouri signed a new two-year contract with Wigan on 7th May 2010. On May 3, 2010, scored the goal that relegated Hull City from the Premier League.
Abdoulaye MEITE
06.10.80
West Bromwich Albion (Eng)
49 caps (1 goal)
While at Marseille he took his time about decided to play for the Ivorians, prefering to hold out for a chance to play for France, where he was born. Eventually debuted in 2003 and played twice at the last World Cup. Spent six seasons at Marseille, and went to Bolton Wanderers and then West Brom thereafter.
Siaka TIENE
11.02.82
Valenciennes (Fra)
55 caps (2 goals)
Tiene returns to South Africa where he spent two seasons with Mamelodi Sundowns from 2003 to 2005, before moving to France. Has been a full international for the last decade and a dedicated squad player. Was a runner-up at the 2006 Nations Cup finals when the Ivorians lost in the Final to Egypt.
Kolo TOURE
19.03.81
Manchester City (Eng)
79 caps (2 goals)
Defensive leader of the team with a top pedigree after eight years in the English top flight, all but one at Arsenal. He won a league title, two FA Cups and played in a Champions League Final with the Gunners before his move to Manchester City, influenced it has later transpired by a dressing room bust up with Frenchman William Gallas.
Midfielders
Jean-Jacques GOSSO GOSSO
15.03.83
Monaco (Fra)
5 caps (0 goals)
A non-playing squad member at the Nations Cup in Angola, Gosso Gosso is a former captain of the Ivorian Under-20s. First came to prominence in Morocco and his proposed sale to an Israeli club caused a major stir in the north African country. After a season in Israel, he moved to Monaco in 2008.
Abdelkader KEITA
06.08.81
Galatasaray (Tur)
53 caps (11 goals)
Among the longest-serving Ivorian internationals, whose elder brother also played for the Elephants. His international career floundered while he was playing club football in the Middle East but was revived again when he joined Lille in 2005. Cost Lyon £15million in 2007 but two seasons later they sold him to Galatasaray.
Emmanuel KONE
31.12.86
International Curtea Arges (Rom) 11 caps (0 goals)
Squad member at the 2010 Nations Cup but had done little at club level this season to suggest he would be picked. Nonetheless, Eriksson gave him a vote of confidence.
ROMARIC
04.06.83
Sevilla (Spa)
28 caps (2 goals)
Christian Koffi Ndri was controversially left out of the Nations Cup squad for January’s tournament in Angola. Overcame a serious car accident while at Le Mans in mid-2005. Signed a five-year contract at Sevilla in 2008, after the Spanish club paid £7million for his services.
Cheik Ismael TIOTE
21.06.86
Twente (Hola)
8 caps (0 goals)
Won regular midfield berth at the Nations Cup in Angola and has crowned that achievement with Dutch league success with Twente. Brought over to Europe by Anderlecht, who then loaned him to Dutch club Roda JC before he signed for Twente.
Yaya TOURE
13.05.83
Barcelona (Spa)
48 caps (5 goals)
Younger brother of Kolo Toure who is in the elite club of African footballers with a Champions League medal to his name. Shone as a makeshift centre-back in the Final last year. His career has taken him to clubs in Belgium, Ukraine, Greece and France before Barcelona paid £7.5million for him.
Didier ZOKORA
14.12.80
Sevilla (Spa)
84 caps (1 goal)
The most-capped international for the Ivorians and the midfield anchor with his crunching tackles and high workrate. Member of the original ASEC Abidjan gang of teenagers who won the African Supercup in 1998 and mostly all went on to careers at clubs in Europe. Zokora was Belgian champion with Racing Genk in 2002 and won the League Cup with at Tottenham in 2008.
Forwards
Aruna DINDANE
26.11.80
Portsmouth (Eng)
56 caps (18 goals)
Scored the goals that ensured the Ivorians qualified for the World Cup in Germany but has lost his place in recent years. Chosen to participate in four Nations Cup but had to leave the 2006 finals in Egypt after the tragic death of his daughter. Spent his most fruitful years in Belgium but now on loan at Portsmouth.
Seydou DOUMBIA
31.12.87
Young Boys Berne (Swi)
5 caps (1 goal)
Exciting prospect who scored in a friendly away against Germany last year. Prolific goalscorer for Young Boys in the Swiss Super League in 2008, where he finished top scorer in the league for his two seasons there. In January 2010 he signed for CSKA Moscow and will be available for them after the World Cup, from 1 July 2010.
Didier DROGBA
11.03.78
Chelsea (Eng) 66 caps (42 goals)
Arguably the world’s best striker with an outrageously proficient scoring record since his debut in 2002. African Footballer of the Year for 2009, he hails from a footballing family with an uncle Michel Goba having played in France, where Drogba was raised from the age of five. Scorer of his country’s first ever World Cup finals goal in Germany four years ago.
Gervais Yao KOUASSI ‘GERVINHO’
27.05.87
Lille (Fra)
14 caps (3 goals)
Plays under the nickname Gervinho and took an unusually long time to break into the Ivorian squad despite his obvious talent and ability. Captain of the Ivorian Olympic side in Beijing, he was also in the squad for the 2008 and 2010 Nations Cup finals. A graduate of the ASEC academy and Beveren in Belgium before moving onto Ligue 1.
Salomon KALOU
05.08.85
Chelsea (Eng)
30 caps (10 goals)
Four years ago he was involved in a legal dispute trying to obtain Dutch citizenship so he could play for Holland in Germany. The Ivorians said emphatically then they would never pick him but he has since won 30 caps. His brother Bonaventure was Ivorian captain but the pair never played together.
