In August 2014, Ivoirian football had seen better days. A few weeks earlier, Les Éléphants had been knocked out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ at the group stage. Subsequently, on 8 August, the news that most Ivoirians had been dreading finally became a reality: Didier Drogba announced his retirement from the international scene.
“It’s the right time to stop, get some younger players in, and build a team for the years ahead,” said the dynamic forward, then aged 36. In a quirk of fate, Drogba, one of the greatest players in African football history, would bring his career to a close without winning a single international honour, and Côte d’Ivoire would lift the CAF Africa Cup of Nations without him the following year.
Having started out and made great progress alongside such a respected national icon, Gervais Kouassi, commonly known as “Gervinho”, took on the job of leading the Ivoirian attack, with the goal of helping his team-mates capture a second continental crown in 2017.
After coming through the ranks in Belgium, rising to prominence in France, and cementing his reputation in England and Italy, the attack-minded 29-year-old joined Chinese outfit Hebei China Fortune, who were recently promoted to the Chinese top flight, in January 2016.
It was in this new environment that FIFA.com met up with Gervinho to discuss how he has adapted to life in China, the return of Les Éléphants to the top table of African football, the experience the national team has gained from playing at three consecutive World Cups, and the current African qualifying campaign for Russia 2018.
Gervinho, how have your first few months gone in China, where you appear to have already won over your team-mates and the home fans?
Everything’s going well at the moment. The club’s done everything it can to help me integrate, and not just from a footballing point of view. And for now, it shows in our results, and I hope it’ll continue in the same vein. I’m enjoying discovering Chinese life – the people have been very welcoming and Qinhuangdao is a very beautiful city. I was already familiar with the stadium, because I played in a match there during the 2008 Olympic Football Tournament.
From your native Côte d’Ivoire to China, your career path has led you to a number of different countries and teams, but you’ve always managed to do well. What has enabled you to maintain that level of consistency?
Work, work and more work! I had that work ethic instilled in me way back when I was at the ASEC Mimosas youth academy. Without it, you won’t get anywhere. Now, due to having played in various leagues, I’ve built up experience, which helps me to adapt to all types of situations. I also knew that coming to China wouldn’t be a walk in the park, because the level of Chinese teams is now quite high. We played against Asian teams quite a few times during tours with Arsenal. And the arrival of quite a number of foreign players has boosted the overall level even more. Any player who ever thought that this league was easy would quickly have to revise their opinion!
What have you retained from each team you’ve played for during your career?
To be honest with you, every club that I’ve played for has had a huge role in making me the player I am now. Beveren was my apprenticeship, where I was introduced to the professional world and to European life. It was while I was at Le Mans that I was first capped for my country. In Lille, I won a French League and Cup double as well as several individual awards. At Arsenal, I got to experience the English League, as part of a team that I’d always wanted to play for ever since I was at my first youth academy. It was a magical time. And before I signed for my new team in China, I got to discover Serie A with Roma, a fantastic team with incredible fans who deserve to celebrate a league title every year.
What role has your former coach, Rudi Garcia, played in your career?
I’ve never hidden the fact that Rudi has been very important in my career. I played under him at Le Mans, Lille and Roma. Right from the start, we had a good understanding, both on and off the pitch. He helped me to become the player I am today.
Let’s talk about international football. You have over 70 caps, which makes you the second most capped player after Salomon Kalou. What role do you now have in the Côte d'Ivoire national team?
These days, I’m the captain of our national team. Salomon and I played together in the U-21 side and our senior international careers have been pretty similar. It’s a great source of pride to captain the team, and I hope that we can continue the good form we’ve shown recently. We’re in a transitional phase; the new team is young, and lots of long-serving players have left. The bar is set high because we’re the holders of the Cup of Nations until the next one is held in Gabon. Our first objective is to qualify for that, and then to defend our title.
Among your 20 international goals, is the winner you scored in the 2-1 victory over Japan at the 2014 World Cup your particular favourite?
All the goals I’ve scored for my national team are engraved in my memory. That one against Japan is definitely one of the most memorable, but I also look back fondly on some that I’ve put away in the Cup of Nations over the years. It’s a special feeling to score in major tournaments like the World Cup, because, given the limited number of spots available, it’s already extremely difficult to participate.
Despite boasting a squad that features some of the greatest players in Africa, Côte d’Ivoire have never managed to advance past the group stage at the World Cup. How do you account for those disappointments?
We’ve qualified for the last three World Cups, and each time we’ve had to deal with quite difficult groups. At the last one in Brazil, everyone thought that we’d finally get through to the knockout stages. Unfortunately, our last-minute 2-1 defeat by Greece put an end to that dream. I don’t think it was due to poor preparation. Our 2-1 loss to Colombia put us in trouble, after we’d got off to a good start by beating the Japanese. And then it all came down to those last few moments against Greece, who were simply sharper than us on the day. We can’t go back and rewrite history, but the experience served as a lesson, especially in our last Cup of Nations win.
You have played in two World Cups so far. In the first one, you faced Brazil, and in the second, the tournament took place in Brazil. How important was that to a player nicknamed “Gervinho”?
I played against Brazil during the first World Cup to ever be held in Africa. It was an enjoyable match that we ended up losing, unfortunately. At the time, we viewed the match almost like a kind of derby, because we were known as the “Brazil of Africa”. They’re World Cup regulars; they haven’t won the competition five times by chance! And you could see that on the pitch. But despite the defeat, it was a great experience, just like all of the matches at that World Cup, come to think of it.
In 2006, you were 19, and you were just embarking on a professional career with Beveren. How did you feel when Côte d’Ivoire made history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time?
Oh, it was amazing! And the way the qualifying campaign turned out, when we had to wait for Cameroon’s result, made it even more intense. It was a huge weight off the shoulders of our national team. After we’d done it once, we started qualifying for major tournaments all the time. It was also very beneficial for young players like me. People were suddenly able to find Côte d'Ivoire on a world map. And, most importantly, it enabled Ivoirian players to export their skills abroad. That’s one of the reasons that such a large contingent play in Europe now.
Is this crop of Ivoirian players the best in your country’s history?
We’ve always had a strong national team. Trying to work out which generation is or was the best is difficult. Taking part in the last three World Cups has helped us to show the entire globe what we can do, which obviously makes the team more popular. And there’s also the fact that all of our players play in leagues with a lot more media coverage.
What do you think your chances are of qualifying for a fourth consecutive World Cup?
It would be really fabulous if Côte d'Ivoire managed to qualify for four in a row. At the moment, we’re still in with a shout. It’s more difficult to qualify from Africa, as there are only five spots. But we’ve got a real chance, and we’ll fight hard to ensure that we get there.
What goals have you set yourself for 2016, with Hebei China Fortune and your national team?
At club level, the aim is to finish in the top eight. For the moment, we’re second behind Guangzhou Evergrande, so we’re not doing too badly. As for the national side, the objective is to qualify for the next Cup of Nations in Gabon and defend our continental title. Winning our qualifying matches for Russia 2018 is also a target. A nation like Côte d'Ivoire should always aim to be taking part in the final stages of the World Cup.