AFCON: Le Roy, man with Midas touch chasing Afcon glory

Congo's coach Claude Le Roy reacts during the 2015 African Cup of Nations group A football match between Equatorial Guinea and Congo at Bata Stadium in Bata on January 17, 2015. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI

When Ivory Coast play Togo tonight from 7pm at the Stade d’Oyem in Oyem, more focus will be out of the field, rather than in it.

Not to mean the big boys on the well-manicured 20,500-seater stadium will be serving us with lackluster shows. Far from it. But, for the lovers of antiquity, Claude Le Roy will be the man of the moment.

For those wondering who the hell this 68-year-old is, well, when he coached his first African team, Boniface Kinoti Gatobu, the MP for Buuri, was not yet born. Kenya’s population was just above 19 million and it was the year the late Pope John Paul II paid Kenya a visit. That was 32 years ago, in 1985.

Yet, for the French man, who otherwise calls Africa home, he is still going strong. He is chasing his ninth trip to the continent’s top-most football extravaganza.

“No one gave us a chance before the qualifiers, but look at where we are now. This is a journey and we will get as far as it comes,” said the veteran tactician.

Without doubt, Le Roy, who is always in his thick lenses, is a legend and his passion for African football is unrivalled. He has the Midas touch; whatever he touches, turns into gold, metaphorically speaking.

His has been a journey of nothing, but consistency, where pacing up and down the touchline for an enviable 35 matches has been his way of life. From 1988, when he guided Cameroon to victory — his only Africa Cup of Nations title — the tactician has guided his teams to at least the quarter-finals on seven occasions. Enviable!

“Patience is what matters. That has seen me be where I am today,” Le Roy replied, when asked how he has managed to be on top of things for that long.

And it this pedigree that the coach hopes will cling on when he steps out of the dugout against defending champions Ivory Coast.

But in The Elephants, Le Roy has his hands full. This is not just another team. They are the Africa champions, who by no means, will be hunting for a successive title and join the ranks of Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana, who have defended their titles with pride.

And to further compound Le Roy’s woes, his counterpart on the Ivorian bench will be yet another Frenchman, Michel Dussuyer who will be hoping to put one past the master.