ASEC Mimosas

ASEC Mimosas
Full name Académie Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas
Nickname(s) Les Mimosas (The Mimosas)
Founded 1947–1948
Ground Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny,
Abidjan
(Capacity: 35,000)
Chairman Roger Ouégnin
Manager Sébastien Desabre
League Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division
2009 1st
Home colours
Away colours

The Académie Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas, literaly Academy of Sporting Retail Workers Mimosas, is an Ivorian football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ASEC Mimosas Abidjan and ASEC Abidjan, especially in international club competitions. Founded in 1948, they are the most successful side in Ivorian football, having won the Ivorian Premier Division 23 times and the 1998 CAF Champions League. In addition, ASEC's Académie MimoSifcom has produced a number of famous players now based in top foreign leagues, including Bonaventure Kalou, Didier Zokora, Emmanuel Eboué, Gervinho, Salomon Kalou, Romaric, Touré Yaya and Wilfried Zaha , all of whom have played internationaly.

Contents

History

ASEC Mimosas was founded on 1 January 1948 by a group of businessmen from Western Africa, Lebanon and France. The club originates from a place called Sol-béni in Abidjan-M'pouto, which today is the name of their training complex[1]. In the following years, ASEC competed in the Championship of Abidjan together with their eternal rival Africa Sports, with their first professional coach being frenchman Guy Fabre in 1954. Fabre also shaped the clubs philosophy of que les enfants s'amusent... en jouant au football (for the children have fun... by playing football)[2].

After Independence in 1960, ASEC won its first title in the newly found Premier Division in 1963. In the early 1970s, ASEC rose to power by winning the league title 5 out of 6 possible times from 1970 to 1975. This was the era of players as Laurent Pokou and Eustache Manglé. In the next years, it was Africa Sports who dominated the league, with ASEC winning only once in 1980.

On 19 November 1989, advocate Roger Ouégnin was elected as club president. In his wish to professionalize the club, he introduced Philippe Troussier as coach from 1989 till 1992. This was the time for ASEC to return to old strength, winning the championship six consecutive times between 1990 and 1995. ASEC also provided the backbone of the national team that won the 1992 African Cup of Nations, including key members of the side such as Ben Badi, Donald-Olivier Sié and Basile Aka Kouamé. After having qualified for the semi-finals already five times before, ASEC finally won the CAF Champions League in 1998. For some players, this was the chance to sign for a European club, for example team captain Tchiressoua Guel, who joined Olympique de Marseille afterwards. A few years later, ASEC bet their own record by winning the league seven consecutive times between 2000 and 2006.

In 1993, former French national player Jean-Marc Guillou joined the club staff as director, manager and financier. Together with chairman Roger Ouégnin, he founded the Académie MimoSifcom at Sol Béni. In the following weeks, they started to scout amongst thousands of young kids to form the first promotions to receive coaching and education. In 1999, following ASECs success in the 1998 Champions League, ASEC faced Espérance Sportive de Tunis in the CAF Super Cup. But most of the old players were aged, had left the club or at least wanted to. So Guillou and Ouégnin decided to replace the old squad with the first products of the Academy, most of them only aged around 17/18 years. The own protested against this measure and Espérance’s president Slim Chiboub called it a "scandal to be playing against children". However, the young ASEC squad surprisingly beat the their opponents by 3 to 1 goals and brought in the second big international title for their club[3]. Amongst others, Boubacar 'Copa' Barry, Kolo Touré, Didier Zokora, Gilles Yapi Yapo, Siaka Tiéné, Abdoulaye Djire, Venance Zézé, and Aruna Dindane were part of that squad.

When Guillou became manager of Belgian side K.S.K. Beveren in 2001, many of the Academy's players joined him. As a result, the Belgian team consisted mainly out of Ivorian players for several years. These could use Beveren as a chance to show their talent to top European clubs. Players as Yaya Touré, Arthur Boka, Emmanuel Eboué, Gervinho, Romaric and Copa all had their time in Beveren. This lasted till 2006, when Guillou and Beveren broke up with ASEC Mimosas. ASEC then linked up with Charlton Athletic[4].

Satellite clubs

The following clubs are affiliated with ASEC:

Académie MimoSifcom

ASECs youth academy has been described as the crown jewel of African football. The academy started by Roger Ouégnin and Jean-Marc Guillou in 1993 at ASEC's training complex has since produced many international stars. The student-athletes are given an education, for which they take classes in math, history, geography, physics, French, English, and Spanish. The students live in dorms during the week and have two training sessions a day. They play matches on Saturday and get health care and tutoring.

