Elephants play for pride
20 Jun 2006 - 11:41:21
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- Elephants play for pride
Ivory Coast and Serbia Montenegro will both be playing for pride when they meet in Munich on Wednesday.
The two teams are pointless after their first two Group C games, but their performances have been in sharp contrast.
Ivory Coast have produced some good football in both their defeats - 2-1 to Argentina and Holland - and were unlucky not to take at least a point from both games.
However, Serbia Montenegro's much-vaunted defence was taken apart by Argentina in Gelsenkirchen last Friday as they slumped to a 6-0 defeat after losing their opening game to Holland 1-0.
The two coaches - Ivory Coast's Henri Michel and the east Europeans' Ilija Petkovic - will be in charge of their respective teams for the last time after confirming they will be leaving their posts at the end of the tournament.
Michel will be without the suspended Didier Drogba after his captain was booked in both the group games and the coach has hinted that he will make wholesale changes to his starting line-up.
"Drogba is not at his full capacity either physically or psychologically," said the Frenchman. "It is clear he is very disappointed.
"There is a bad atmosphere in Serbia Montenegro's team and that shows on the pitch, for pride's sake they will be seeking a win."
Serbia Montenegro have endured a dismal tournament with an injury to Nemanja Vidic and coach Petkovic's son, Dusan, leaving the squad just before the start of the competition over a nepotism row not helping their cause.
Captain Savo Milosevic said in the build-up to the Ivory Coast clash: "It's difficult to play matches like this one, with almost nothing to win and everything to lose, although we have lost too much already.
"Ivory Coast are a strong side but, at this point in time, we would find any World Cup team a tough opponent."
A disappointed Petkovic added: "I will resign when we come home but I will not step down while the tournament is still in progress.
"We did well to qualify for the World Cup and I am not going to apologise to anyone for what happened against Argentina. Football is like that sometimes.
"The defeat has stained everything we have achieved but we must get back on our feet and move on."