The Ivory Coast national team is well regarded around the world as one of the top African footballing countries, but its very rare that any club teams in Africa get the same level of recognition as the national sides. The success of African nations at the World Cup including Cameroon in 1990 and Ghana in 2010, has helped to shine a spotlight on a continent that's yet to lift the famous Jules Rimet trophy.
For a long time, the Ivory Coast were one of Africa's best hopes for a winner, largely in part to a wonderful golden generation that had made moves to major European clubs.
Les Elephants owe a debt of thanks in large part to ASEC for producing a number of players that were in that golden generation. The Yellow and Blacks are based in Abidjan and since being founded in 1948, they have become the most successful Ivorian club, winning 27 top flight titles, 19 domestic cup titles and the African Champions League in 1998.
According to the club's own declarations, ASEC have more than 8,000,000 fans in Ivory Coast and over 15,000,000 in the West Africa region. Les Mimos also hold the world record for an unbeaten run, with the club racking up 108 league and domestic games without loss between 1989 and 1994 to beat the record that was previously held by Steaua Bucuresti's team in the 1980's.
A large reason for that success is the clubs ability to produce homegrown talent that is pushed into the first team. Their academy, the Academie MimoSifcom, has often been described as the 'crown jewel' of African football but was only founded as recently as 1993.
The players that come to the academy are given an education as student-athletes and all live together during the week in dorm rooms. The rooms in the dorm are named after some of the academies most famous alumni in the hopes it will inspire some of the next generation.
The players are pushed hard whilst they are in the academy and therefore the club scouts for players with a good mentality, so they can focus on more teachable aspects of the game when coaching them. Les Mimos aim for the players to be able to compete with each other, without having to prove themselves in order to create a cohesive environment.
This philosophy paid off just five years later, when the club won its first and only African Champions League title with a squad infused by homegrown talent.
This means that that the Yellow and Blacks list of graduates is rammed full of Ivorian excellence and includes the likes of
Yaya Toure,
Kolo Toure,
Gervinho,
Salomon Kalou,
Emmanuel Eboue, Romaric, Boubacar Barry and
Didier Zokora.
So who could be next up to join ASEC's list of elite graduates? Well here are our three picks for the 'next big thing':
Halassane Fofana (Centre Back)
Fofana is the oldest player of the three on this list at just 20, but has already made an appearance this season for ASEC, starting a game for them in the CAF Champions League.
Oumar Diakite (Left Midfield)
17 years old and a regular for Les Mimos in the CAF Champions League, Diakite has netted once in his four starts in the competition. Could he be the club's next Salomon Kalou?
Karim Konate (Centre Forward)
Konate is probably the hottest tipped player on this list and for good reason. He's the youngest of the three at only 17 and has been in red hot form in the CAF Champions League, scoring three times in four games. That good form has earnt him a call up to the national team where he has now made his debut for Ivory Coast.
