The absence of Seko Fofana for the last two meetings of the Elephants raises questions. It brings to the surface locker room problems and a deep malaise within the Ivorian team.
Qualified automatically for the 2023 AFCON, which it will organize next January, Côte d'Ivoire continues to refine its automatisms. But the absence of Seko Fofana is causing a stir. Jean-Louis Gasset, the Ivorian coach, said in a press conference before the match against the Comoros in Bouaké that it was his choice not to select the captain of Lens (France). "I have discussed with the players. I decided not to call up Seko and Zaha. I like to have players in the group who are 100% physically and mentally. The real reasons are between the players and me. We said things to each other and that pushed me to make decisions. I decided not to call them. But soon they will be called," said Gasset on March 23, 2023.
Recalled as a reinforcement in September 2022 after having distanced himself from the selection in October 2021, Seko Fofana was to become an indisputable starter and a key man in the system. This is no longer the case because a lot of water has flowed between his great performances in friendlies in late 2022 and this FIFA window of March 2023.
The 10-day training camp in September 2022 had convinced Gasset to make Seko Fofana the new metronome of the national team of Côte d'Ivoire. His two exceptional games against Togo, beaten 2 goals to 1, and against Guinea, with a 60-meter sprint to score the third Ivorian goal, had convinced everyone except a tiny group of teammates who believe that he can not arrive when he wants, as he wants and receive so many honors. "He's the kind of player who sorts out the matches, when they don't feel like making a trip that's deemed exhausting, like Wilfried Zaha. They come to the selection when it suits them and this creates problems in the locker room among us players assiduous, "said a player, who requested anonymity, before training on March 23, 2023, in the corridors of the Stadium of Bouake.
"There are lords in this team and they do not want an intruder in the locker room especially when the latter is popular with the leaders and the Ivorian public. The return of Seko Fofana has only confirmed this block of old guards who do not want a star above them in terms of aura and talent. When the federation celebrated Gradel's 100 caps in the Comoros on March 27, they were clustered around Gradel. There was Bailly, Kessié... Aurier is also part of it," said Rash N'Guessan, former star presenter on national radio and television consultant.
Seko Fofana divides the locker room
In November 2022, against Burundi and Burkina Faso, Seko Fofana tested positive for Covid-19 and could not be there. Against the Comoros, he was also absent. The captain of the Elephants, Serge Aurier, did not fail to react to this absence in the program Talents D'Africa before the double confrontation against the Coelacanths. "I think that everyone has his personal opinion but the decision will be made by the coach. We are players and we would like to have Seko with us, but we are focused on those who are with us, who are present, who want to be able to win these two matches and build something," he reacted almost annoyed, clearly showing that he did not care about the absence of the winner of the Marc Vivien Foé 2022 award.
Better, as the current captain, he did not have the essence of the discussion between Seko Fofana and Gasset. "The discussion between him and the coach, we do not know it so we do not go into details. But we are preparing something big so everyone must be there," he added. A statement that clearly shows the unease in the dressing room about the Sang et Or. Especially since a source close to the Federation is formal about the federal intentions towards the native of Paris. "There is no concern between Seko and coach Gasset. There may be a problem with other players because behind the scenes, they learn that the coach wants to make Seko his captain and the key player for the next CAN, " said our interlocutor.
Not to mention that the rumors about the armband that Aurier wears and that Seko Fofana would like are not ready to fade away despite the scathing denial of the French technician. "The absence of Seko has nothing to do with the captain's armband. This is a pure invention," Gasset clearly denied. The next international window, scheduled for next June, during which he ensures that Fofana will be called again, will situate everyone definitively.
