Actu Gervinho/CAN 2012 : « I have no reason to miss the Cup of Nations»

Like your captain Didier Drogba, do you think the 2012 Afcon will be a more difficult tournament for Cote d’Ivoire even with the absence of some heavy weights?

 Yes, you know nothing is easy. Heavy weights have been eliminated but we should not expect a very easy tournament. On the contrary, this sill seems to be very difficult. We hope this time around will be Cote d’Ivoire’s because the moment has come for us and we are conscious. We will not underrate any team and we will take the games one after the other in order to arrive.

Do you still have memories of your elimination at the 2010 Afcon in Angola at the quarter finals against Algeria?

 Yes, but that is not the only memory, we equally have memories of our recent eliminations in several competitions. We know that each time we play at the Afcon, we always fail to deliver the results. Therefore we have the zeal to do better and not to miss this one.

How can you explain the fact that Cote d’Ivoire have high profile individual talents yet lack the collective flair?

 The same things are being said over and over, thus I don’t have much to say about that. It is always the same thing thus the most important thing is to forget about the past and concentrate on the future. We need to face the competition and win it in order to forget about what has often happened in the past.

« The nation is in need of the victory »

Are you optimistic at the end of the qualifiers of this Afcon?

Yes, because we finished the qualifiers in good shape after starting it off well. We won all our games and this is good to boost our morals ahead of the competition. Now we have no right to miss this Afcon, thus we need to start preparing at the highest level of our form.

Which teams will you prefer during the draws?

Not really, I have no preference. All the teams are good and we can not underrate any team at this level.

Do you feel the frustration after  your first years spent with the national team to have won nothing?
Yes, for me as well as the whole team and the nation. There is frustration given that the nation has been waiting for a trophy for quite some time now. This country has gone through difficult moments but football brings a lot, therefore a trophy will be very great for us.