in the UEFA Cup round of 32. The club, however, suffered a disappointing 1–3 defeat at its home stadium, courtesy of a Sergei Semak hat-trick, which meant straight elimination from Europe. It was a bitter loss that even prompted club president Francis Graille to publicly relay his disappointment at the "lack of pride" shown by the squad, though remaining guardedly coy when explicitly asked about Halilhodžić's future at the club. Now with only domestic competition to worry about, PSG began the calendar year 2005 looking to improve its league standing. Sluggish form continued, however, and on 8 February 2005, following a 0–2 defeat at home versus Lens that saw PSG drop to 12th spot in the 2004–05 Ligue 1 table, the club's management decided to sack Halilhodžić. He was replaced by the coach of the reserves team, Laurent Fournier, under whom the club was knocked out of 2004–05 Coupe de France by Auxerre in March and eventually finished ninth in the league. Trabzonspor On 2 October 2005, Halilhodžić was signed by Turkish Süper Lig side Trabzonspor. Although he led the club to fourth place in the 2005–06 Süper Lig, just behind Istanbul's "Big Three", thus qualifying for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, Halilhodžić decided to leave Turkey in June 2006 after just one season with the club. Ivory Coast In May 2008, Halilhodžić was hired to train the Ivory Coast national team, captained by Didier Drogba and including the likes of Yaya and Kolo Touré, Salomon Kalou, Emmanuel Eboué and the young Gervinho. In a two-year unbeaten run in African qualifiers, the team qualified for both the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Angola and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In January 2010 in the quarter-finals of the continental championship against Algeria, however, the Ivory Coast were eliminated after Madjid Bougherra scored a 2–2 equaliser in injury time, with Hameur Bouazza adding Algeria's third goal in the opening minutes of extra time. The defeat came as a huge disappointment for many Ivorians, for whom the national football team played a central social role and a source of national pride and unity, especially as the country was recovering from the 2002–07 civil war and preparing for its first post-war elections in October that year. As a consequence, Halilhodžić was fired on 27 February 2010, less than four months before the 2010 World Cup finals tournament in South Africa.