Keshi, Appiah out to prove African coaches have what it takes
Posted On Friday, 8th February 2013
Stephen Keshi says African coaches can do a good job
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi intends to prove a point about the prowess of African coaches when his side take on Burkina Faso in Sunday’s African Nations Cup final.
The former international defender could become only the second man to win the title as a coach and a player – he was captain when Nigeria last won the title in 1996.
Proving African coaches have as much ability as the many European and South Americans who come to work on the continent is a major driving force for the 51-year-old who has caused a furore with disparaging remarks about expatriate trainers, many of whom Keshi asserts are “mediocre”.
At various points throughout this year’s Nations Cup he has addressed the issue in media conferences.
“The white guys are coming to Africa just for the money,” he said. “They are not doing anything that we cannot do. I am not racist but that’s just the way it is.
“I am never against a white coach in Africa, because I’ve always worked with white coaches,” Keshi said.
“If you want to bring in a classic, an experienced coach from Europe, I am ready to learn from that coach, because he’s better than me, he has more knowledge than me.
“Meanwhile, we have quality African players, or ex-African players, who can do the same thing, but they’re not given the opportunity because they’re just black dudes. I don’t like it.”
It is a sentiment shared by Ghana’s Kwesi Appiah, whose side missed out on a place in the showpiece match after a shootout defeat in their semi-final against Burkina Faso on Wednesday.
“Black coaches need to be stronger than the white coaches because most times they tend to pushed around. In our own country the media does not give the same support, they don’t believe a black coach can do it,” he told Reuters this week.
Up against Keshi on Sunday will be Burkina Faso coach Paul Put, whose achievements in taking the unfancied Burkinabe to the final lifts him above the ‘mediocre’ tag but whose own journey to Africa has been born out of necessity.
He was banned for three years for match-fixing in Belgium, and after the suspension was lifted was unable to find a club willing to hire him in his home country.
The 56-year-old Put journeyed instead to Africa, first to scout in Guinea, then in charge of the Gambia and on April 1 signed a contract with Burkina Faso.
Put has made it clear he sees the job as a stepping-stone and a change to rehabilitate his profile.
“I know it looks difficult but I want a new chance in my own country,” he said last week.
Of the 16 teams at the Nations Cup this year, nine have been coached by imports and seven by African-born coaches.
Honours in the previous 28 Nations Cup have been evenly shared – 14 titles for locals and 14 for foreigners.
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Keshi and not Appiah!!!!!
I agree Appiah is not yet there.
Keshi has what it takes he has proven himself in the past and has a track record having qualified Togo for the world cup. He has paid his dues and has really worked hard to get where he’s at. Apart from that he is genuinely a tactician as he has performed better than Siasia and other local Nigerian coaches in terms of coaching. Appiah on the other hand has some good qualities like scouting for talent but coaching and management is not his strength. His coaching results have been erratic and inconsistent which is not what we need, what we need is a coach who delivers consistently. I think he should be replaced by Selas Tetteh who has proven him self on the continental and world stage by winning major silverware. Appiah just doesn’t have what it takes and should be replaced by a more competent coach like Tetteh or even a foreign coach who is more qualified. I have nothing against foreign coaches being considered because you only reduce your odds of finding a good coach by excluding foreigners. Appiah must be replaced immediately if not we ran the risk of not qualifying for the world cup. Gyan should do the honorable thing and retire from black stars his performance was abysmal if this was Jordan who had performed like that the whole country would have been up in arms against him I don’t know what people have against such a talented young player who commands a first team place in OM and plays with his real AGE people rather want to hate on him out of envy and jealousy while making excuses for Gyans woeful performances it’s a shame.
Foolish APE!! Your analysis is wrong!!
ALL U MOTHERFUCKERS NEEDZ 2 SHUT THE FUCK UP,our lost wasn’t the coaches fault,the better team won that day,plain n simple
Keshi once played in europe that why he is good not Appiah who never played in europe vilage champion and he is to rude.
Playing in Europe means nothing!! Are you European or an UGLY DUMB NEGRO who views yourself as an ape and the Oyibo man as your MASTER!! Kwasea! Devil! FOOL!!
There are no good forwarders in black stars. Let’s take a look at nigeria, they have got d likes of brown ideye, emenike, musa, moses and uche. These guys are a treat to opposition defenders, despite the exclusion of martins, odemwingie, nsofor, anichebe and utaka. It’s high time we look for classy strikers not average ones like gyan, clottey and yiadom
It is one thing getting the coaching Badges and another thing being able to coach a team, more so a national team with most of the players being used to high quality coaching at their foreign clubs! Most of the time a lot of the players frown upon the local coaches ( especially those with no track records or high standard of coaching knowhow and experience.). Our LOCAL national coaches who won the cups for Ghana were of a much higher calibre and really had had top coaching courses and experience before being given the nod to train the BS! Most of our BS players train under more professional and modern conditions! Also tactical and psychological conditions differ enormously! In addition to all these ,internal wranglings among players and outside influences and intrigues ( mainly from GFA exec. members also pursuing their selfish plans and ends) make matters worse for these (“inexperienced” local coaches!The experience a coach gains thru training a club on daily basis can never be overlooked! Job shadowing can never be an alternative! The national team is also not a “Practice team” to be used to gain experience ; especially at this stage when the BS is involved in qualification matches for the WC 2014! THE GFA AND THE ENTIRE BS TECHNICAL TEAM SHOULD WAKE UP AND GET SERIOUS BEFORE THINGS FALL APART!!!
The last time I checked Nigeria didn’t appear in the 1996 edition of AFCON yet this writer claims they won the trophy. So which year did South Africa win? That’s my question.Pls get your facts well before publishing your articles.