Ivory Coast wary of Renard

Jan 23, 2017

Renard is considered superhuman

Total Africa Cup of Nations
Tuesday, 10pm
Morocco v Ivory Coast
Togo v DR Congo
 
To the Ivorian fans here, Herve Renard is not just a football coach. The French tactician is a magician.

Renard is considered ‘superhuman' with superstitions also placed over his magical white shirt.

The belief in the Frenchman became unprecedented soon after he guided the Elephants to their first Nations Cup title in 2015 after more than two decades.

Two years after leading Ivory Coast to their first title since 1992, Renard will guide Morocco this time against his former side with a quarter-finals spot at stake.

"I try to forget, because when I saw all the Ivorians before our World Cup qualifier two months ago, it was very emotional for me. I knew when the draw was made that it would be a decisive match," Renard told the media here.

The Ivorian army hopes that his magical instincts elude him.

"Renard brought us happiness. For the first time, Ivory Coast played with purpose in a tournament. But we hope we can frustrate him tomorrow," one Ivorian fan stated.

DR Congo leads the table on four points following their 2-2 draw against Ivory Coast last Friday, while Morocco, claimed a 3-1 win over Togo have three. The Elephants and the Sparrow Hawks of Togo have two and one point respectively.

All four teams in the group have a chance of progressing to the knockout stages.

Ivory Coast however will only qualify with a win over Morocco in Oyem.

"We still have our destiny in our own hands. That is the important thing. Everything will be decided in the final round of games," Ivory Coast coach Michel Dussuyer said.

Ivory Coast have won six, drawn seven and lost four of their previous meetings with Morocco.

But Morocco proved their powers of recovery after going behind to Togo, and then fighting back to claim a 3-1 win.

If Ivory Coast are to find a way past Morocco, they will have to stop the supply line to Mbark Boussoufa if, as expected, he plays loosely around Omar El Kaddouri and Faycal Fajr.

Boussoufa impressed against Togo and will dictate Morocco's play in Oyem.

In the 2-2 draw against DR Congo, Ivory Coast teetered on the brink because of some poor defending.

They failed to pick up the runs of goal scorers Neeskens Kebano and Junior Kabananga. They were also fortunate when Firmin Ndombe Mubele's shot clipped the post after he had easily held off two defenders.

Ivory Coast defender Wilfried Kanon loves to tear up-field and join in quickly on the counter and he has proved himself a real threat going forward. But his defending was at times suspect and Renard must have been encouraged with the way DR Congo got behind him.

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