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Coach Sellas Tetteh Saved By The Bell
The scriptwriters had to make a lot of changes in the end when the Black Satellites of Ghana recovered from a goal down to beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in their opening match of the ongoing World U-20 football championship in Egypt. The truth of the matter is coach Sellas Tetteh is under serious surveillance by a large section of the Ghanaian media following a bribery allegation by a Portugal based Ghanaian international Ishmael Yartey who was dropped from the final squad to Egypt.Infact, they are waiting to get at him but he fortunately passed the first test.
The timing of the allegation was not healthy to final preparations by the team on their way to Egypt. Opinion was sharply divided whether the matter should be swept under the carpet to ensure peace in the Satellites camp or exposed to halt what many thought was a canker in Ghana football.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) was at the crossroads and prompted by the Ministry of Sports, it had no choice but to quickly issue a statement that the matter would be probed. One is not sure whether it was also the result of pressure from the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) who had called for a full inquiry into the allegations despite the apparent negative effect such a probe at this time might have on team spirit in the Black Satellites camp.
Listening to comments from football fans on radio and in the press, it is obvious that Coach Sellas Tetteh is not everybody’s favourite choice to handle the Black Satellites and quite a large section of the media and football fans alike are waiting for his day of reckoning.
Selection of footballers for age group competitions like Under 17 and Under 20 has always come under severe scrutiny. These competitions are generally regarded as stepping stones for stardom and wild unsubstantiated stories abound where certain coaches are reported to be taking bribes before picking players. It had all along been murmurs and this is the first time someone has been bold enough to come out in the open to state his case.
This in my estimation is a very delicate matter. If care is not taken Ghana may be cutting her nose to spite her face. With a probe hanging on his head Sellas may indirectly be given an excuse to flop in Egypt. In the national interest therefore let’s stop talking about this bribery allegation and concentrate on the assignment in Egypt. As Africa champions, The Satellites need to play much better than they did against Uzbekistan. The next two group matches against England and Uruguay are definitely going to be tougher and those seeking the downfall of Sellas should not be given any ammunition to nail the man in the coffin that early in life.
As we talk about the championships, let’s pause to give Egypt the kudos for their excellent sports facilities. From all indications, this year’s tournament will be one of the best organized so far. Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.
1 comment
The timing of two bribery scandals put serious question marks on how we do things in high flying Ghana. At a time when the national image is soaring and scoring big in international circles via, our soccer exploits and our maturing politics, come two stinky reports about bribes. First, a soccer scandal courtesy of Satllites' Ismael Yartey and later, the NDC ex-ministers bribery scandal emanating from London courts.
Last week, Ghana was talk of town internationally for wrong reasons. Ghana lost glitter as the black star of Africa, but won the black spot of Africa accolade, courtesy of the bribery stories.
Let's talk soccer.
Poor, poor, Satellites. Remember what happened to the team at Argentina 2001? There was a scandal but it was handled well. Is history repeating itself? Hope not. Let's be mature in dealing with soccer scandals or, we shoot a golden chance down. The agitation for a probbe a few days to kick off of Egypt 2009 was wrong. It created the impression that as a country, we do not have confidence in the capablities of the coach and his boys to deliver so, we need a comfort zone to let off steam over an anticipated disappointment.I can imagine people ready to say "ahaa, we told you so..." .
Even if Sellas Tetteh brings the cup home,he must be probed to establish the truth but for now hands off him! His reputation has been totally damaged.The scandal is quoted so often by soccer commentators worldwide to make a point that, out of Africa, always comes something sinister.The Western media will not comment positively about Africa having a good start in the competition but pick on Sellas.How sad.
Certainly, a probe is in order, but for the sake of the morale of the coach and Satellites, we could have kept quite till after the competition. How do we expect a coach to deliver when his mindset and emotions are fighting a scandal picked up by the global media? My fellow SWAG friends have disappointed me and destroyed the coach. The evidence was clear; Sellas was very emotional on the sidelines when it was rough for the Satellites. And when a coach is not fired and focused, that translates into a dour performane by his boys.Pray for him.
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