French coach Philippe Troussier is ready to fly in and answer Ivory Coast’s World Cup SOS, but is up against Dutch master Guus Hiddink for the top job.

“I got an offer [from the Ivory Coast].

But there is another candidate that is Mr. Hiddink,” said Troussier, who led Japan to the second round of the 2002 World Cup.

“To me, the World Cup is an interesting challenge. I definitely want to do it,” added the 54-year-old Frenchman, now general manager of FC Ryukyu, a club in Japan’s third-tier division.

Whoever gets the job will take over from Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, who was axed after Didier Drogba’s Ivorians failed to make the African Cup of Nations semi-finals last month.

The job will last until the completion of the Ivory Coast’s campaign in the World Cup in South Africa, which kicks off on June 11 and could run until July 11.

“It is an emergency situation for the Ivory Coast. I am not interested in the details of the contract,” said Troussier, whose potential new team have been drawn in a tough group with five-time winners Brazil, 2006 semi-finalists Portugal and North Korea.

Troussier was nicknamed the “White Witch Doctor” for his success with African teams, including the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, in the 1990s.

He coached South Africa in the 1998 World Cup in France before taking the helm of the Japanese national team and leading them to their best World Cup finish in 2002 after he had landed the 2000 Asia Cup in Lebanon.

He then coached Qatar and Morocco before becoming general manager of FC Ryukyu in 2008.

BARCELONA coach Pep Guardiola and Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been slapped with one-match bans for their red cards in the 2-2 draw against Almeria at the weekend.

The referee sent Guardiola to the stands for arguing with a linesman, while Ibrahimovic got a straight red for a foul on Almeria
left-back Cisma.

It means the Barcelona manager will be not be able to take his place on the bench for Sunday’s important league match against Valencia and Ibrahimovic will also miss out.

TALENTED young footballers in the UAE still have the chance of playing their way into a once-in-a-lifetime trip to train at the home of Juventus FC.

Nike have launched an intensive five-day football bootcamp - Elite Training UAE - that aims to give local youths the opportunity to train like their favourite football players.

It is free to register, but the best players will have the chance to be sent to Turin to train at the same facilities as such legends as Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon.

Registration is open until March 19 at Nike stores or via www.nikeelitetrainingME.com