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Eriksson named Ivory Coast coach

Summary

31 March 2010

Sven-Goran Eriksson has been named as the new coach of the Ivory Coast national football team. He'll have just over two months to prepare his new team for the World Cup tournament in South Africa.

Reporter:

Richard Connelly

Report

The Ivorian Football Federation sacked their previous coach last month when the team failed to get past the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, and were known to be seeking a high-profile replacement. By appointing Eriksson, they have certainly succeeded.

He came to prominence in Italian football, but took the step up to international management, after being named England coach in 2001. Twice he led the team to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, but he left with expectations of greater success unfulfilled.

Ivory Coast have serious hopes of their own - their captain Didier Drogba is one of the world's best goalscorers, and the team is arguably the most talented in Africa. But Eriksson has never worked on the continent before, and has little time to work with the players before the World Cup in South Africa.

Richard Connelly, BBC News