Feature: Why Ghanaians must encourage coach Appiah to blossom

Published on: 18 May 2012

When the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Administration made a collective yet concrete decision to offer the vacant Black Stars coaching job position to Kwesi Appiah, many soccer fans embraced the idea wholeheartedly.

However, there was a cross-section of soccer pundits who held the notion that the former assistant coach had been set up to fail.

Failure indeed. How can any rationale being or group of individuals entertain such negative and unproductive thoughts at a time that the Ghana FA is trying to find a lasting solution to the coaching problem, especially when expatriate coaches continue to fail this country?

That sense of pessimism absolutely kills initiative and I don’t think the local coaches would agree to the assertion that Appiah has been set up to fail.

The FA’s unanimous and substantive appointment of Appiah appears to be a good omen for Ghana soccer, and also to prove skeptics wrong that the local coaches have come of age to uphold the challenges that permeate our soccer corridors.

The FA’s popular decision will best develop our football to appreciable heights. Political party leaders, football associations, the media and highly distinguished individuals are all in total support of this move by the FA. After 50 years of independence, the debate for the appointment of a local coach to handle the Black Stars continues to dominate the headlines.

From my perspective, I don’t think the issue is about the ability, trust or competence of the local coaches, but rather if as a nation we are ready to give them the freedom, respect and patience to prove their mettle.

Since the appointment of George Ainsley of England in 1958, Ghana has appointed 32 coaches, eight local and 24 expatriates. Among all these coaches, Burkhard Ziese (Germany) was hired twice (1990-1992 and 2003). Osam-Duodu was in-charge five times (1978-1981, 1988-1989, 1993, 2000 and 2001); C.K Gyamfi (1962 and 1982-1983) and E.K Afranie (1984, and 2002).

Also, local coaches such as Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, E.J Aggrey-Fynn, Sam Arday, Sellas Tetteh and Kwesi Appiah took turns to coach the Black Stars.

The expatriate coaches were from Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark, Italy, France, Holland, three from Brazil and six from Germany including famous Otto Pfister.

From the above records, Ghana have won the Cup of Nations four times all with local coaches. Osam-Duodu and C.K. Gyamfi stood tall to claim victories for Ghana.

Ghana was the first African country to win the bronze medal in football at the Olympic Games. Nigeria and Cameroun have surpassed the mark by winning gold the Olympics.

In 1991, the Black Starlets, the national U-17 side, won the FIFA World Cup showdown in Italy. Local coach Oko Aryee set the tone and did all the grooming and the donkey work only to be replaced by German Otto Pfister, who eventually gained all the credit at the expense of Oko Aryee.

In 1995, Arday also led the national under-17 side to win the FIFA World Cup Championship in Ecuador. Ghana again won the FIFA U-21 Championship in Egypt with Tetteh as coach.

Coach Rabah Saadane of Algeria twice took his country to the 1986 and 2010 World Cup. All the white coaches the Algeria FA hired before never qualified Algeria to the World Cup. Neighbouring soccer giants and rivals Nigeria have been trying to acquire the services of local coaches for the Super Eagles. The likes of Onigbinde, Chukwu, Eguavon, Amodu, Sia Sia and Keshie have stepped up to fly the Super Eagles to the top but it appears administrative lapses by the Nigeria FA brought failures to these local guys who were bent on going extra mile with the sole aim of reviving the football fortunes of Nigeria.

On the flip side of the coin, the successes chalked by the Nyantakyi administration since they took over, remains an unbending testimony to their administrative capabilities, a sound platform that should give coach Appiah the needed inspiration to blossom to greater heights.

As of now, as a nation, our conscience has been liberated, giving way to a clear comprehension of the path to pursue by putting the black man in-charge of the Black stars.

As we clamour for coach Appiah’s success, he needs to adhere to certain attributes to help him become a great coach. Character, intelligence, compassion, humility, effective communication skills (speaking and listening) to the players and the media, preparation, knowledge of the game, recognizing and developing talent, surrounding himself with good people, great organizational skills, and be an exceptional leader.

Patience is an important trait of a good coach. Appiah has to be patient as the players learn to adopt his style and improve their technique.

A good coach must be honest and trustworthy.

He should be able to impart valuable knowledge and technical know-how that can be used on and off the field. As the head coach, trust should be his foundation to help him develop a successful relationship with the players.

Most importantly, coach Appiah has to be open-minded- that way he will be willing to listen or see another player’s point of view.

The players should be comfortable enough to go to him and voice their opinion. He should learn to be decisive yet diplomatic in solving problems and settling disputes among the players should a problem arise.

With his long-standing coaching experience under the tutelage of Ratomir Dujkovic, Milovan Rajevac and Goran Stevanovic, Appiah might have learnt a lot from his predecessors to help him establish high standards of personal integrity and honesty.

Appiah should also be aware by now that his job carries responsibilities not only as someone involved in other people’s lives but he should see himself as a business person in terms of delivering his services which require a high level of skill, human resources, training, management, marketing, psychology and counseling.

The problem of ego management has undoubtedly surfaced since Appiah was appointed head coach. Some retired footballers, the media, and a cross-section of soccer connoisseurs have questioned his ability to handle this particular issue.

As former skipper of Asante Kotoko and the Black Stars, he might have handled many different types of ego and personality issues- from the nearest stubborn star to the humble role player. Each player he dealt with might have responded differently. As a result, the clouds of doubt surrounding the ego management issue shouldn’t be anything new to him. This writer is highly convinced that Appiah has the ability to handle issues of this magnitude.

However, controlling the egos of professional athletes, by and large, could be the most challenging task for every coach. Remember the Black Stars players are professionals and responsible adults who have families that is why the coach has to be very careful in his approach to relate to them on or off the field of play.

In order to make it easier for the coach to operate effectively, this writer believes that coach Appiah needs to set up his own perimeters/boundaries or set rules for the players to abide by those set of rules as well as the consequences that would be meted out when those rules are not followed.

This should be a contractual document for all the Black Stars players in camp to sign and copies given to them. This is by no means imposing anything on them or disrespecting them but it will serve as a gateway to curb the issue of egoism that could possibly weave into the fabric of the team.

As humans, the players also experience feelings and emotions, and Appiah should have a mindset to understand the power of feelings and emotions and serve as a positive role model for his players. As coach, he will be tasked to instill virtues of leadership, hard work and discipline by creating a positive atmosphere. At the end of the day, so long as the players develop positive relationship with coach Appiah, they will do whatever the coach wants them to do.

Appiah is therefore expected to bring to the fore the combination of managerial skills and managerial decision. These are very critical and sensitive areas he needs to address. As a coach, he should be ready to face harsh criticisms from individuals, as well as the media. Destructive and personal criticisms would be hurled at him regardless. Criticisms are basically judgment that can affect one negatively and can help positively and he should be ready for any eventuality as he gets ready to lead the national team.

As a nation, our desirous goal is to continue to pursue the path of success by ensuring that the Black Stars make their successive World Cup appearance. Therefore, as the yearn for this dream unfolds, there should be the need for the provision of better incentives and the drive for sponsorship packages and other areas of concern to make this dream a reality.

The Ghana FA has tasked coach Appiah to win next year’s Cup of Nations in South Africa and most significantly qualify Ghana to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil under a two-year binding contract.

To accomplish these goals, Appiah needs a conducive environment to operate. There shouldn’t be any governmental interference, no room for FA interference regarding criteria for player selection and how he manages the ego of the foreign based players especially.

As the 2013 and 2014 Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers beckon respectively, it is my hope that coach  Appiah would be able to build a formidable team that should evolve around the best, active and discipline quality players whose perseverance, passions, commitment, desire and sense of nationalism will reflect Ghana’s dominance in African football in the long run.

FROM: GEORGE OSBORN ADUONUM SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN U.S.A.

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