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It's Not All That Easy
When the Ghana Football Association (GFA) had that avalanche of applicants all wishing to fill the vacant position of Black Stars coach created by the sudden departure of Serbian Milovan Rajevac, I chuckled.
What ran through my mind was an old childhood proverb which literally translated says “when a hole is created on the anthill all kinds of animals flock into it”.
I had that ominous feeling that the recent successes chalked by the Black Stars may be giving the wrong signals that any self-styled coach can handle the team with ease. That is the conclusion I can draw for the long list of people with no proven track record of coaching success who boldly claimed the right to handle the 2010 World Cup quarter finalists.
I couldn’t believe that some long forgotten coaches could summon courage to dust their old coaching files and with chest up try valiantly to establish claims to be the rightful successors to Milovan. This is a strange world.
Suddenly, the old worn out debate of getting a local coach for the Black Stars was revived and the media had a field day with arm chair football analysts propounding all kinds of theories to show why a local coach was the best thing to happen to the Black Stars.
In the midst of this apparent turmoil and the date for an African Cup qualifier against Sudan approaching fast, the FA had no choice but to let assistant coach Kwasi Appiah handle the team in the interim. This decision might have pleased both those clamouring for a local coach and those who think otherwise.
As things turned out the pro foreign coach agitators seem to have got the upperhand for honestly, the Black Stars were far from impressive against Sudan in that scoreless game. They threw away far too many scoring chances. Some would say the Stars played to a formation that suited the Sudanese who succeeded in eclipsing the wings of the Stars especially perennial striker Asamoah Gyan.
In fact Asamoah Gyan was so frustrated that he lost his cool and got sacked for unsportingly pushing down an opponent right in front of the hard working South Africa referee who controlled the game quite efficiently.
At this juncture Asamoah Gyan may have to be reminded that he is now plying his trade in a society where top football stars are regarded as role models and therefore should be disciplined. If he fails to control his temper he might in future lose all his salary in fines for indiscipline.
Back to the Sudan match. Those on the side of foreign experts questioned Kwasi Appiah’s starting line- up that featured unsung Jordan Ayew and Kumordzie instead of the tried and tested Samuel Inkoom and Prince Tagoe.
These two new comers upfront could not provide the necessary support services for Asamoah Gyan to provide the goods. And with playmaker Dede Ayew not at his best, the Black Stars’ usual sweet flowing rythmn was absent
This gave Sudan the impetus to launch spasmodic but dangerous attacks and veteran goal tender Richard Kingson had to pull up two hair raising saves to avert a most unlikely home loss to Sudan.
Well, with this near disaster over the debate whether Kwasi Appiah has the required temperament to handle the Black Stars or not will continue to be the talking point.
Luckily, there is enough time for the nation to sort things out before the next international engagements and it is hoped there would be sober analysis to ensure that the right decision is taken to ensure that the Black Stars maintain their top ranking in world football.
Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.
2 comments
from now on I will be getting into it
then give my comment. but for now I have not been following.
Good luck. Speak to you
Kwabena Anno-Bempong