Emerse Faé (born 24 January 1984) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and is currently the manager of the

Ivory Coast national football team The Ivory Coast national football team ( French: ''Équipe de football de Côte d'Ivoire'', recognized as the Côte d'Ivoire by FIFA) represents Ivory Coast in men's international football. Nicknamed ''the Elephants'', the team is managed by t ...

. Born in France, he played for France national teams at youth level and for the Ivory Coast national team at senior international level. He is the first manager in history to win a tournament, while being appointed during the tournament.

Club career

Youth career

Born in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, Faé started his youth career with FC Toutes Aides, before moving to

in 1999.

Nantes

Faé's senior career started in 2003 with his home town club, Nantes, who were then in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

. He made his European debut on 26 July 2003, in a 3–2 loss in the third round of the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

. In August 2003, he debuted in Ligue 1, in a 0–0 draw against

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. In the Coupe de la Ligue Final 2004, he started for Nantes, which eventually lost on penalties. He went on to play over 100 league games for them. On 9 May 2007, Nantes were relegated from Ligue 1 and he handed in a transfer request.

Reading

During the summer 2007

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Faé was strongly linked with a move to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, and eventually completed a £2.5m move on 2 August 2007, signing a three-year contract, with the option of a fourth. He was given the number 20 shirt. He made his Premier League debut for Reading as a makeshift right midfielder in the 3–0 defeat at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

on 25 August 2007. Faé contracted

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

while on Africa Cup of Nations duty, and fell ill in the buildup to Reading's match away to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 1 March 2008. He flew back south for medical treatment and had blood tests on 2 March, which revealed the disease. After failing to break into the Reading first team, Faé refused to play for the reserve team against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

reserves along with

Ibrahima Sonko Ibrahima Sonko (born 22 January 1981) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Sonko moved to France from Senegal at a young age and began his career with Olympique Noisy-le-Sec and AS Saint-Étienne, before ...

. Both were fined two weeks wages and suspended for two weeks, therefore missing the last two league games of the season, which ended with Reading being relegated. Faé then flew back to France with both

Steve Coppell Stephen James Coppell (born 9 July 1955) is an English professional football manager and former player. As a player, Coppell was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed, technical ability and work rate. He won domestic honours with ...

and said that he would never play for Reading again. During his time with Reading, he started in only six games.

Nice

In June 2008, he was loaned to Ligue 1 side

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, and on 20 September, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

. On 29 January 2009, it was confirmed that Faé had completed a permanent move to Nice for an undisclosed fee. On 18 October 2009, Faé was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

with a second yellow card, after he directed abusive language towards the referee in a 4–1 loss against

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

. He was suspended for three matches by the league. Nice also promised to discipline him internally. On 1 February 2012, Faé announced his retirement from football at age 28, due to ongoing problems with

phlebitis Phlebitis (or venitis) is inflammation of a vein, usually in the legs. It most commonly occurs in superficial veins. Phlebitis often occurs in conjunction with thrombosis (clotting inside blood vessels) and is then called thrombophlebitis or ...

International career

As a teenager, Faé played football for the French U17 and U21 teams. He debuted for the French U17 team in an 8–0 win over Liechtenstein on 26 February 2001, and was in the team that won the

2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Championship 2001, the ninth edition of the tournament, was held from 13 to 30 September 2001 in the cities of Trinidad and Tobago; in Port of Spain, Malabar in Arima, Marabella in San Fernando, Couva, and Bacolet in Scarbo ...

in Trinidad and Tobago. However, in 2005, following a FIFA rule change concerning national team eligibility, Faé switched allegiances from France to

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, the country from which his parents had come. He received his first call up to the Ivory Coast national team for a World Cup qualifier against

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

on 27 March 2005. He made his debut in the 3–0 win. Faé scored his first goal for the Ivory Coast in a 1–1 draw against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 27 May 2006, when he fired in a 30-yard shot, two minutes after coming on. Faé went on to play at the

2006 African Cup of Nations The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt, from 20 January to 10 February. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split in ...

, appearing at every match for a total of 452 minutes. He also played for the country in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

. He was called up to the Ivory Coast 23-man squad for the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

, and made his first appearance at the tournament in the Elephants' 3–0 victory over

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

on 29 January 2008. He was also selected for the

2010 African Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange (telecommunications), Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial association football, football championship of Africa (Confederat ...

, in which he appeared twice as a substitute. Faé was also selected in the preliminary Ivory Coast squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, but was eventually dropped along with

Bakari Koné Bakari Koné (born 17 September 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a winger. Club career Early career Koné was born in Abidjan. Like many other Ivorian stars, he began his career at the famed youth academy at A ...

and

Gilles Yapi Yapo Gilles Donald Yapi Yapo (born 30 January 1982) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Abidjan, Yapi Yapo started his career at ASEC Mimosas and then moved to Europe with Beveren. He joined Na ...

, who played with him in the 2006 World Cup.

Managerial career

During the 2012–13 season, Faé joined the training center of his former club Nice in order to obtain his football coaching diplomas. After three seasons, he coached their under-17, and then the under-19 in 2018–19. On 8 July 2021, he became the head coach of Clermont reserve team. On 20 May 2022, he became the manager of Ivory Coast U23, and assistant coach of Ivory Coast senior team under

Jean-Louis Gasset Jean-Louis Gasset (born 9 December 1953) is a French professional football manager and former player. As a player, he played as a midfielder, spending ten years at his hometown club Montpellier. Football career Born in Montpellier, Gasset played ...

. On 24 January 2024, Faé was appointed as caretaker of Ivory Coast starting from the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

round of 16, following the dismissal of Gasset. He then led his country to defeat the defending champions

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

on penalties,

after extra-time, and

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

in the semi-finals. Eventually, Ivory Coast clinched the title after a 2–1 victory over

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. He was also awarded the Best Coach of the 2023 AFCON tournament.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Faé goal.''

Manager

Honours

Player

France U-17 *

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Ivory Coast *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Manager

Ivory Coast *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual *

Best Coach:

* African Coach of the Year: 2024

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fae, Emerse 1984 births Living people Footballers from Nantes French men's footballers Ivorian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Nantes players Ligue 1 players Reading F.C. players Premier League players OGC Nice players France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers Ivory Coast men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players Ivorian expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Black French sportspeople Ivorian football managers Ivory Coast national football team managers 2023 Africa Cup of Nations managers French sportspeople of Ivorian descent 21st-century French sportsmen