Saanen: Ivory Coast's stars support new coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, even though the Swedish boss began work with them for the World Cup just last week.
Defender Kolo Toure hailed Eriksson as one of the world's best coaches, and striker Didier Drogba said on Wednesday that the team was preparing well at its camp in the Swiss Alps.
The 62-year-old Eriksson, a former England and Mexico coach, was appointed to take over a talented Ivory Coast squad in March. That's left little time to prepare with the team before facing heavyweights Portugal and Brazil in Group G in South Africa.
"We couldn't have anyone better," Toure said of Eriksson. "He knows what we are capable of, what strengths we have and what weaknesses we need to improve on. He's a top-class manager."
Asked how camp with Eriksson had gone, Drogba added: "Everything has been really great."
England had modest success with Eriksson in charge, losing to Portugal in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup and four years earlier to Brazil — the opponents for Ivory Coast's first two matches in South Africa. The team finishes group play against North Korea.
Ivory Coast boasts plenty of talent. Toure is joined by his brother Yaya, a Spanish champion with Barcelona, and seasoned European stars in Seville's Didier Zokora, Chelsea's Salomon Kalou and Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue.
But the undoubted leader is Drogba, an imposing striker who powered Chelsea to the English Premier League title with a league-leading 29 goals in 32 matches.
Eriksson declined to be interviewed, but his longtime assistant Tord Grip summed up the importance of Drogba in typical Nordic understatement: "He's good," Grip said.
The team has gathered in Saanen for preparations at an altitude of 3,300 feet. On Wednesday, the players trained in front of a small group of locals, with sounds of jangling cowbells from the lime green meadows in the background.
"The priority in training is to form the team," Grip said.
Ivory Coast has until June 1 to trim its 30-man provisional squad to 23 players. It plays a friendly against Paraguay in neighboring France on Sunday, and Grip said the exercise would also help Eriksson and his assistants get a better idea of the starting lineup.
The Ivory Coast team kicks off against Portugal in Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at Port Elizabeth on June 15, then takes on five-time World Cup champion Brazil in Johannesburg five days later. They play North Korea at Nelspruit.
There's been some criticism of the decision to give the team to Eriksson, after his predecessor Vahid Halilhodzic guided the team through qualification. Halilhodzic was punished for a disappointing loss to Algeria in the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals.
Eriksson has said the primary objective for the World Cup should be reaching the last 16, and Toure acknowledged the difficult task.
"We have to perform well," he said, "but it's all in our hands. We have a big chance and a great manager. We might be considered outsiders, but we can make it."
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