It has now become a trend in Ghana to hire the services of expatriates to steer the technical affairs of the senior national team, the Black Stars. And it seems this bug has bitten many of our local clubs too as even teams with small budgets have foreign coaches at the helm of affairs.
However, many of the successes that the various Ghanaian national teams have chalked have come under the tutelage of local bred coaches. Even though the first coach of the Black Stars was an Englishman—Mr. George Ainsley, 1958-59—it was until 1961 when local veteran coach and player Charles Kumi Gyamfi took charge that Ghana won its first ever African Cup of Nations in 1963. Ghana went on to dominate this tournament as they won the subsequent edition under the same C.K Gyamfi. Our last triumph in the Nations Cup in 1982 came under another local coach Fred Osam-Duodu.
The junior teams—the Black Starlets, the Black Satellites and the Black Meteors—have won accolades for Ghana in various competitions over the years. German trainer Otto Pfister won Ghana its first U-17 trophy in Italy in 1991. That notwithstanding, Ghana’s other success came under Coach Sam Arday and our two second place finishes came under Messrs. E.K Afranie and Isaac Paha who are Ghanaians.
Ghana is yet to win a trophy in the World Youth Tournament but the closest we have come—2nd place Australia in 1993, 2nd place Argentina 2001—were under no other than veterans Fred Osam-Duodu and Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie respectively. Coach Sam Arday has the enviable record of coaching the first African team to win a medal in soccer in an Olympic Games as he led the Black Meteors to bronze in the 1992 Olympiad.
The Black Stars impressive display at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany was largely attributed to the tactics of Serbian Ratomir Dukjovic, but much of the scouting and information about our opponents were done by Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, Sam Arday and Robert Sackey. They gave in-depth analysis of our opponents and their previous displays to Dukjovic in order to mount winsome strategies.
Thousands of dollars have been spent in remunerations and allowances for expatriates who have been hired to take charge of our national teams over the years, yet they produce modest results. This is not to say that we haven’t had good foreign coaches in the past (remember the first man who took us to the World Cup was a Serbian), but all our major successes came under the tutelage of indigenes.
Many a times we have heard how our local coaches lack international exposure and certification by our football authorities, but can’t these huge sums paid to the foreigners be channeled into sponsoring them for international courses to help them upgrade themselves? (Remember we are paying $ 5,000 to a translator for our current coach).
Coach Sellas Tetteh’s triumph with the Black Satellites in Rwanda has further pressed the case for Ghanaian coaches to be hired to take charge of our various national teams. A coach who has been with the Black Stars as an assistant for years was blatantly told he was unqualified when the job became vacant. He was shunned for Milovan Rajevach and he proved his credentials by helping the Black Starlets win bronze in South Korea and won the African Youth Tournament recently without the Certificate ‘A’ Ghanaian officials claims he needs to have.
Times have changed and the better it will be for Ghana and Africans in general if we start posing confidence in our local coaches by giving them all the necessary backing and allowances these foreigners get when they take charge of our national teams. These will go along way in boosting their confidence to perform and Egypt has clearly shown us the way with Coach Hassan Shehata who has won back-to-back African Nations titles for them.
However, many of the successes that the various Ghanaian national teams have chalked have come under the tutelage of local bred coaches. Even though the first coach of the Black Stars was an Englishman—Mr. George Ainsley, 1958-59—it was until 1961 when local veteran coach and player Charles Kumi Gyamfi took charge that Ghana won its first ever African Cup of Nations in 1963. Ghana went on to dominate this tournament as they won the subsequent edition under the same C.K Gyamfi. Our last triumph in the Nations Cup in 1982 came under another local coach Fred Osam-Duodu.
The junior teams—the Black Starlets, the Black Satellites and the Black Meteors—have won accolades for Ghana in various competitions over the years. German trainer Otto Pfister won Ghana its first U-17 trophy in Italy in 1991. That notwithstanding, Ghana’s other success came under Coach Sam Arday and our two second place finishes came under Messrs. E.K Afranie and Isaac Paha who are Ghanaians.
Ghana is yet to win a trophy in the World Youth Tournament but the closest we have come—2nd place Australia in 1993, 2nd place Argentina 2001—were under no other than veterans Fred Osam-Duodu and Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie respectively. Coach Sam Arday has the enviable record of coaching the first African team to win a medal in soccer in an Olympic Games as he led the Black Meteors to bronze in the 1992 Olympiad.
The Black Stars impressive display at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany was largely attributed to the tactics of Serbian Ratomir Dukjovic, but much of the scouting and information about our opponents were done by Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, Sam Arday and Robert Sackey. They gave in-depth analysis of our opponents and their previous displays to Dukjovic in order to mount winsome strategies.
Thousands of dollars have been spent in remunerations and allowances for expatriates who have been hired to take charge of our national teams over the years, yet they produce modest results. This is not to say that we haven’t had good foreign coaches in the past (remember the first man who took us to the World Cup was a Serbian), but all our major successes came under the tutelage of indigenes.
Many a times we have heard how our local coaches lack international exposure and certification by our football authorities, but can’t these huge sums paid to the foreigners be channeled into sponsoring them for international courses to help them upgrade themselves? (Remember we are paying $ 5,000 to a translator for our current coach).
Coach Sellas Tetteh’s triumph with the Black Satellites in Rwanda has further pressed the case for Ghanaian coaches to be hired to take charge of our various national teams. A coach who has been with the Black Stars as an assistant for years was blatantly told he was unqualified when the job became vacant. He was shunned for Milovan Rajevach and he proved his credentials by helping the Black Starlets win bronze in South Korea and won the African Youth Tournament recently without the Certificate ‘A’ Ghanaian officials claims he needs to have.
Times have changed and the better it will be for Ghana and Africans in general if we start posing confidence in our local coaches by giving them all the necessary backing and allowances these foreigners get when they take charge of our national teams. These will go along way in boosting their confidence to perform and Egypt has clearly shown us the way with Coach Hassan Shehata who has won back-to-back African Nations titles for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment