Committee
to conduct registration for colts League
Accra (Greater Accra)
05 April 2002 - The race to find a suitable candidate to lead the Black Stars
to their first World Cup has stepped up gear this week with five expatriate
coaches expressing their desire to manage the side, according to the bi-weekly
Graphic Sports.
Following the Deputy
Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Joe Aggrey's disclosure last week that
government was ready to provide funds for the hiring of a top class foreign
coach, speculation has been rife as to who will take the reins. According to
the bi-weekly, its investigations have revealed that at present those who have
thrown their name into the hat to occupy Ghana's top managerial position
include a Pole, an Argentine, a Yugoslav, an English and a Frenchman.
A source close to the
GFA indicated that officials are remaining tight-lipped with regards to the
names of those hoping to fill the position, which has been vacant since Osam
Duodo's mandate expired following the 2002 African Cup of Nations. One of the
applicants, according to the story, currently being considered for the position
is Polish-born Antoni Tiechniczek. The accomplished coach, born on May 3, 1942
is no stranger to international football by any stretch of imagination.
Managing the Polish
side between 1980 and 1986, he steered the relatively unknown team to a bronze
medal in the 1982 World Cup in Spain and reached the final stages in the 1986
competition hosted by Mexico. He also coached the Tunisian national side between
1986 and 1988, during which time he took them to the Seoul Olympics.
The Pole no doubt
possesses a sound knowledge of African football. After all he also had two
stints as head coach at Tunisian club side, Esperance, the first in 1987 and
the second over a decade later. He also managed the national teams of the
United Arab Emirates between 1989 and 1991 and Qatar in 1993.
As valuable as any
other attribute is the fact that he speaks English and French ensuring that
problems with communication will be minimal if he is appointed. However, if he
is to agree to a deal the veteran coach has demanded a substantial $25,000
signing on fee and a monthly salary of $15,000. He will also require a house
with a swimming pool and a car preferably a Peugeot 607.
It could however not
be established by Thursday evening the other foreign names shortlisted. The
deadline for finding a head coach set last week by the Minister to find a
successful applicant is approaching at a startling speed; May was originally
penned as the time to finalise any such deal but with only three serious
contenders emerging so far the beginning of the rebuilding of the national side
may well have to wait just a little longer.
Since 1958 the Black
Stars have had more than their fair share of foreign coaches; fifteen in all,
and incidentally if a Yugoslav is eventually appointed head coach he will not
be the first, as fellow national, Josef Ember, took charge for a year in 1963.
It is however evident that in considering an Argentine and a Pole for the
position the GFA are exploring every avenue in their quest to arrest the
dwindling fortunes of the Black Stars. After all, this is a previously
uncharted territory; if either of these hopefuls are handed the job they will
be the first representatives from their respective nations to be entrusted with
the job.
Surprisingly a host
of coaches whom many thought would be willing to take on the job have failed to
come forward. German Burkhard Ziese, widely held by fans as the most suitable
man for the job, has as yet failed to express an interest in the position. His
credentials include leading the side to the African Nation's Cup final in
the1992 tournament in Senegal, which saw the side produce some of their finest
performances to date.
Ziese's strength was
constructing a physically strong side, a trait many feel is a necessity if the
Black Stars are to return to their glory days which comprise four African
Nations Cup successes, a feat recently only shared by Egypt until Cameroon's
triumph earlier this year.
Another former
foreign coach of the side to be linked with the position is Guisseppe Dossena.
The Italian was in charge between 1999 and 2000, and many had anticipated his
return when the search for an expatriate coach was announced.
However, due to his
current commitment with South American nation, Paraguay, his appointment is
very much doubtful. With the search intensifying, the GFA are confident that
several more proven foreign coaches will step forward in the coming weeks. They
have already indicated that they will by no means settle for a 'mediocre' coach
and as such all measures will be taken to ensure the correct choice is made.
