Let Offei chart his own path

 The appointment of African Games 2023 men football gold medalist, Desmond Offei as one of the assistants for Black Stars Coach Otto Addo will continue to be debated by football faithful.

Offei’s elevation has been hailed in certain quarters due to his tactical nous.

For others, the young coach should have been left alone to chart his own path, having commenced a burgeoning career with a feat chalked just twice in Ghana’s Africa Games history.

He was one of the new faces in the revamped Black Stars technical team announced this week by the Ghana Football Association (GFA).

He has been working behind the scenes for some time until his exploits at the Accra 2023 African Games with the national U-23 team, the Black Satellites brought him to the limelight.

The feat marked a resurgence of a young coach that was tipped to become the Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp or Carlo Ancelotti of Ghana because of the way he sets up his team as well as the way they played.

That also earned Offei, perhaps his biggest honour in Ghana football as he was awarded the Coach of the Year 2024 gong by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG).

In a few months’ time, he would commence work in the new role as assistant Black Stars coach in a totally new environment. That will add up to his experience in the game; no doubt about that.

The difference, however, is that he would not be the main man. Otto Addo, whose continuous stay as the Head Coach of the team has left Ghanaians in a state of uncertainty regarding Ghana’s qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, would be the main man.

What it means is that Offei’s role and what he brings to the table on the team would just be complimentary. It would be strictly subjected to Otto Addo’s scrutiny.

So, in effect, Offei’s ‘stamp’ may not be seen or felt on the team’s output unless Addo can easily accept superior arguments and be humble enough to admit Offei’s way is how to go.

From the all-conquering squad he selected, fine talents like Remember Adomako, David Amuzu, Aziz Issah, Emmanuel Adjei, Asamoah Tuffuor, Kelvin Nkrumah, Aziz Misbau and Jerry Afriyie emerged as stars for the future.

And even when it was obvious a number of the senior Black Stars players performed poorly, resulting in the failure to earn an AFCON qualification, these youngsters were ignored.

Jerry Afriyie was later considered but even with that, he was kept on the bench until when Ghana trained 1-0 against Kwesi Appiah’s Sudan in Accra.The young chap delivered by getting an equaliser and gave a pass that put Kudus Mohammed in a scoring range before he was fouled for a penalty which Kudus wasted.

A number of these players may have featured from the onset if Offei was in charge but one can also not blame Otto Addo since he would bear the brunt of the fans when they fail to perform.

From my point of view, Coach Offei must be allowed to be his own man to improve his trade, identify and stick to his own philosophies and master it.

He should be given more responsibilities with the juvenile teams rather than rushing him to a team full of troubles. The outcome, if not positive can shatter his hopes and affect his confidence. When this happens, Ghana football would be the sufferer – take heed FA!

 By Andrew Nortey