Izuchukwu OkosiCote d’Ivoire’s caretaker coach Emerse Fae has reflected on the round of 16 game against Senegal and admitted that the pressure was intense heading into the clash with the deposed champions.
Fae who took over the reins of the Elephants after former coach, Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked following a calamitous group stage spoke to the media on their aspirations going into the quarterfinals and the effect of the meeting with Sadio Mane- inspired Teranga Lions.
The Ivorians suffered two defeats to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, 1-0 and 4-0 respectively albeit they began their Group A campaign with a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau.
“We had a difficult start, conceding an early goal, but I told the players at halftime to keep playing the same way, not get confused,” said Fae.
“It was my decision on what needed to be done. With Gasset, I would give an opinion and he would make the decision,” Fae explained.
The interim boss admitted he was under intense pressure before the Senegal showdown.
“There was a lot of pressure before the match, and match day was too long for me. I couldn’t nap as usual, thinking about all scenarios. If I said there was no pressure, I would be lying,” Fae confessed.
The interim coach added that the last group victory by Morocco in Group F which was the turning point for the team had given the team a huge boost in terms of confidence.
“Qualifying after Morocco’s win gave us confidence. We beat Senegal and eliminated them; morale is good,” said Fae.
Fae however stressed the team’s morale must remain top notch as they get set to play against the winner between Mali and Burkina Faso.
“We must not stop here; we must continue working, maintain this morale, and keep playing match by match,” the coach noted.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
