Sharpeville, South Africa: Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba missed a World Cup training session Saturday to receive further treatment on his broken arm, leaving him in doubt for the team's opening match against Portugal.
After the session, midfielder Didier Zokora said he was unsure whether the Chelsea striker would play against Portugal on Tuesday in Port Elizabeth, but insisted Drogba remained in good spirits.
"Even if he's not playing with us every time, he's the captain and he leads the team very, very well," Zokora told reporters at the team's headquarters.
Drogba broke his right arm in a friendly against Japan on June 4 and had surgery the next day.
Drogba trained with the team the past two days, but wore a protective cast as he worked on his ball skills and fitness.
Ivory Coast is widely considered to be Africa's best hope of lifting the World Cup. It is blessed with a wide array of talent, including Drogba's Chelsea teammate, Salomon Kalou, and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure.
Kolo Toure, the Manchester City defender and older brother of Yaya, said Ivory Coast had to start delivering, with or without Drogba, after years of failing to build on its collective promise. He said newly-appointed coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who took England to the quarterfinals in 2002 and 2006, has made the team realize it has badly underperformed.
"He just knew what is missing in our team, because we have great players, but we can't jell," Toure said. "At the moment, we are working on team spirit because that's the most important."
Eriksson, who was appointed in March following the dismissal of coach Vahid Halilhodzic in February, has spent a lot of time talking with the players in recent weeks, trying to bring team spirit about, Toure said.
"For some time, instead of thinking about the team, (we have been) thinking about ourselves. Mr. Eriksson came in and said if we wanted to be one of the best teams in this World Cup, we need to work together," Toure said.
Ivory Coast faces an uphill task to get through Group G, which includes 2006 semifinalist Portugal, five-time winner Brazil and North Korea.
"I think the group is very tough," Toure said. "We know we are outsiders."
This is Ivory Coast's second consecutive World Cup appearance. The team was also in a difficult group in Germany in 2006, failing to get past the group stage following defeats against Argentina and the Netherlands.
Comments
0 comment