From our special correspondent in Abidjan – Guinea faces DR Congo on Friday in the quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations (CAN). A shock which will also oppose two coaches who have left their mark on the Syli national Léopards: a Kaba Diawara with the Guinean flag anchored to his heart and a Sébastien Desabre who has ambitious long-term plans for the Congolese.
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A few hours before the most important match of their careers, Kaba Diawara and Sébastien Desabre display the satisfied smile of those who have already succeeded but dream of doing even better. The two men’s teams, Guinea and DR Congo, face each other on Friday February 2 at the Ebimpé stadium in Abidjan in the quarter-final of the CAN. A clash between two nations on which no one had bet before the start of the competition. Except perhaps their coach.
“This is not the CAN of surprises,” said Sébastien Desabre at a press conference. “It’s the CAN of work. The teams which are in the quarter-finals are all good teams: South Africa, Angola, seeing them at this stage is not surprising.”
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“Against Guinea, we will not be favorites. It’s a great, very complete team. Kaba’s work must be praised. There is a very high level of organization,” praised the Leopards coach.
“We respect everyone. And we neither want to see ourselves above everyone, nor believe ourselves to be below,” Kaba Diawara also judged when discussing his opponent.
Guinea deep in the heart
Kaba Diawara was born in Toulon in the south of France. He enjoyed a modest playing career that took him from 1993 to 2012 to 17 clubs and six different countries. He was also the first dual national to join Guinea in 2004, after having known the Blues youth teams. The start of a beautiful love story. The striker will play 29 matches and score 11 goals in the Syli jersey.
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After experiences as a consultant, he continued the adventure with his favorite selection first as assistant to Didier Six in 2019 then as coach from 2021. Kaba Diawara is ambitious and is doing everything possible to break a glass ceiling to which he came up against himself three times in his playing career: winning a knockout match with Syli.
To do this, he works tirelessly. He is working hard to put together a competitive group and to convince dual nationals such as the second top scorer in the Bundesliga Serhou Guirassy to come to Africa to wear the colors of Guinea. If, in 2022, his team loses its teeth against the modest Gambia, he lets his tears flow when his team beats Equatorial Guinea in 8e final on January 28.
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“This is the reward for Kaba Diawara’s work. He is very involved in the management of this team. A team which is not easy to manage on a daily basis. We must remember that there was a coup d’état in the country but he still managed to convince Guirassy and other players born in France to come and wear this jersey and several others born in France”, judges François Pinet, consultant for France 24 on the CAN
“Me and my staff, we are experiencing something exceptional and really, it goes beyond football because we are working to take this team far. Afterwards, it may seem strange from the outside to see that we are crying, this is still only a round of 16… But we know why we’re crying, because we’ve been working day and night for two years to ensure that this group is protected and competitive. And there, we were really at the moment of truth. And we must not believe that it is only me who is crying, it is all my staff too, we are beautiful Madeleines”, he said after his tears
Desabre, an adventurer with a plan
For his evening opponent, the CAN is also already a success. “The objective was to perform in the 2025 CAN and to go to the 2026 World Cup. Today, it happened a little faster than expected,” explained the 47-year-old technician at the start of the tournament.
Since taking power, Sébastien Desabre has considerably rejuvenated the group. Only three players remain from the Leopards’ last participation in the African Cup of Nations: leaders Cédric Bakambu and Chancel Mbemba, and defender Arthur Masuaku.
Sébastien Desabre has long been involved in African competitions. He worked in several local clubs, notably Asec Mimosas in Ivory Coast, ES Tunis, Wydad Casablanca and Garoua Cotonsports. This is also his second CAN, after that of 2019 where he presided over the destiny of Uganda.
“We are in an important moment. We wanted to perform in this CAN. Before the competition, we were the 13th African team and here we are in the top 8. We are launched so we have to be ambitious”, he believes.
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Sébastien Desabre remembers the convincing performances against Morocco (1-1) and Egypt (victory on penalties): “It’s encouraging to see how we behave against this type of opponent, who is among those who is best done in Africa.”
Sébastien Desabre, coach of the DRC
With the massacre among the favorites, the two coaches are aware that the table is now open for an exploit. And they don’t intend to leave their share:
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“We came to play seven finals at the CAN. This will be our fifth,” warns Kaba Diawara.
“We are going to play our luck bravely,” warns Sébastien Desabre.