Current squad

As of August 12, 2011[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Moussa Sanogo
3 DF Gauthier Koffi
4 DF Hamed Diomande
6 DF Lamine Sogodogo
7 FW Koffi Davy Boua
8 MF Iréné Kouakou
10 MF Médéric Dolé
11 FW Ange Dogba
12 FW Antoine N'Gossan
13 MF Hugues Zagbayou
14 MF Jean Michaël Seri
15 DF Robert Sankara
17 DF Zahui Okou
18 FW Kayode Olarenwaju
No. Position Player
19 FW Késsé Mangoua
20 FW Jean Jacques Bougouhi
21 GK Adama Cissé
22 FW Halidou Garba
23 FW Adama Bakayoko
26 MF Mark Sekyere
27 MF Bakary Koné
28 MF Yacouba Bamba
29 MF Brefo Mensah
30 DF Katalin Comoe
-- GK François Adou
-- DF Yao Yves Ablakor
-- MF J'taime Kaplaka
-- MF Elvis Dali

Technical Staff

Sébastien Desabre Manager
Siaka 'Gigi' Traoré Assistant Manager
Tivoli Bi N'Guessan Goalkeeping Coach
Dr. Malik Sangaret Doctor
Dr. Yves Kouamé Assistant Doctor
Patrice Voli Bi Masseur
Rémy Kouadio Masseur
Moustapha Kanté Physiotherapist
Issouf Kanate Kit Manager
Moussa Traore Kit Manager
Hyacinthe Coulidjaty Director of Sport
Siaka Samaké Assistant Director
Benoît You[8] Facility Manager
Walter Amann Technical Director
Samaké Siaka Assistant Quartermaster general

Transfers

for transfers see: ASEC Mimosas transfers

Club Life

The clubs colours are yellow and black; the badge displays a Mimosa. Together with their biggest rival Africa Sports National, they contest the most important ivorian football derby. These two are also the only clubs allowed to play their home games in Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

ASEC has, after own declarations[9], more than 8.000.000 fans in Ivory Coast and even 15.000.000 in the whole region. The fans are called the Actionnaires. They are organised in the CNACO (Comité National d`Action et de Coordination, = National Committee for Action and Coordination), which has 40.000 members and consists out of 350 commissions.

Records

ASEC holds the world record for unbeaten league games, racking up 108 games without loss between 1989 and 1994 before they were eventually beaten; four more than the unbeaten run of Steaua Bucureşti in the late 1980s[10].

Honours

Domestic

1963, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009
1962, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1983, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008
1975, 1980, 1983, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

International

1998
1999
1990

Performance in CAF competitions

1998 - Champion
1999 - Group Stage
2001 - Group Stage
2002 - Semi-Finals
2003 - Group Stage
2004 - Second Round
2005 - Group Stage
2006 - Semi-Finals
2007 - Group Stage
2008 - Group Stage
2009 - Second Round
2010 - First Round
2011 - Second Round
1964 – Preliminary Round
1971 – Semi-Finals
1973 – Second Round
1974 – Quarter-Finals
1975 – Quarter-Finals
1976 – Semi-Finals
1981 – Quarter-Finals
1991 – Quarter-Finals
1992 – Semi-Finals
1993 – Semi-Finals
1995Finalist
1996 – Second Round
2009 - Second Round of 16
2011 - Quarter-Finals
1983 – Semi-Finals
1984 – Quarter-Finals
1987 – Second Round
2000 – First Round

Important People

Former players

For a complete list of ASEC players, see Category:ASEC Mimosas players
   

Former Managers

  • Tronnou Seho (1947–50)
  • Domingo Koffi (1950–53)
  • Guy Fabre (1954–59)
  • Bakary Touré (1960–62)
  • Koffi Faustin (1962–65)
  • Ignace Wognin (1966–69)
  • André Sokoury (1969–70)
  • Gérard Gabo (1970–71)
  • Orlando (1971–72)
  • Jean-Baptiste Anzian (1972–75)
 
  • Yobouët Konan (1975–76)
  • Ignace Wognin (1976–78)
  • Bernard Vinc (1978–79)
  • Guy Fabre (1979–80)
  • Assane (1981–84)
  • Gérard Gabo (1984–86)
  • Drissa "Saboteur" Traoré (1986–87)
  • Phillipe Garot (1987–89)
  • Philippe Troussier (1990–92)
  • Eustache Manglé (1992–93)
 

Former Presidents

  • Joseph Kouamelan (1948–50)
  • Tronnou Seho (1950–51)
  • Lucien Dogbo (1951–53)
  • François Logon (1953–54)
  • Louis Boah (1954–56)
  • François Ouégnin (1958–60)
  • Blé Kouadio M'Bahia (1960–64)
  • Kata François Kamano (1964–68)
  • Mamadou Kouyaté (1968–70)
 
  • Lanzéni Coulibaly (1970–75)
  • Emile Dervain (1975–77)
  • Bogui Bégnana (1977–79)
  • Mamadou Touré (1979–80)
  • Victor Ekra (1980–81)
  • Claude Andoh (1981–83)
  • Mamadou Touré (1983–87)
  • Kangah Michel Ahoua (1987–89)
  • Roger Ouégnin (1989–)

References

External links