Claude Le Roy has resigned as coach of Togo after they failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals but said he was far from finished in African football.
The 73-year-old Frenchman, who has coached at an unprecedented nine Cup of Nations finals, said he was leaving the job after Togo finished last in their qualifying group.
“In football, there is only one thing that matters and that is the results,” he told Radio France International on Tuesday.
“But I hope to still be a coach of some team at the next Cup of Nations. I’m still getting offers from all over,” he added without going into detail.
Le Roy has gained legendary status throughout Africa after guiding his teams at the Cup of Nations to at least the quarterfinals on seven occasions. The only failures were DR Congo in 2013 and Togo in 2017.
A lifelong love affair with African football began when he landed the job in Cameroon, taking them to the 1988 Cup of Nations title.
He said he had been hoping his journey would come full circle and coach at a 10th finals when Cameroon host the next tournament in January.
He has also worked as national team coach of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Senegal, as well as stints in Asia with Malaysia, Oman and Syria.
Le Roy is the third coaching casualty following the completion of the Cup of Nations preliminaries, after Luis Goncalves (Mozambique) and Molefi Ntseki (South Africa).
Source: Reuters
