Eriksson will lead the Ivory Coast in the World Cup

March 30, 2010 - PRLog -- ”Sven-Goran Eriksson is the new coach of the Ivory Coast. He will lead the national team in the World Cup in South Africa, with the aim of achieving an honorable participation”, said Souleymane Alex Bamba in a statement released by the Ivory Coast Soccer Federation.

Eriksson, was appointed coach of the Ivory Coast a month after the dismissal of Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzić, following the elimination of “Les Éléphants” in the quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations held in Angola in January.

It will be the third appearance of Eriksson in a World Cup, after having been in command of the England squad in 2002 and 2006, eliminated on both occasions in the quarter-final.
He began his coaching career at Swedish club IF Degefors, followed by IFK Göteborg. He had two spells with Benfica then moved to Italy where he coached AS Roma, Fiorentina and Lazio. In England he coached Manchester City at club level, while still in the land of Her Majesty he took over the England team from 2001 until the end of their team's World Cup participation in 2006. In 2008 he crossed the Atlantic where he managed the Mexican national football team till April 2009.

Just two weeks ago, Dutch coach Guus Hiddink had discarded the possibility of taking charge of the Ivorian team, saying that it would affect his commitment with the Russian and Turkish Football Federations, the present and future employers of the highly respected Dutchman.

Meanwhile bad news for Ivory Coast defender Constant Djakpa, 23, who plays for Hannover and is normally selected for the “Elephants”, has suffered a rupture of the ligaments in his left knee, making it most likely that he will miss out on the World Cup 2010.

Further information about the World Cup in South Africa can be found at; http://www.2010-southafrica.com

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