Marc Wilmots appointed as manager of Cote d'Ivoire
Marc Wilmots is taking his sluggish leadership to West Africa.
On Tuesday, almost two months after Cote d'Ivoire crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the group stage, Wilmots was appointed as Les Elephants' manager.
The Belgian tactician will sign a two-year contract.
Wilmots' contract with the Koninklijke Belgische Voetbalbond was ended after Belgium's poor performance at Euro 2016. Despite boasting a squad packed with big names and entering the tournament as No. 2 in the FIFA World Ranking, the Belgian Red Devils lacked cohesion and were eliminated in the quarter-finals, falling 3-1 to Wales.
Similarly, Cote d'Ivoire is recovering from the Africa Cup of Nations, where Les Elephants carried some of African football's biggest names to Gabon, only to be poached in the group stage without a single victory. Michel Dussuyer stood down as the national team's manager.
For over a decade Côte d'Ivoire have had a hugely gifted squad that has largely underperformed. Marc Wilmots seems ideal for them.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) March 21, 2017
The first task for Wilmots, who was "seduced" by the Federation Ivoirienne de Football's project which will run until at least 2021, is to lead Cote d'Ivoire to the 2018 World Cup. Les Elephants find themselves atop Group C with a win and a draw from two qualifiers. Morocco, Gabon, and Mali are in the group.