Administrator
25 June 2008
Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure has said he is pleased with the progress that the team is making after a disappointing time at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
The Elephants finished fourth in Ghana and have a new coach in Vahid Halihodzic for their campaign to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and Nations Cup.
After three unconvincing performances, Ivory Coast beat Botswana 4-0 on Sunday to take control of Group Seven.
"At the start we had a lot of difficulties - we travelled a lot and after the season people were tired," said Toure. "Our friendly match against Japan was very difficult for us. Then we played Mozambique and then two games away.
"The coach is trying to give us a new style and it wasn't easy at the start. We're trying to create a way of playing together - it's true that we have lots of individuals."
Ivory Coast's reputation was seriously dented in Ghana, where they were widely-tipped to win the trophy and build into a formidable unit for the 2010 World Cup.
But they imploded in the semi-finals, losing 4-1 to Egypt, and were then beaten 4-2 by Ghana in the third-place play-off match.
"It's clear Ivorians were disappointed with how we played at the Nations Cup and we understand this - we were the first to be disappointed," said Toure.
"We really wanted to win this for Ivory Coast. When you love someone and they do stupid things, it's true that you're a bit disappointed and that's what happened with us."
Toure hopes that Elephants fans will have taken heart from the defeat of Botswana that puts them three points clear in their group in the 2010 qualifiers. "We did that for Ivorians to give them lots of pleasure because they're in our hearts."
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