This is Ivory Coast's second triumph in the competition. Their first triumph in the competition was back in 1992 when they incidentally, defeated Ghana via spot kicks 11-10.
The Ivory Coast coach, Herve Renard, emerged as the first coach to win the competition with 2 different teams. The other team being Zambia which he led to victory over his current team, the Ivory Coast, in the AFCON final in 2012.
Sadly for the Ghana coach, Avram Grant, it was another heart ache as he lost his second major final through the dreaded penalty shoot out. He previously managed Chelsea and led them to the Champions League final where they lost to Manchester United on penalties in Moscow after the game had ended in a stalemate.
The Ivory Coast victory is just reward for their persistence in their attempts to win the Cup of Nations since their last success in 1992. Ivory Coast has several academies where talented players are regularly produced. Unfortunately, Ivory Coast despite these talents, have under achieved in AFCON with players like Drogba, Dindane, Kader Keita, Boka, Bonaventure Kalou and many others failing to win the Cup of Nations trophy after reaching two finals and losing in dramatic circumstances,
There was fear amongst Ivory Coast supporters that the rest of the golden generation of stars with players who are still in the team like the Toure brothers, Zokora, Salomon Kalou, Barry, Gervinho and Eboue would not fulfill their potential by winning a major trophy. But against all odds, even when they were trailing by two spot kicks to Ghana in last Sunday's Final, their mental strength and never say die spirit saw them through to a famous victory.
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