Bastian Schweinsteiger, former German footballer, among other things World Cup champion in 2014, who now works as football analyst and pundit for German public broadcaster ARD, said during a broadcast that Ivory Coast players have a style of playing "a bit unorthodox sometimes, a bit wild, not quite as tactical", naming it as "African football".
His words also reached Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fae, who said he was sad and disappointed after hearing those words from someone he admires. "I think it's sad. He was a very, very good player; a great player", Fae said in the press conference after his team beat Curaçao 2-0 and qualified for their first World Cup knockout stage ever as group runner-ups, ahead of Ecuador.
"I've always loved him, personally. As a midfielder, I've always liked the way he played, the way he understood football." So when I heard his comments, I was disappointed, disappointed in the man. Because when you know football the way he knows it, it's odd that you would speak that way, which we could call racist if we were calling a spade a spade, but that's the way it is.
"I can't change the way he talks. But all I can do is show on the pitch that Africa is not just the physical game. We are very technical as well, very tactical. And all I can hope is that this was just a clumsy statement, that it wasn't particularly reflective of what's in his mind."
Ivory Coast will play their first knockout stage match ever on June 30, Tuesday, at 19:00 CEST / 18:00 BST, against the runner-up in Group I, which could be France or Norway, depending on the match tonight.