Emerse Faé, “a man on the ground” on an impossible mission for Ivory Coast

There are birthdays that we don’t forget. The day Emerse Faé celebrated his 40th birthday, January 24, he was named interim coach of Ivory Coast to replace Jean-Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant – dismissed from their positions for “insufficient results”. Two days earlier, the Elephants were humiliated at home by Equatorial Guinea (4-0) and no longer have their qualification in hand. But on January 24, Morocco’s victory against Zambia (1-0) sent the Ivorians into the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations (CAN).

Since then, the rookie coach – and now also the youngest coach in the competition – on the Ivory Coast bench has had to deal with this unprecedented situation before facing Senegal in Yamoussoukro, Monday January 29. Aware of the situation, Emerse Faé did not hide behind his little finger for his first press conference on Sunday: “We went through the back door and we have to show another face to the Ivorian people”, a- he declared in particular.

The Elephants’ coach returned to his nation’s qualification, which was obtained in a landslide: “This resurrection, (…) it really comes from afar. It’s a second chance that God gives us, we don’t have the right not to play it to the fullest.” The young technician also looked back on the two days – January 23 and 24 – “very difficult emotionally and mentally” that his group went through before qualifying.

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But as a first public speech, Emerse Faé played the card of confidence in his men before opposing the Lions of Teranga, who are reigning African champions and impressive in Pool C.

“Contrary to what people may believe, I didn’t only have three days to prepare for the match, the fact that I know the group saved me a lot of time,” he explained. “It’s a group that I’ve known for a year and a half. I know the words and behaviors to change their state of mind. It’s something that we had and that we lost after our first match against Guinea-Bissau. The words have been said, they know what I expect from them tomorrow (Monday).”

From the Sinama-Pongolle generation – Le Tallec

Born in Nantes in 1984, Emerse Faé joined the Canaris training center in 1995, where he attended for eight years until his first professional contract. “he was trained at the beautiful Nantes school,” remembers journalist Xavier Barret, consultant for France 24, who worked with him on the sets of Canal+ Africa.

Before discovering the professional world, the midfielder made his international debut with the Bleuets, totaling 10 selections from U16 to U21 between 2001 and 2004. His record includes a U17 world champion title won in 2001 alongside a golden generation composed in particular of Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Anthony Le Tallec, Mourad Meghni and Jacques Faty.

“He is part of that generation. But out of twenty, only one became international A: Florent Sinama-Pongolle,” recalls Xavier Barret.

Player of FC Nantes where he played 126 matches between 2003 and 2007, Emerse Faé then turned to the Ivorian selection and honored his first selection on March 27, 2005 against Benin (3-0 victory). From then until 2012, he wore the colors of the Elephants 44 times – scoring one goal.

After Nantes, he had a timid stint in England at Reading FC from 2007 (11 matches played), before being loaned to OGC Nice the following year and being permanently transferred there. He played nearly 100 matches with the Aiglons and ended up ending his career in 2012 due to repeated phlebitis. The player was then forced to end his career at just 27 years old.

But the newly retired didn’t waste a minute and quickly became a coach. He joined the OGC Nice training center during the 2012-2013 season and successively coached the U17s and the U19s. In 2021, he left the Aiglons and coached the Clermont Foot reserve team for a season.

“Emerse Faé has real coaching experience”

“He is passionate about football. He quickly moved towards training young people, he is truly a man of the field,” explains Xavier Barret. When the opportunity to join the Ivory Coast presented itself to be Jean-Louis Gasset’s deputy, he did not hesitate to try the adventure.

For the France 24 consultant, “he was the ideal man on the ground for (Jean-Louis Gasset and Ghislain Printant)” who could not call on Didier Drogba, competitor of the president of the Ivorian federation, nor on the Touré brothers who train in England.

We know the rest of the story: the assistant was promoted to interim coach of the Ivory Coast this week after the Ivorians’ complicated start to the competition. In recent days, the rumor Hervé Renard has emerged in the media to take over the reins of the selection, but it is Emerse Faé who will ultimately be on the bench for the Elephants against Senegal.

Questioned on this subject during his first press conference, he did not seem destabilized: “I have been in football for more than 20 years, I know the environment. (…) I had other things to think about than whether Pierre, Paul or Jacques were going to come and take my place. Especially since the president confirmed me in this position (of interim coach, Editor’s note).”

When one could question its legitimacy, Emerse Faé responds on the ground: “We didn’t have a good first round, but on paper we have nothing to envy of Senegal. We have quality players. (… .) I think the psychological advantage will be 50-50. Both teams are sure of their strengths. Now there is a team that has come a long way, us, and a team that has entered its competition very well. But the counters will be reset to zero tomorrow (Monday), a new competition begins, this time in direct elimination. The pressure will be on both camps.”

In any case, it does not seem that the technician’s future is correlated with the Ivory Coast’s result against Senegal. “If the Elephants win, they establish themselves as a credible candidate for the coaching position. And if they are eliminated, everyone will say that it was normal,” concludes Xavier Barret. “Emerse Faé finds himself on the front line, it’s ultimately just a somewhat hasty promotion. Sometimes, circumstances mean that by throwing yourself into the water a little faster than expected, you find yourself in positions, in positions unexpected responsibilities. And that can smile on your face.”