IVORY COAST
2008-2009
Match Worn Shirt
Manfredini Christian
Did you Know?
The Côte d’Ivoire national football team (French: Équipe de Côte d’Ivoire de football), nicknamed Les Éléphants (The Elephants), represents Ivory Coast in international football and is controlled by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Football (FIF). Until 2005, their greatest accomplishment was winning the 1992 African Cup of Nations against Ghana on penalties at the Stade Leopold Senghor in Dakar, Senegal. Their second success came in the 2015 edition, again defeating Ghana on penalties at the Estadio de Bata in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. The team qualified for three consecutive FIFA World Cups between 2006 and 2014, but has never advanced beyond the group stage. Côte d’Ivoire has produced several notable players who have played in Europe, including Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré, Emmanuel Eboué, Wilfried Bony, Seydou Doumbia, Gervinho, Eric Bailly, Serge Aurier, Wilfried Zaha, Salomon Kalou and Kolo Touré. Having become a fixed presence in the World Cup (since 2006) and having won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, the team is generally considered to be one of the best African teams of the last decade.[citation needed] This is also confirmed by FIFA Ranking in the reference period, never been so high for Les Éléphants.
Things to Know:
In 2006, Manfredini was handed his maiden national team callup by his country of birth, the Côte d’Ivoire. On 1 March 2006, Manfredini was selected for the squad to face Spain in a friendly match, however remained an unused substitute. He was not selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Manfredini was called up again for the friendly match against Senegal on 16 August 2006, but did not get to play either. In November 2008, Côte d’Ivoire’s new manager, Bosnian Vahid Halilhodžić, gave Manfredini a recall to the national side for the friendly game in Israel, in which Manfredini was finally able to make his official debut for the Ivorian national team.
