Sports
Another look at the local coach
• Ocloo – Made a case for local coaches
Disciples of the domestic game in Ghana have been asking a plethora of questions as to whether securing the services of an expatriate coach is the solution to the success of club football.
This interrogation may have been triggered by a current event where an Assistant Coach of Hearts of Oak – David Ocloo, took charge of the club to beat a full-time Head Coach of rival side Asante Kotoko – Seydou Zerbo, in the betPawa Ghana Premier League (GPL) clash last Sunday in Accra.
There was a beguiling piece of drama ahead of the 1-0 victory over Kotoko.
Indeed, two days ahead of the blockbuster, specifically on Friday March 3, disgruntled fans of Hearts chased out the club’s head trainer – Coach Slavko Matic, from the club’s sports complex at Pobiman, in the north-western part of Greater Accra.
The Serbian coach arrived at the training ground, evidently, to prepare his boys ahead of the week-20 titanic clash against their sworn rivals only to realise that he was not going to be allowed in by a band of fuming Hearts supporters who, apparently, were unhappy by the club’s bad patch in the ongoing Ghana Premier League (GPL).
Hearts had lost their last two games at the Accra stadium against Aduana Stars and Great Olympics – results that threw the supporters into a fit of fury.
Noticeably, the Phobians looked to have cut a frustrated side heading into the game, with Matic, having had to watch the big game at home – the police having cautioned the Serbian trainer to stay away from the club until further notice.
The nit-picky situation compelled his assistant – Ocloo, to step into the ‘hot’ seat for his boss. Ocloo knew all-too well that he was confronted with a taxing task of upstaging Kotoko for the ‘double-do’ glory. Nevertheless, he took a ferocious dash of the challenge and knocked it off brilliantly – beating Kotoko for the maximum points – and swaggering away with the Presidential Cup as well.
It was generally agreed that Hearts’ performance on the day was magnificent as the team created an avalanche of opportunities that blew many people away.
One lesson learned was that we should not downplay the quality and talent of the local coach. True, it brings to the fore the braininess of local coaches – who for many years, have been looked down upon – as if they were a bundle of chaff.
Instead of treating our local coaches with disrespect and disparagement, let us rather put in place a strong system to ensure that their technical skill and know-how as well as their general appreciation of the game, is upgraded.
Once they are upgraded to the required internationally acceptable standards, they would be able to rub shoulders with their colleagues in the other parts of Africa and the world at large.
Our coaches, indeed, have demonstrated overtime that with a little push, they would mushroom into the best technical brains many clubs and national teams would want to scramble to have.
In all their continental conquests, Ghanaian clubs have always relied on the local sweat merchants for glory. No foreign coach was able to conjure the magic!
Kotoko’s first conquest of Africa in 1970 was spearheaded by a local coach – Edward Aggrey Fynn, a feat that was repeated 13 years later by Ibrahim Sunday.
Similarly, Coach Jones Cecil Attuquayefio led Hearts to its first continental feat – a CAF Champions League glory in 2000. Four years later, the same sweat merchant inspired the Phobians to CAF Confederation Cup success by upstaging rival side and compatriots – Kotoko, in the grand finale in Ghana.
The ball is now in our court – as to whether to continue relying on the expats or build on the competence of our own.
It is sad that we do not treat our own with reverence but are all-too prepared to make the expat coach very comfortable and yet they produce almost next to nothing.
The Kotoko coach takes home a US$3,000 monthly net salary plus other mouth-watering incentives. Hearts’ coach Matic is said to be pocketing something far more than his counterpart.
Juxtapose this with what our local coaches are taking home, and you would understand the picture being portrayed here.
King Faisal, Hearts, Kotoko, in the past seasons, have dashed for the signatures of foreign coaches who end up leaving with the same flight with which they dashed in – most often achieving next to nothing!
Is that the way to go?
By John Vigah
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
