The football world is full of interesting episodes. The other day when Real Madrid were firing on all cylinders to get Manchester United gem Cristiano Ronaldo into their fold the Spanish champion club defiantly ignored the fact that Ronaldo was on a long contract at Old Trafford. Indeed they dangled so much cash in the face of the Portuguese youngster that he actually became confused and he started making unintelligible, contradictory statements to the world media.

It took all the sagacity of the great team builder Alex Ferguson to convince the young man to stay at Manchester for at least a year. In the end Ronaldo could not concentrate on nursing a knee injury sustained in the champions’ league. The English Premiership has started and he has got to be sidelined till somewhere in October which is quite a blow to United.

By irony of fate whilst Real Madrid were busy chasing Ronaldo little did they know that English Club Chelsea were also seriously trying to woo their amazing Brazilian winger Robinho. Infact the Brazilian playmaker has made it clear that he would definitely change clubs and Real President Ramon Calderon is fuming. ”This is not the right way to do it by telling the media” he is reported to have said.

The snag is Robinho is being smart here. Real had planned to sell him in order to raise funds to buy Ronaldo at any price and the Brazzilian playmaker wants to prove to them they can’t eat their cake and still have it.

When Alex Ferguson vowed that Ronaldo won’t leave Old Trafford he lived up to his words. Now in Madrid both Club President Ramon Calderon and Coach Bernd Schuster insist Robinho is an important part of their future plans. Well, the world is waiting to see whether they can match the persuasive and bargaining skills of Alexander The Great but from all indications it looks like Real will lose out to Scolari’s Chelsea. The Brazil connection is working like magic

In our part of the world where witches are blamed for any sudden deaths in the family it becomes the talk of the town if a suspected witch loses a child as many wonder whether she would feel any pains for the loss. Can we say the same thing about real Madrid? I wonder.

Another wonder is the decision by former Ghana international football star Mohammed Polo not to accept any offer from the Ghana Football Association to undertake a coaching refresher course abroad. Hear him.” Is the GFA trying to tell the local coaches that we are not ripe and competent enough to handle any of the national teams, hence their decision to send us abroad for refresher courses”

Known in his heydays as the “dribbling magician”, Mohammed Polo describes himself as a serious coach who is aiming to reach higher heights in the profession. He has already embarked on numerous refresher courses abroad to upgrade himself at his own expense and does not need the help of the GFA

“I already possess all the intricacies in modern football that any ambitious coach should know. So right now, what I need is a job to handle any of the national teams around and nothing else. Period!” said Mohammed Polo. This to me does not show humility. I doubt whether even Alex Ferguson with his two decades plus coaching record at the “Theatre of Dreams” will claim to know all the intricacies in modern football.

The sages say willingness to learn is a mark of those who are truly wise. If you think you know everything, you have a lot to learn

It is my considered opinion that Polo must seize the opportunity to undertake any refresher course if offered the chance. The GFA may have good intentions for arranging these courses and I reject the suggestion that it is an insult to local coaches. I think it is step in the right direction.

When President Mubarak of Egypt set up a fact finding committee to assess the poor performance of Egypt at the just ended Beijing Olympics the nation did not regard it as an insult. Everybody saw it as a genuine attempt to determine who was responsible for that measly bronze for a 117 strong contingent. It is hoped the report would help Egypt plan better for future Games like they are doing in professional football.

As for Ghana we don’t need such a probe because we already know the cause of our woes. Too many cooks are spoiling the broth and until Parliament passes the sports bill and we have one big authority in charge of sports like Ohene Djan’s Central Organisation of Sports (COS) in those glorious days we shall continue to move in circles.

This reminds me of an article I wrote in the Daily Graphic in 1972 after covering the Munich Olympics predicting a gloomy future for Ghana at the Olympic Games . Since then Ghana has won only one bronze at the Olympics and that was 20 years later a football bronze in Barcelona.. I may have to reproduce that article one day to show that Ghana sports did not start to deteriorate only yesterday.