By Afeseh Ngwa Hilary
I think it is disgraceful that for a world cup on African soil, only one African coach is participating in the event i.e the coach of Algeria. We have something to learn from the North African teams. If anybody is looking for the reason why African countries must take a serious look at what success in the game of football really means, see the video below.
See how the Serbian coach of Ghana Milovan Rajevac is tortured and finds it impossible to rejoice, at least in public after Ghana beat Serbia in their opening match of the world cup 2010. I was actually going to write "his team' before I quickly realized how ambiguous that would be... is his team the Serbian or Ghanaian national side??? Inasmuch as I think Milovan did a good job as coach of Ghana, the cold shrug he gave his team (Ghanaian side) and the melancholy he carried on his face like bad make up, after such a major victory, insults the people of Ghana and all Africans who were rejoicing following this momentous victory.
He unnecessarily dampened the joy in the team, joy which such a win should naturally court... He should apologize... yet I understand how a part of him could feel betrayal for helping unleash the arrow from the bow which nailed his brothers and dashed the hopes to win of all the countrymen/women from the land of his birth against the rocks. It was clear today that even though a small part of him wanted Ghana to win because that is what he is paid to do, his far from professional emotional reaction at the end of the game tells us a bigger part of him wished to see Serbia win... I wonder what his reaction would have been if Serbia won... a draw would have been perfect maybe, a situation which will release him from the hard place and the rock in which he found himself.
I am sure that Milovan is not alone in what he went through... others in his shoes would struggle... I propose that when it comes to national teams, FIFA should pass a law which ensures that nobody can coach a team for which they are not nationals. In that way we can begin to ensure that the focus on the success of a football nation is not just on the players but holistic, spanning coaches, management and players. It is a foregone conclusion that a good team needs good management, good players and good coaches, and so does a great football nation. This will spare people like Milovan the heart wrenching dilemma of 'fighting' against your own people.
Hilary Afeseh Ngwa is a graduate student in Toxicology at Iowa State University from Cameroon.
Great piece Hilary! What Milo did was completely unacceptable. We can make all the excuses in the world but this man basically disrespected the team, nation and dare i say the black race. Such a pity Africans always get treated this way. If only will learn to be masters of our own fate.
ReplyDeleteAs a white South African I felt utter disgust with Milo after he shrugged off one of his staff at the end of the game, and his lack of enthusiasm for the achievement of his team. He not only insulted Ghana, but anyone who loves Africa and wanted to see Ghana win.
ReplyDeleteSue
Hilary, why don't u go sack Paul Le Guen and we'll talk abt sacking Rajevac.
ReplyDeleteHe was not being disrespectful he just didn't want the team to over rejoice.
Did u watch the German game? Did u see how their coach reacted even after four goals.
Get Le Guen out and use a local coach then we'll see abt GH.
Kabuki - Ghana
Spot on Hilary. A careful look at the performance of the African teams participating reveals that the cause of their early exit at the WC2010 was largely due to the tactical nous of their coaches and not lack of talent. Take Nigeria, playing 10 to 11 and trailing by 2 goals to 1. Then a defender gets hurt and what happens? He's replaced with another defender - basic coaching tells you that if you lose by 10 goals to 1 or just 1 goal, you've lost so in a situation like this, you bring on a striker or midfielder at worst for a defender and not a defender for a defender.
ReplyDeleteTake Cameroon as a second example, the coach benched all their key players except Eto'o and a couple of them and what happens, trailing one goal, you bring on the big boys to push the match through.
Time wouldn't permit me to echo all the tactical mistakes made by each of the foreign coaches of the African teams.
But one thing Africa should note is that football is business and big business for that matter and a large part of it is now funded by the betting companies. It is easier for a betting company to approach a foreign coach than a native. Hence the need to train and take on native coaches.
Football has moved from talent based and is now a science. Who would have thought there would come a time Asian teams will eliminate top Africa teams? But that's the case now cos in today's football, investment is first made in the human capital (players) to train them, psyche them up and prepare them and the rest follows.
The best Africa can do now is to build huge sporting facilities and groom footballers to international standards. Secondly, to offer interested coaches free scholarships to study under top world class coaches.
Football is at best a tool that can be used for real poverty reduction in Africa cos when we continually churn out stars and train and export them, the remittances and charity from them often goes to help entire communities and villages.
Kobina
Accra, Ghana
I firmly disagree.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, it is only thanks to the support of Serbian FA that Milo has earned his status. Celebrating after a victory against his own national team would have meant utter disrespect and disregard towards people who actually put him in that position, not to mention going against his own patriotic strain, given he has one. Had he done so his reputation would have been literally torn to pieces in Serbia and put his future career at risk. In this regard he acted in a completely appropriate way.
Secondly, professionalism has nothing to do with private feelings and personal opinions. Statements like "his far from professional emotional reaction" makes just no sense at all, since there is nothing as a "professional emotional reaction". Working commitment and private thoughts are on a completely different level and you only judge an employee on the ground of his achievements.
In this respect it must be noted that Rajevic led his team (which is Ghana, not Serbia, to adress your dilemma) to the arguably best ever perfomance of an African team in a world cup. As everybody acknowledges, Ghana fully deserved the place in the last four which they didn't get only because of trivial cheating by a sneaky opponent.
Thirdly, not celebrating yourself does not mean necessarily restraining, directly or indirectly, the others to do so. Inferring that his behaviour affected his players motivation is pure speculation. You think is true, I think it is not. Have you asked Ghana's players? I don't think nothing could minimally interfere with their enthusiasm, let alone demotivating them. All of them are professional, most of them play in foreing leagues and exactly know how feels like playing against players of your club, people that supported and guided in your career, and yet reacting as being above of it. Thus they surely understood their manager's reactions: we are talking about adults.
Summming up I don't think you are bringing enough evidence, most of which is purely subjective beliefs, to call for a review of FIFA rules. You are just assuming that what it was a seemingly a bad reaction allegedly influenced Ghanas playing throughout but that's not just enough to change a working regulation.
Lorenzo (UK)