Sport (GHANAIANS CALL FOR LOCAL COACH AS BLACK STARS APPOINT STEVANOVIC)

GHANAIANS CALL FOR LOCAL COACH AS BLACK STARS APPOINT STEVANOVIC



Goran Stevanovic



By: Charlie Anderson

After a three-month search for a new national team coach, the Ghanaian Football Association (GFA) finally installed Serbian Goran Stevanović as the new man in charge of the Black Stars.

Native coaches have won all four of Ghana’s African Nations Cups while only a handful of the twenty-three foreign coaches in Black Stars history have reached the final of a competition.

Much will be expected of 44-year-old Stevanović, a former Partizan Belgrade boss, after his compatriot Milovan Rajevać, perhaps Ghana's best-ever coach, led the country to the final of the African Nations Cup and within inches of the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa.

Stevanović is certainly confident that he can make the Black Stars “shine brighter than ever” and bring home the country's first trophy for three decades. His appointment, however, has not been met with universal popularity among Ghanaians with many believing that it is time for the GFA to appoint a native coach.

The majority of Ghana's coaches in recent years have originated from Germany or the former Yugoslavia and the GFA has remained insistent that nationality play no part in their selection process.

A Ghanaian will be appointed only “if we can find a coach competent enough to do the job”, said GFA vice-president Fred Pappoe in September. “We will not set criteria based on nationality or colour.”

The prioritisation of managerial experience by African FA’s has led to the rise of a cartel of nomadic European coaches, who hop from one African national team to another whenever a job becomes available. Frenchman Claude Le Roy, a former Ghana coach, has also managed Cameroon, Senegal and DR Congo while his fellow citizen Henri Michel has taken charge of Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire and a cluster of other African national teams.

This situation is not satisfactory for many Black Stars fans who feel that African coaches will never be given a chance to develop if repeatedly overlooked in favour of more experienced Europeans. Certainly, Stevanović was appointed ahead of several local alternatives. Most notable among these was Ghanaian-born Marcel Desailly, a World Cup winner with France as a player, for whom the Ghanaian job would have been his first as a coach.

U-20 World Cup-winning coach Sellas Tetteh was also in contention along with Herbert Addo who has won a Ghanaian league title with the unfancied Aduana Stars.

Samuel Osei Kuffour, an experienced defender for the Black Stars, saw both sides of the argument but was in favour of a local coach. “We have to take a Ghanaian coach”, said Kuffour, “but it shouldn't just be any local coach”.

Player scepticism about another foreign coach will be a concern for Stevanović who already faces an uphill struggle to prepare his players for his first match on 9th February. The Serb will also be keen to bring Michael Essien back into the fold with the Chelsea midfielder declaring himself unavailable for recent matches.

The first real test for Stevanović though  will be the trip to Congo in March for a Nations Cup qualifier  before the Black Stars are thrust back into the spotlight two days later as they travel to Wembley for Ghana's first ever game against England. These matches will set the early tone for Stevanović whose contract covers the 2012 and 2013 Nations Cups, giving him two chances to vindicate the GFA's controversial selection criteria. Even a trophy, though, may be seen as scant reward for a policy which is keeping African coaches in limbo, and arguably guaranteeing their absence from top-level soccer coaching.

Bukhard Ziese (1990-1992)

The German stepped onto the shores of the west African nation when the Black Stars were unattractive. He arrived in Ghana in 1990 and within two years he was able to infuse a high sense of discipline into the team and packaged it as a winsome entity. Ziese led the team to qualify for the 1992 African Nations Cup but left his job based on his controversial stand.

Otto Pfister (1992 -1995)

Otto Pfister took over from his German compatriot Ziese. He stepped in when the Black Stars had already qualified for the Nations Cup. However, he proved at the actual tournament that he did not come in when the cooking had already been done. He led Ghana to their glorious 1992 campaign in Senegal where they finished second to Ivory Coast after a marathon penalty shoot- out. Pfister became popular even among non-football lovers and his way of dressing with his trousers dropping from his waist was transferred into the Ghanaian youth lifestyle.

Giuseppe Dossena (1998 – 2000)

The Ethiopian champions Saint George FC tactician coached Ghana for two years. The former Sampdoria midfielder was handed the Black Satellites job and he delivered to satisfaction. The Italian led them to win their first African title in the 1999 African Youth Championship before taking over the steering of the Black Stars  but just when he was moulding a compact side he was pushed out in 2000.

Ratomir Dujkovic (2004 – 2006)

The Serbian took over from Portuguese Mariano Barreto who started the 2006 World Cup campaign with Ghana. Dujkovic is likened to the Biblical 'Moses' after leading the four-time African champions to their first ever World Cup in Germany 2006. He managed a second round success at the global football showpiece before giants Brazil kicked them out. However, he left his post on health  grounds coupled with media pressure.

Claude Le Roy (2006 -2008)

The Frenchman left the DR Congo for Ghana in 2006. He helped the Black Stars to third in the Africa Cup of Nations two years later on home soil. The Ghana FA wanted to renew his contract but Le Roy turned the offer down citing too much media scrutiny of his managerial attitude.

Milovan Rajevac (2008 – 2010)

Perhaps he is the best manager Ghana ever had in their football history. Within two years he achieved a great deal with the wealth of talents put at his disposal. He instilled a high sense of discipline and work ethic into the team. He led the home players to win silver at the CHAN, took a depleted team to the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola, and won silver against Egypt in the final. His tenure with Ghana reached a crescendo at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where he guided the team to their first ever World Cup quarter-final.

Of the 23 foreign coaches, Ghana has had just four have something to show for - 1992, 2006, 2008, and 2010.

But never, not once, since 1982 has our local coaches been given an equal playing field to compete

I use 1982 as the cut off point because it was the last time Ghana won a trophy at the highest level. Moreover, it was a local coach, CK Gyamfi who achieved that feat. Local coaches won all the three other Nations Cup trophies. They are the reason why Ghana is still a powerhouse in African football.

From Herbert Addo in 1984 to Sellas Tetteh in 2008, eight other local coaches were appointed. They were all interim, sorry 'caretaker' coaches. Not once was a permanent contract agreed. Interestingly, all of them had not more than a year to justify themselves. They were given peanuts because there were no contracts. They were at the mercy of the all-powerful FA officials. They were vulnerable because their jobs were not secured. When players, professional players show signs of disrespect, we ganged up against the poor local coach and accuse him of not stamping his authority. The local media were impatient. They made all sorts of ridiculous accusation against the coaches. The coaches crumble under extreme pressure and in the end get fired. That is the sad story of our local coaches.