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News Analysis: Cote d'Ivoire to seek 2nd title in African Cup

Xinhua, January 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

The 30th edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN 2015) will kick off on Saturday at the Malabo Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, with Cote d'Ivoire among the participating teams.

In 1992, the country won CAN which was organized in Senegal after an epic competition.

But 23 years since winning the trophy, Cote d'Ivoire is still in search of its second continental football trophy.

"We have played in finals and semi-finals. Sometimes we were eliminated very early. But this year we must bring this cup for the sake of our new generation because 23 years is a long time," said Firmin Gonto, a local football coach.

According to Gonto, the Elephants (as Cote d'Ivoire's team is commonly referred to) remain the favourite winners of this year's competition.

"In the last competition, we said we were in the "pool of death" because our opponents were very strong. But when we look at Pool D this year, it looks easy. We have every chance of emerging as the winners," Gonto said.

Teams in Pool D include Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali and Guinea.

"Apart from Cameroon, we can easily beat the other opponents. No doubt that with such a group, we have a chance of going very far," said Jean-Christian Aka, a young local footballer.

However, Mamadou Cisse, a sports consultant, said there will not be a small team at this level of competition and no one should underrate Cote d'Ivoire's opponents in Group D.

In his previous media briefings, Cote d'Ivoire's coach Herve Renard has always urged caution from his players.

"Our opponents are very difficult, but we must remain hopeful," he said.

As the competition starts Saturday, supporters of Cote d'Ivoire's "Elephants" have continued to express both fear and hope. "I know our team has the ability to win. We have world renown players, but I fear when I remember previous competitions when we gave the team our full support but it finally disappointed us," said Roger Gnaore, a student.

Another student, Jean-Philippe Konan, has the same view; "for several years, we have always supported the team fully but we are always disappointed when the Elephants are eliminated. We hope the situation will be different this time," he said.

The head of the Elephants' Supporters National Committee Parfait Kouassi said Cote d'Ivoire nationals had previously been disappointed by the team's performance but "things will be different during this year's edition."

Some fans have however complained about delays in obtaining visas, arguing that "they were still in Abidjan on Friday, the eve of the competition's kick off.

"We have undergone medical tests, especially tests for Ebola virus. We are ready and we are awaiting our documents to leave," some of the fans said.

CAN 2015 will run from Jan. 17 to Feb. 8 in Equatorial Guinea after Morocco refused to organize the tournament due to fears of an Ebola outbreak. Endi