Confederation of African Football (Giza)
2 December 2011
interview
Cote d’Ivoire coach Alain Gouamene is wary of Gabon when the two sides clash in the final group match in Tangiers but he believes his team will succeed and he is looking forward to returning to Marrakech. Gouamene was talking to Cafonline ahead of the Gabon encounter
Cafonline.com: How are you finding Tangier and tell us about your preparations for Gabon match?
Gouamene: Tangier is good and the stadium is beautiful but we want to win our match, top the group and go back to Marrakech. We have changed Marrakech into an Ivorian home, not Tangier so we want to win and go back home.
We will be ready for Gabon but it will be a difficult game for us.
Cafonline.com: Why do you say that it will be difficult?
Gouamene: Whenever we play teams from our region and those around us, its fierce competition. These guys would like to beat us because we are regarded as one of the strong teams so they don’t need any further motivation to beat us and l know they will be ready and will play well. Everybody wants to beat Cote d’Ivoire that is why l say it will be a difficult game. It will be a big match and remember Gabon can still qualify too so it is big game indeed.
Cafonline.com: You drew the first game and win the next what has changed for the side?
Gouamene: You see in the first game against South Africa my boys were nervous and struggled to play as are capable but in the second match against Egypt we had settled down. I also had an additional player my number 11 available for the second game and this made a difference. We played better and passed the ball well in the second match something we failed to do in the first game. So l expect us to be more confident after our win over Egypt but l know Gabon has a young team that is determined to do well here, so it will be a tough game.
Cafonline.com: So can this Ivorian team win the U-23 Championship and do well at the Olympics?
Gouamene: Ah winning here in Morocco l don’t know but l will be happy if we qualify for Olympics from this tournament because this team here is missing six regular players. So if these six who could not be here because their clubs did not release them are included in the team, yes we can play better and be a strong team that can do well in London.
AllAfrica – All the Time