The CAF Africa Cup of Nations is, needless to say, a football competition. But since the start of the tournament, other oppositions have taken place outside the playing areas.
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The competition in terms of atmosphere
In terms of atmosphere, the official CAN anthem was simply dethroned par the blow of the hammer of Tam Sir and his team. The competition between two musical genres, one without a clear musical identity and difficult to position in a specific genre, despite the anthology of stars who sing it (Magic system feat Yemi Alade and Mohamed Ramadan) has been supplanted by the second, produced by less famous artists.
The success of blow of the hammer was basically predictable. This title was produced in the pure fiery tradition of coupé-décalé. In addition, this carefree and enthusiastic musical style fits well with the excited and passionate atmosphere of football matches. It was further created by artists who are of the same generation as the majority of athletes. Furthermore, CAN 2023 takes place in the land where the coupé-décalé was born, Ivory Coast.
Goal celebration with “the hammer blow” in European championships, photo credit: facebook.com
The atmosphere in homes, maquis, open-air broadcast spaces, fun zones, stadiums and even on tik-tok profiles, not to mention on the football field abroad is a pure illustration of this . The blow of the hammer of Tam Sir et sa team (to the team fear) is played everywhere in a loop; it is even hummed and danced by fanatics of all ages and nationalities, others even take pleasure in covering it in other musical styles.
AKWABA, the official anthem of CAN 2023
In short, anonymous and younger people, full of genius and talent, prevail over celebrities. Like what : “Fish can swim, but not in chili sauce”says the Baoulé proverb: “Kpatra si nzüé see, in yélé makun nzüé”
The tournament within the tournament also took place during matches between neighboring countries.
Regional Derbys
On the playing field, supremacy in West Africa was respected, with the thrilling victories of the elephants of Ivory Coast, firstly against the lions of Teranga of Senegal, and secondly against the eagles of Mali. The myth of Ivorian invincibility was thus maintained in the face of Senegal and Mali, two nations which have never beaten Ivory Coast in football. This supremacy also reveals the antagonism of beliefs.
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Gospel versus charlatanism
The victory of the elephants against Senegal for the eighths and then Mali for the semis, two nations renowned for their strong tradition of maraboutages; is according to the Ivorians, that of the gospel on charlatanism. These victories, one on penalties and the other, in the final moments of added time, each time after being behind, are only the confirmation, for Ivory Coast supporters, of the divine action in the miraculous qualification of the elephants in the second round of the competition. Their passage to this stage of the tournament has even been described as a resurrection.
The elephants of Ivory Coast thanking the sky after each victory, photo credit: facebook.com
This belief is all the more confirmed as the boasting of Senegalese and Malian charlatans on social networks and the great predictions of so-called Ivorian servants of God regarding the imminent defeat of the elephants in front of their two sordid adversaries contrast with humility and calm. of the Ivorians after their unexpected draft. “God’s plan is not man’s plan“, concluded the elephant fans after their two precious victories, while confirming their renewed devotion with the biblical verse towards their team: “For I know well what I intend to do for you: it is peace and not misfortune. I want to give you a future and a hope. » (Jeremiah 29, 11)
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The modesty of the Ivorians and the increase in their piety were, likely, the catalysts for the victories that followed against their adversaries. The two attitudes reveal one of the greatest victories, if not one of the greatest competitions underlying the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Local coach versus expatriate coach
The antagonism between local coach and expatriate coach is all the more fascinating as it took place within the same team, that of the host country of the competition, Ivory Coast.
Interim coach Faé Emerse, Ivorian, by stringing together 3 victories in a row to qualify his team for the final, succeeded where his former boss, an expatriate, had failed in the first round of the competition.
Beyond Faé Emerse, on paper deputy of the former coach, but in reality relegated to a hypothetical position of collaborator of the French Jean-Louis de Gasset and his unofficial deputy, it is the local values which prevail over the imported experiences. It must be recognized that this is so because local quality is in reality the sum of indigenous values and what comes from elsewhere, such as the journey of Faé Emerse. He is Ivorian, born in France, trained there, he coached there before joining the staff of the Ivory Coast national team, first as coach of the junior team, then as assistant from the coach of team A.
Faé Emerse, the interim coach of the elephants (center) surrounded by his collaborators and players, photo credit: facebook.com
Local talent is valuable and should be valued. This is all the more so since Faé Emerse managed to qualify the elephants for the CAN final (incidentally like his illustrious predecessors and compatriots Yéo Martial and Zahui François) while it is a default choice of the FIF (Ivorian football federation). After the resignation or dismissal (we don’t really know anymore) of Gasset, those in charge of the FIF negotiated with another expatriate coach (Hervé Renard) to replace a previous expatriate who had failed miserably. Fortunately, one could say that these negotiations were unsuccessful.
As we can clearly see at CAN 2023, with the successes of Full Sirof Faé Emerse and Elephants, there are many competitions and even great competitions within the competition. And it is the small ones or the anonymous ones, in any case, those who demonstrate humility and make their genius, their devotion and their passion speak which supplant the others. The spirit of CAN 2023 is simply a real psychological and even mystical advantage for the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire, who put themselves in the shoes of the little one, with a view to the final victory against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.