Sebastien Gnahore, an ex-footballer who fled Ivory Coast, recalls those times. When I called my sister I could hear the shooting outside the house," he says. That's the only worry I had each morning. The initial violence was fierce but short-lived, as both sides became quickly entrenched along a north-south divide. Much of the fighting had ended in , but tensions were rising once again in The future of the West African country looked bleak.
Modern footballers can seem a world away from the everyday man and woman. The money involved can catapult them into a different realm, and the results can be unpalatable. But the Ivorian players that evening, despite their multi-million-pound lives in Europe, knew much more was at stake. And nobody encapsulated this quite like the man who led their line, and who was about to take centre stage. His nine-year stay in the Premier League was synonymous with a number of things - including a brutally effective, bulldozing style of centre-forward play and accusations ranging from unsportsmanlike behaviour to outright cheating.
Love him or hate him, his achievements in west London were unquestionable. Arsene Wenger, whose Arsenal side frequently found themselves on the wrong end of Drogba's brutal style, said of him: "He is a winner and he will be like that until the end of his life. Drogba was indeed a serial winner, but the pressure on that October night in Sudan was entirely different. Cameroon's match against Egypt in Yaounde and Ivory Coast's fixture with Sudan kicked off simultaneously.
Ivory Coast, knowing nothing less than a victory would do, made short work of a Sudanese side second-bottom in the group. In the 73rd minute, Aruna Dindane tucked away his second goal, and the team's third. An 89th-minute Sudanese strike was no more than a consolation. Events were unfolding relatively straightforwardly - but nearly 1, miles away in Yaounde, the picture was very different.
Cameroon took the lead in the 20th minute, but the game was tight. A 79th-minute equaliser, bundled in by Mohammed Shawky, brought Egypt level and swung the tide back into the Ivorians' favour. A draw - so long as they beat Sudan - would see them qualify. With just seconds remaining in Yaounde, and with the score locked at , Ivory Coast looked set for their maiden trip to the World Cup.
Their match in Sudan had finished. Drogba was standing, surrounded by his team-mates. They were all listening to the radio and waiting. Then the crushing news filtered through. Cameroon had been awarded a soft penalty in the fourth minute of injury time. For every tale of heartbreak, there must be one of joy. Pierre Wome's spot-kick crashed against the left-hand post and flew wide.
The Cameroon players gathered, dazed and despondent in the penalty area, some pulling their shirts over their eyes. On the other side of the continent, Ivory Coast erupted. For the first time in their history, they would compete at the highest level of international football. That day we all forgot the country was still divided," says Hassane Omar, a year-old student in Abidjan at the time. For all the breathless footballing drama that took place that night, the most seismic event did not occur on the football pitch, but in the cramped away dressing room at the Al-Merrikh Stadium.
A post-game prayer led by Drogba had become something of a ritual, but this would be different. With the celebrations unfolding, a TV camera was ushered into the changing room.
The players huddled before it, their arms draped across each other's shoulders. Standing in the centre, microphone in hand, was the imposing figure of the Chelsea striker. Please lay down your weapons and hold elections," Drogba urged. The clip, available on YouTube, is barely a minute long and ends with the players on their feet once more. Back home, the party had already started. There were reports of a conga line outside the Egyptian embassy as Ivorians showed their appreciation for the draw in Cameroon.
Even the rebel capital of Bouake bounced to the beat of victory that night. For all the revelry, and for all the 'Drogbas' - bottles of beers renamed in the striker's honour - Ivory Coast still woke up the following morning in the same situation, as a deeply divided country. Yet something was stirring and the following weeks and months were to see a dramatic change. The video clip played relentlessly on television as if the sheer force of media exposure might be enough to enact change.
And change did follow. Both sides moved closer to the negotiating table and a ceasefire was finally signed. While any Hollywood scriptwriter would have been proud of this ending, the story was not quite finished.
It was a respectable first performance. It's not the transfer speculation that has caused this uncertainty; it's the erratic performance over the last season of many players, most notably Didier Drogba. At 6-foot-2 and built like a ton of bricks, Drogba has consistently appalled me at the ease with which he goes to ground. If a challenge is bad, make the most of it, any manager would tell you that. However, blatant diving brings the club and the game as a whole into disrepute, as well as leading to looks of utter consternation when a truly bad challenge goes unpunished.
It's the 'boy who cried wolf' principle, Didier. His constant challenging of referees' decisions further undermines his undisputed talent.
Watch Live. Breaking News Close. You may also like. From the same country. Romelu has a variety of strengths. He is strong in the air, he will give us a new power when we cross from the side. We do not have to change our style of play to make him shine. After all, Chelsea's problem last season wasn't creating chances but taking them. Many of those were from close range and the expectation will be on Lukaku to finish the same patterns of play where Werner couldn't.
All 24 of his Serie A goals last season came from within the width of the six-yard box. Drogba's goals against Arsenal were slightly more varied -- including one free kick from outside the box and multiple finishes from tight angles -- but he was principally effective in the same areas close to goal where Lukaku needs to be.
Developing an understanding with those around him is likely to take time but Lukaku is more adaptable these days and it helps that the others in Tuchel's system have had a season to gel together.
Kai Havertz and Mason Mount are the frontrunners to occupy the two No. Werner could play there and will also hope to rival Lukaku up front but the Belgian's responsibility is clear, underlined by inheriting the No. Lukaku's goal record is remarkable, particularly so for a player who has never truly escaped question marks over his quality.
To date, he has netted times in games at club level, plus a Belgian record of 64 in 98 games internationally. It is perhaps easy to forget he also already has more Premier League goals than Drogba managed throughout his career, and in less time.
Drogba required games to reach goals. Meanwhile, by scoring in Manchester United's win at Watford in September , Lukaku noted his th in his th match.
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