African coaches merry-go-round continues

By David Legge | AFP News

Ghana, World Cup quarter-finalists last year and boasting some of the more progressesive officials on the continent, deploy a third coach in as many matches when Serb Goran Stevanovic makes his competitive debut.

So will Kenya, whose one coach-one qualifier run has seen Twahir Muhiddin and Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee fall by the wayside and Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno in charge for the visit of Angola.

Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo are being coached by fresh handlers this week and a lengthy illness to Hungarian Bertalan Bicskei has forced Liberia to draft in Italian Roberto Landi.

Sierra Leone have introduced a new concept — rent-a-coach — with former Sweden under-21 boss Lars Mattsson taking charge for just the game in Niger because there are no funds to extend the deal.

Although Christian Cole backs the deal it is difficult to understand why the 62-year-old who guided the ‘Leone Stars’ to draws with top-10 teams Egypt and South Africa needs to step down to assistant.

Blatter, who is seeking a fourth term this year as world football supremo, lauded African footballers during the first World Cup hosted by the continent, saying they were at least equal to those from five-time champions Brazil.

But he could not conceal his anger at the never-ending coaching changes and Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson started work with first round casualties Ivory Coast less than a month before the tournament kicked off.

“What is missing from the African teams is tactics, but how can they have them when the coach is changed just a few months before the start of the biggest competition in the world?.

“This continuity is missing because it is so important to feel the soul of the country where you are coaching and how can you do this in a few months?,” asked the former Swiss army colonel.

Serb Milovan Rajevac opted for Middle East petro dollars after leading Ghana to victory in Swaziland, assistant Kwesi Appiah was in charge for the disappointing home draw with Sudan and Stevanovic takes them to Congo.

Muhuddin paid the ultimate price for a loss in Guinea Bissau and Mulee survived a home draw with Uganda only to quit after a disastrous East and Central Africa Challenge Cup campaign in Tanzania.

Nigeria opted for Samson Siasia after fellow former star Austin Eguavoen was in control of the first two qualifiers as caretaker and a couple of losses led Madagascar to ditch Frenchman Jean-Paul Rabier in favour of local Maurice Mosa.

Former Nigeria defensive colossus Stephen Keshi has been put in charge of struggling Togo for the third time after Thierry Froger returned to the club scene in his native France.

Brian Isaacs and Ronnie Kanalelo lead Namibia after Belgian Tom Saintfiet accepted a better offer from Zimbabwe only to be chased out of the country after being caught coaching without a work permit.

Africa was once obsessed with having foreign national coaches, but the trend is changing and 20 locals are in charge while France remains the dominant European influence with seven of 22 coming from there.
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