Côte d’Ivoire coach Emerse Faé spoke to the RMC Sport Afrique podcast about the first selection of Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old winger from Paris Saint-Germain. As a dual national, the Parisian player had a choice between the French national team and Côte d’Ivoire. Faé insists that the choice was not an easy one, and that he respects his choice.
Faé “We exchanged a lot together”.
“We’ve been talking to Désiré Doué’s entourage and Désiré himself for about two years now. I’ve already met him two or three times since the Paris Olympic Games. We’ve talked a lot and he’s obviously a player we’d like to have back and who’s thought about it for a long time. For a long, long time, his heart beat between coming to play for Côte d’Ivoire and playing for France.
Faé “Unfortunately, circumstances meant that France approached him at the same time as we did.”
Unfortunately, circumstances meant that France asked for him at the same time as we did. He decided to play for France, so we respect his choice. We wish him all the best for the rest of his international career. As for us, we’ll continue to work with the players we have at our disposal and in our process to bring in the binationals we want.”
It’s not easy to choose between two selections that are close to your heart. Equipe de France offers great guarantees, but Côte d’Ivoire was also an interesting choice, as was his brother Guela Doué. We can imagine that everyone tried to convince the player. In the end, after the Olympic Games, it was France that succeeded in attracting him.
By playing for PSG, he was perhaps keen to continue with Les Bleus, a logical progression in a sense. We wish Doué all the best for his career. He now needs to become a regular and continue to prove that he can make great contributions.
