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Cote D’Ivoire Win AFCON, As Ghana Bow Out Unfortunate Runners-Up

Cote D’Ivoire Win AFCON, As Ghana Bow Out Unfortunate Runners-Up

A palpable sense of redemption permeated as Yaya Toure lifted the AFCON trophy above his great head and his team-mates began their lap of victory around the running track at the Estadio de Bata. For years Les Elephants were stigmatized as the ‘perennial chokers’. The most talented team in Africa, but their failure to win the continent’s most prestigious tournament hinted at a lack of mental strength.

For a moment on Sunday night, as the first couple of penalty kicks were dispatched, it seemed the same old predestined script would haunt Cote D’Ivoire. Wilfried Bony, who seems the man to finally have compensated for Didier Drogba’s absence in attack, smashed the first penalty against the crossbar.

The Black Stars of Ghana scored their first two spot-kicks, increasing pressure on Junior Tallo, who Renard introduced just a few seconds before the final whistle for this unenviable task. Tallo’s uncle, Saint-Joseph Gadji Celi played in the infamous Ghana vs. Cote D’Ivoire 1992 Africa Cup of Nations final that also stretched into penalty-kicks. Celi scored his twelve-yard shot, but Tallo mishit his past RazakBraimah’s outstretched hands and past the left goalpost, wide.

At two-nil, Cote D’Ivoire could not afford to miss another penalty kick. Instead of crumbling, Herve Renard’s veterans stood tall when history came knocking on their door. Copa Barry kept out the following two penalties, while Kolo and Yaya Toure scored two of Cote D’Ivoire’s final three from the spot. The next six kick-takers from each respective side would score, before Barry and Braimah – the goalkeepers – were forced to face one another.

‘Spiderman’ Braimah kept his head down and side-footed to Barry’s left. But the experienced goalkeeper who was only re-introduced to Cote D’Ivoire’s starting eleven for the final guessed correctly and strong-palmed the feeble attempt away. Immediately after the save, Barry collapsed citing cramp in his calf which prompted a short delay.

As he stood to take his penalty, it became evident that Barry’s face was indistinguishably wet with sweat or tears. The 35 year-old keeper, who is very much an integral part of the stigmatized Ivorian golden generation, assumed his responsibilities and wrong-footed Braimah to win his country the coveted AFCON title.

Sweet, comforting relief descended upon the pitch, as twenty-three men and their technical staff cathartically celebrated. Some ran to their team-mates, some lay face-down on the pitch, while others comforted distraught Ghanaians. Gervinho, who wasted away Cote D’Ivoire’s 2012 campaign with a wayward penalty shot, had childlike wonder in his face. He seemed the happiest of all, hopping into Yaya Toure’s welcoming arms and hugging as many of his team-mates as he could get an arm around.

Sorrowful Black Stars

The result was particularly unfair to Ghana, the more willing side on the night. The Black Stars held the lion’s share of possession and kissed the goalpost twice with efforts on goal. Captain Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew was inconsolable, sobbing uncontrollably throughout the trophy presentation.

A few Ivorians and opposing coach Herve Renard tried comforting the Olympique de Marseille star, but it proved futile, as Ayew’s tears were unending. It was a beautifully pitiful sight that suitably encompassed how much this trophy means to African stars playing for their country.

It was probably Kolo Toure’s, Copa Barry’s, Siaka Tiene’s, and Salomon Kalou’s last tournament in the international arena. Most Ivorian stars played together since juvenescence at the famed ASEC Mimosas Jean-Marc Guillou academy.

With Didier Drogba, Didier Zokora, Arthur Boka and others, they formed one of African history’s most talented sides. Though some, like Drogba, have already taken their international retirement, it seems fitting that, at least, a group of Cote D’Ivoire’s superstars will be remembered as AFCON champions.

Third Place For Kidiaba & Co

Another legend of the African game, Robert Kidiaba, called a close to his career on Saturday afternoon. The eccentric 39-year-old goalkeeper left on a high after helping DR Congo to an unexpected third-placed finish ahead of hosts Equatorial Guinea. The two sides played out a dull 0-0 draw, and after only ninety minutes, the match official indicated that the result would be determined by penalty-kicks.

Two of the tournament’s best goalkeepers – Kidiaba and Felipe Ovono Ovono – faced off. The young Ovono Ovono was surely the revelation of the tournament, repeatedly extinguishing ferocious attacks. But it was the braided, pony-tailed TP Mazembe shot-stopper who caught the eye.

Before Javier Balboa stepped up to the dreaded white pockmark in the middle of the eighteen-yard box, Kidiaba performed a standing backflip to unnerve the tournament’s joint-top goalscorer. The mind-games seemed to work as Balboa uncharacteristically lost his cool and blasted wide. Kidiaba then saved two more penalty-kicks, winning his first international distinction. What transpired next was genuinely heart-warming. The captain’s team-mates cleared the bench and formed a circle around him as he got on his bottom and performed the ‘Kidiaba Bounce’ one final time.

Kidiaba’s last dance, Gervinho’s jubilation, Ayew’s tears, and Renard’s fatherly consolation. The last two matches of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations manufactured memorable moments that will nestle in supporters’ hearts for years to come.