CAN2023: Côte d’Ivoire’s winning strategy
The dust of CAN 2023 has finally settled, allowing us to sift through the golden nuggets of wisdom gleaned from the Elephant’s remarkable journey in three simple yet profound words: Acceptance, Miracle, and Hope. Behold the AME-winning strategy! But how do we infuse this winning formula into the tapestry of our everyday lives?
Table of content
Part 1: An Unlikely Stampede
Part 2: The ÂME Within You
Part 1: An Unlikely Stampede
In the heart of West Africa, where dreams are as vast as the savannah and ambitions soar higher than the Baobab trees, a nation home to the world’s largest Basilica dared to dream. Their aspiration? To host the Africa Cup of Nations, a dazzling football extravaganza that would catapult them onto the global stage. As the dawn of CAN 2023 approached, the air was electric, and the streets pulsated with the heartbeat of a nation yearning for glory.
But this journey wasn’t a walk in the savanna. The government, committed to showcasing its progress, embarked on a colossal infrastructure overhaul. The Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium, a behemoth with 60,000 seats, was a testament to this transformation. But the path to glory was strewn with obstacles. Completing the stadiums was a Herculean task, with the Félix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium lagging at a mere 25% completion rate. But the legendary spirit of Queen Pokou remained unbreakable.
Fast forward to the opening match, where the Elephants thundered onto the field, trampling their opponents, the African wild dogs with a resounding 2–0 victory, asserting their dominance in the jungle of football. A victory that made the Elephant forget that weight is not synonymous with power.
Then came the shocker. The opposing team, the Super Eagles, swooped in like a predator snatching prey. Who saw that coming? To finish the job, National Thunder travelling at the speed of sound covered 2000 km in only 4 seconds and transported the massive remains of Loxodonta Africana into the abyss. The humiliation was televised leaving 25 million Ivoirians with a bitter taste.
The team teetered on the brink of elimination, players drowning their sorrows in tears, mocked by their fans. In the face of adversity, hope seemed like a mirage in the desert, a taboo in the collective consciousness—the pressure-cooked head coach Jean-Louis Gasset, who resigned in a public display of despair. With chances of reaching the knockout stages slim to none, Emerse Faé, his assistant, was thrown into the fire as interim coach. Star striker Sébastien Haller summed it up best: “We were a whisker away from a nightmare.”
Finishing with a measly 3 points and a goal difference that made accountants cry, the shame gnawed at the host nation. Even the national pride from the recent inauguration of the Alassane Dramane Ouattara Bridge couldn’t mask it. Qualification wasn’t in their hands anymore. All they could do was wait, a prayer clinging to their lips, invoking the spirit of Queen Pokou. What would she do?
The ball was no longer in their court. All they could do was wait and pray. They must invoke the spirit of Queen Pokou. Seeking solace in her legendary resilience. What would she have done in such a situation? The prayers of a born again for a miracle as in the days of Moses. They knew that neither the harsh weather nor the fields’ state would be a plausible scapegoat. Like Samory Touré, they must own up to the challenges of the time. Despite this, they must hope in the face of hopelessness. Pray for a miracle — a humiliation accepted in humility.
And it appears prayers are answered after all. Manna rains from the heavens. The sacrifices to Queen Pokou bore fruit! The overflowing river, swollen with heavy rains, miraculously receded — as if the river gods themselves were appeased by the Lions of Atlas, just like Moses and the Red Sea. Emerse’s men squeaked through the gates just before they slammed shut. A CAN of second chances, some might say. A miracle, others declared. But wait, there’s more…
Dubbed “Les Miraculés” by Emerse himself, the team surged forward, defying all expectations. Victory over defending champions Senegal, triumph despite being reduced to ten men against Mali, and tactical brilliance in the semi-finals against the Leopards — all bore witness to their indomitable spirit. Some argue that the spirit of Touré was the 11th player, but who cares?
Sunday, February 11. In the early afternoon, under a blazing sun, fans began to fill the stands. “We’ve got to finish the miracle”, proclaims one of them. The Ivorian press demanded “one last hammer blow”. The Elephants meet up again with the Super Eagles. Who is going to be the prey this time? To survive, the Elephant must become a carnivore. Will history repeat itself? The Eagle must now face another type of Elephant, the Loxodonta Africana, regenerated and confident, whose trials in this tournament made it unbeatable. “We’ve come a long way and we know we’ve got a second chance. It’s up to us not to squander it”, points out Sébastien Haller.
Remember the deafening silence of the opening match? Now, the stadium pulsed with a life of its own. The final against the Super Eagles was a clash of titans. The Elephants, once prey, were now predators, fueled by hope. At the final whistle, the stadium embraces itself in a collective trance. Players and the public move like dervishes. And there are these smiles that light up faces and these tears, in abundance. After 1992 and 2015, Ivory Coast won its third star, on its land. This has not happened since 2006. Humiliated, resurrected, miraculous, then feared. The Elephants’ journey is unreal. The supporters have just promised: “Tomorrow Monday is a public holiday.” From humiliation to triumph, theirs was a journey of Miracles — a tale for the ages.
Part 2: The ÂME Within You
“All man get e own problem” Mom would say. The Ivorian story isn’t just about football; it’s about You. We all face challenges, moments when hope dwindles. But the AME spirit resides within us all. The Elephant’s victory was only possible due to applying what I discussed in Smiling in Hardships. It’s a strategy that brings out the power in our weaknesses, the AME-winning strategy. Correctly applied, the AME Within You can permit anyone to turn their weakness into strength. The last to become the first, the believer to walk on water, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dead to rise again and even manners to rain from the heavens.
Acceptance-Miracle-Hope
In French: Acceptation-Miracle-Espérance: âme
In Smiling in Hardships, I argue that the very first step in turning around any situation is acceptance. But true acceptance as epitomised by the Canaanite woman warrants a great deal of humility. To be humble in the humiliation. This applies to a people as it applies to a team or an individual like you and me.
The Elephants realised and accepted that they couldn’t continue with the same team as during the group stages, hence the series of changes that were operated. It’s a miracle in itself for us to collectively accept humiliation.
We might rightly argue that some other teams made similar changes, but their forefathers didn’t listen to them. The question we might ask is: which changes were made? Were they the right changes at the right time? I put it to you that it’s not as evident to align those two: the right changes at the right time. That is why only a miracle can make the cosmos align just at the right spacetime continuum. And maybe that’s where the intercession of Queen Pokou might have made a lot of difference.
Maybe your problem is getting that dream job, maybe it’s getting that funding for that business, maybe it’s getting that visa to continue your studies abroad, maybe it’s getting into that prestigious school, maybe it’s getting that dream man or woman, maybe it’s just being happy, maybe it’s getting rich. Whatever that be, the AME Within You is your best shot. Accept the challenge, true acceptance in humility is a miracle in the making. Make the necessary changes at the right time.
Remember, at times you will make the wrong changes or even the right changes but at the wrong time. For the cosmos to align, you must make the right changes at the right time, and that, my friend warrants hope. The Ivorians kept their hope in Queen Pokou who interceded for the cosmos to align. You too must put your hope in something, and keep moving. If you think you have nothing to put your hope on, then put it on your âme, your soul, because in the end, that’s all you’ve got. And whether you like it or not, your âme was created to win. So, dare to dream, embrace the journey, and never lose sight of the power within you, your âme. And when you want to give up, remember what Brother J will say: “my time has not yet come”. Keep moving.
Efuet Atem
Engineer, Autor, Smiling in Hardships
