Michel Dussuyer has been appointed as the new Côte d’Ivoire head coach, the country’s football federation announced on Monday.
The former Guinea boss succeeds Hervé Renard at the helm of the Africa champs, pipping fellow French manager Frédéric Antonetti to the job.
Dussuyer has been handed a two-year contract with an option to renew for another two years, and will be based in Côte d’Ivoire.
The 56-year-old had enjoyed a first spell on the Elephants’ bench as an assistant coach to Henri Michel in 2006, when Didier Drogba and his teammates reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations and sealed an historic qualification for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.
He also led Guinea in the 2004, 2012 and 2015 AFCON finals, and Benin in the 2010 edition of the continental showpiece.
Michel Dussuyer will be assigned the task of qualifying Côte d’Ivoire for the Africa Cup of Nations Gabon 2017 and the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.