However, the
difficulty is balancing the need for a top class coach with the budget
available to the GFA. The ministry has set a limit in line with the
government's current thrifty policy, adding an extra dimension to the selection
process and ensuring the task will by no means be straightforward.
Send your comments to
viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 April 2002 - A former Chairman of
Accra Hearts of Oak, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, remembered for his revolutionary style
that led to the emergence of Hearts’ Musical Youth which unearthed talents like
the late lethal Shamo Quaye, has appealed to the management and directors of
the club not to accept former stalwart defender, Emmanuel Armah “Senegal,” back
to the team.
“Armah was suspended on several occasions when he was with
the club due to indiscipline which has now become part and parcel of the boys
he left behind,” he alleged. Speaking in an interview with the Graphic Sports
on Armah’s purported return to the Phobian fold, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe noted that
Armah’s attitude derailed the success of the club during his playing days with
Hearts, adding that management will find it tough to control the players if
Armah is allowed to rejoin them since club’s officials are even struggling to
shape the boys.
“Apart from the various suspensions, he was also expelled
from the team on two separate occasions, while all the clubs he played for
after leaving Hearts also kicked him out on the same grounds of indiscipline,”
Dr Nyarho-Tamakloe emphasised.
He explained that Armah, apart from sowing the seed of
indiscipline in Hearts, also displayed the same awful attitude when he played
for Holy Stars, Goldfields and Great Olympics and added “no doubt he was banned
from playing for six months by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for
attacking a referee on the field.”
“To me, he is going to create problems for the team if he is
allowed back into the team. He is a senior player with enormous influence and
might use that as an advantage to create confusion in the team,” he stressed.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, who directed the affairs of the club with
revolutionary zeal during the Joe Addo and the late Shamo Quaye era in the late
80s said it would be in the interest of management, directors, playing body and
the teeming fans of Hearts if Armah is rejected. He said he has no personal
hatred against the player but his concern is only to ensure the survival of the
club.
“I don’t even know Armah personally. However, it is
important that management takes a firm decision not to readmit him and be guided
by the fact that somebody who destroys a team should not be admitted back into
the team,” he intimated.
Recounting a similar event during his tenure of office, Dr
Nyaho-Tamakloe said that when he sacked the current deputy coach of the club,
Ofei Ansah, Sampson Lamptey and Hesse Odamptey, among others on the basis of
indiscipline, he stuck to his decision in spite of the calls for clemency from
numerous quarters.
According to him, he was later vindicated when Mr Ato Austin, then Secretary of Youth and Sports and one of the forces that pressed him to rescind his decision, wrote formally to congratulate him for taking that bold initiative. He said Armah has absolutely nothing new to offer the club and should therefore not be entertained near the playing body to save the club from any confusion or possible danger.
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 April 2002 - The National Juvenile Association (NJA) has set
up a committee in all the regions to conduct registration of colts players for
the U-12 and 14 colts leagues. The committees, which were formed as result of
an emergency meeting held by the Executive Committee of the NJA last week is
spread across the ten regions of the country,
For the
three regions in the north, - Upper East, Upper West and the Northern Region,
Messrs B.S.K. Quinoo and Jordan Anagbla would be in charge, while Messrs Henry
Aryee and Sam Yeboah would be responsible for the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo
Regions. Messrs Haliday Doe Adika and B.B. Bekoe are those to charge of the
Eastern Region while Chief Inspector Seth Frempong would be in control of the
Central and West Regions while Messrs Evans Amenumey and Precious Kudjoe would
be responsible for the Volta Region.
For Greater
Accra, Mr M.M.S. Doe would be in charge of the registration exercise. The
registration exercise would be used to experiment on the new modalities for
registration of players in age competitions in order to reduce the problem of
over aged players in age group competitions.
Under this
new arrangement, players to be registered in the Under 12 and 14 would be
weighed as one of the measures to determine their ages while graduation from
the U- 14 to 17 category would be automatic.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com