After covering the knockout stages of what was arguably one of the best football tournaments of all-time in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Soccer Laduma journalist Kamogelo Motecwane has returned to South Africa to give us his thoughts on the football that was on show in the Ivory Coast in a three-part series. Here is part two!
Check Out: My Amazing Trip To The AFCON In Ivory Coast – Part 1
So in part one we left things with me being in Yamoussoukro watching South Africa make their first AFCON semi-final in 24 years. The following day, a five-hour bus ride back to Abidjan would ensue as I finished reporting on what had happened in the matches that had unfolded the day before.
At this point, I was contemplating taking yet another bus ride, which would be even longer, six to seven hours this time, to Bouake to watch Bafana Bafana take on Nigeria in the semis. However, after a few days of pondering my physical and mental well-being, I decided not to go and instead head to the Alassane Ouattara Stadium to watch the host nation play in the final four against DR Congo.
Now, while this may have been an unpatriotic decision, there was firstly money to consider. Ivory Coast is very expensive despite their weaker currency, and secondly, I felt obliged to bear witness to the home team play in a massive game and just be part of that experience. While I felt bad for missing out on watching Bafana, and even worse after watching our agonising penalty loss to the Super Eagles next to a Nigerian journalist, that feeling of despair temporarily dissipated when I bore witness to the atmosphere in that stadium. It was unreal and the best football environment I have been in.
I had been watching the Elephants all tournament long and they hadn't impressed, but it seemed that Sebastien Haller's introduction to the starting XI made them more of a threat and coupled with Simon Adingra's inclusion, they produced the best football I had seen them play throughout the tournament.
Leading up to the game, everywhere you would go throughout the city, almost everybody was wearing either a white kit or an orange Ivory Coast kit as the excitement for the fixture against the Leopards permeated throughout the Abidjan air. As we as the media were stuck in the insane traffic heading towards the match, the enthusiasm felt even more palpable and all that joy that had been building up manifested itself once the match kicked off.
I had never heard a more raucous crowd in my life as the team's fans were singing and cheering from the very beginning until the very end, with the arena erupting when Haller's volley went in during the second half. I left that stadium with my eardrums in pain, but it was definitely worth it looking back because in South Africa we generally don't support our national team that well and witnessing people love a football team that much was beautiful to see.
Check Out: 'Nigerians Are Fighters'
But the tie had set up a west African derby for the final, and Ivory Coast were either going to complete a miraculous redemption arc in their home tournament or Nigeria would be the ones to finally put an end to the festivities once and for all.
Stay tuned to the website to catch the second part of Kamogelo's trip to the AFCON in Ivory Coast!
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH VIDEO:
