Accra sweeps all prizes in
cycling
Burkhard still chase Black
Stars job
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 October 2002 - Fresh evidence has emerged that the dream of German coach, Burkhard Ziese, to re-craft Ghana’s return to international football glory will not be dashed with the passage of time.
Twelve years after losing the job as Black Stars Head Coach, under a heap of acrimony, the extrovert German has renewed his want for the role to lead the senior national team following the strange exit of Yugoslav Millan Zivadinovic.
Zivadinovic last month bolted from the job after a three-month affair during which he played only one match and lost to Uganda. That period and effort earned the Yugolav over $65,000 at the expense of Ghana.
After reading of the Millan swerve in Ghanaian newspapers, Burkhard promptly applied for the job, saying it had not been his style to so react to newspaper publications but was compelled to do so because the Ghana Football Association had not advertised the job in the media.
Referring to the earlier applications from which Zivadinovic was selected, the German complained about the FA’s habit of not replying to his letters and hoped this time he would be listened to.
Confirming the Burkhard story, Kofi Nsiah, General Secretary of the GFA, said the German had already been written to, acknowledging receipt of his application with the assurance that it would be considered alongside others.
Burkhard Ziese in 1991 qualified the Black Stars for the 1992 edition of the Cup of Nations, introducing into the Ghanaian game a rare blend of charisma and cunningness. But the man, now 61, did not stay long enough to steer the Stars through the tournament hosted by Senegal.
His brash style earned him official scorn, and though he enjoyed a great deal of support from the masses, his contract was not renewed when it expired in 1991. His place was taken over by fellow German, Otto Pfister, who guided the team to the final, losing by a nail-biting 10-11 penalty shoot-out to Cote d’Ivoire.
Over the past decade and more, no coach for the Black Stars stirred so much emotions as Burkhard Ziese. At the time the whole nation celebrated the skills of Joe Debrah and the late Shamo Quaye as the best adverts for football, Ghanaian-style, Burkhard ignored them both in preference for the more masculine play of the likes of Sarah Mensah and Sam Johnson.
Defiantly, the German braved through the ensuing controversy and by the time he made participation in CAN 92 a certainty, had converted many of the sceptics into admirers.
He was also a man the local media could not ignore, loved and disliked with equal intensity. But all in all Burkhard appeared to enjoy every bit of that stormy stay in Ghana; even his animated relationship with a section of the media and authority.
His later experiment with Zambia was as brief as Milan’s work in Ghana and has always relished a re-engagement with the Black Stars.
So far, no other clear challenger has applied in writing for the seat that is occupied in the interim by Coach E.K. Afranie. But a strong message has come from former national star, Mohammed Ahmed Polo in a call for a new direction in football coaching in the country if the nation should reclaim its lost glory at the national team level.
The football magician appealed to the authorities to take a conscious look at that aspect of Ghanaian soccer in order to bring some level of improvement into the national team in a bid to achieve the nation’s long-cherished dream of making it to the World Cup.
Polo who has repeatedly challenged the FA to entrust him with the handling of the Black Stars, renewed his bid for the high profile job.
In an interview last week, Polo expressed great pain and regret at the inability of the Black Stars to qualify for the ultimate competition in international football - the World Cup in spite of several attempts to get there.
He said if appropriate structures are not constructed, and the attitude of officialdom, especially the department of coaching, is not given a positive look, “Our efforts will always end without a crown to show for them”.
He decried the situation were ‘old’ coaches are recycled and then offered the same old jobs they had earlier failed to achieve results on.
Polo, himself an ace dribbler, and appropriately named the ‘soccer professor’ by the media during his playing days, said he was least enthused about the performance of the Black Stars in their recent match against their Rwandan counterparts despite romping home to an encouraging 4-2 victory.
“We were technically poor and showed no organised tactic for greater period of the match. We could have lost altogether. No wonder the visitors gave us that early scare before we recovered,” he said of the Black Stars performance in that match.
But the prevailing situation notwithstanding, he believes there is still hope for a total renaissance of the national team if young coaches are encouraged and charged to bring some fresh ideas onto the soccer terrain.
“It is time our authorities realised the importance and contribution of coaches to the game. It is only when they educate themselves in this direction that they will give proper recognition to the relevance of coaches in the country”, he said.
He said there is a growing obsession among the very good local players who are all bent on featuring in the shirts of either Hearts or Kotoko, saying such a situation deserves condemnation since it does not promote favourable competition between the two sides and the rest of the teams.
But Polo said the saga can be reversed if favouritism towards ‘big’ clubs is eliminated, while match officials also ensure that they stay above suspicion. “That way all clubs will be assured of a participation in Africa if they win the league”, he said.
Now a full-time soccer coach, Polo plied his trade with a few club sides in Ghana, notably Hearts of Oak and perennial lower division campaigners, Advance Stars, before taking over some appointments in the gulf region.
Former Kotoko coach Ian Poterfield has also expressed interest but he, as in the case of Polo, is yet to formally apply.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 October 2002 - Coach Anthony Kwabena Edusei, head coach of the Black Satellites has assured that they are going to survive the so-called group of death in the impending African Youth Championship in Burkina Faso, come January.
He maintained that the Satellites will be ready for any level of opposition which will confront them at the tournament. In an interview with the Graphic Sports from his Kumasi base on Monday, the soft-spoken coach indicated that the Satellites will not be intimidated by their Group B opponents comprising Morocco, Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire.
Though he conceded to the assertion by the pundits that especially Morocco and Egypt could pose a threat to the Ghanaians in their capacity as former African Champions at that level, Coach Edusei insisted on making the most out of the competition.
He stated that he was going to marshal all forces to ensure that a very formidable Satellites squad is paraded to excel at the championship.
“All we need to do is to prepare adequately, and with that we hope to make a headway”, he revealed. As I always say, the team is being built for the future and the African Championship which is the immediate objective will be used as the launching pad”, he noted.
He was quite optimistic that the Satellites will be among the four best teams to qualify for the World Youth Championship to be hosted in the United Arab Emirate from March to April next year.
The Satellites who have a pedigree in the history of the competition won the 11th edition held in Ghana in 1999 and were runners - up to Angola in Ethiopia last year. They also extended their exploits to the world stage when they finished second to Argentina in the World Champion hosted by that country.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 October 2002 - There we go again with the premiership after exactly a month’s interim suspension which enabled the Black Stars, Black Satellites and Kumasi Asante Kotoko to embark on their respective continental conquests.
Beginning on Wednesday, the seemingly waning excitement in the domestic league is
expected to be fully revived as the competition negotiates the final bend to define the fortunes of the various teams in this ever-thrilling circus.
With only four games to go, local soccer fans and connoisseurs alike can be assured of some unimaginable exploits interspersed with upsets at the homestretch as actors in this whole drama step up gear to edge the other for a better placement.
What will perhaps be most interesting at the final stages will be how Kumasi Asante Kotoko are going to translate their new-found form in Africa into their fierce struggle for the plume prize with their age-long nemesis, Accra Hearts of Oak.
Four points adrift of the Phobians, the Porcupine Warriors are in no mood to deviate from their “Kum apem a, apem beba” spirit as they still keep hope alive in anticipation of a surprise.
This is against the backdrop of the fact that many pundits have written them off, especially considering the nature of their remaining engagements.
However, a real fanfare is expected to characterise Kotoko’s trip to Prestea on Wednesday as the ‘red army’ of the club’s faithfuls troop to the remote mining town to greet and rally behind their heroes.
But Kotoko should be wary in the midst of the merry-making as fifth from the bottom Mine Stars could be the gatecrashers to their party.
The ‘derby’ in Accra follows almost the same pattern as Okwawu United have again threatened to upset league leaders, Hearts, for once. This is notwithstanding the fact that the Phobians always have the last laugh in such encounters.
The captivating form of Hearts’ striking trio of Charles Taylor, Bernard Dong-Bortey and Wisdom Abbey will prove decisive in this clash, just as Kotoko’s trio of Michael Osei, Nana Arhin-Duah and Kwadwo Poku can make a lot of difference at Prestea.
In spite of the nine points separating Liberty Professionals and Great Olympics, their match in Accra on Thursday will definitely be a cracker typical of derbies. Will Jones Attuquayefio have any soft spot for his mother club this time?
That seems to be an absolute impossibility in this battle for supremacy which will bring into focus Liberty’s promising John Paintsil and Olympics’ Amui Quaye.
In-form Obuasi Goldfields who are currently fifth on 38 points with just a point behind Olympics will sink visiting Bofoakwa further down the relegation waters, while the King Faisal-Dawu Youngsters battle in Kumasi will be fiercely fought, with Coach J.E. Sarpong looking for at least a point to boost his team’s survival efforts.
Second from bottom Power FC will need more than an average performance to clinch the maximum points at the expense of RTU at their Bolga fortress, while Hasaacas are expected to hold B.A. United at Sunyani.
It is interesting how bottom-placed Maxbees still fancy their chances of remaining in the premiership in the final analysis. Perhaps a win against Arsenals at Koforidua might keep their supposed dream on course.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
29 October 2002 - League leaders, Accra Hearts of Oak, will on Friday November
1st play division one Mamobi Youth in a friendly match.
In a release signed by
Charles James Aryeh head of Public Relations of the National Sports Council,
said the match is to serve as a warm-up for Hearts who encounter city rivals
Great Olympics on Sunday in a crucial league match and also to honour two
soccer-loving ladies who have just passed away.
The two ladies who
have passed away are Madam Mary Adams, former chairperson of the Stadium
Hawkers Association and Miss Rebecca Lamiorkor Lomotey a staunch supporter of
Accra Hearts of Oak.
GRi…/
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Kraboa Coaltar
(Eastern Region) 29 October 2002 - The Chairman of the Kraboa Coaltar World
Vision F/C, Nana Yaw Sarichi, has suggested to the Ghana Football Association
(GFA), to send monitors to watch Division Three matches to minimise bad
officiating at league centres.
He said dubious
penalties, red cards and offside goals are too common in the division’s league
matches of late. Nana Sarichi was speaking at Kraboa Coatar on the general
performance of teams in the Eastern Regional Third Division league.
He said Ghana's soccer
would go places if match officials would properly interpret the rules of the
game and desist from allowing dubious goals and ruling off good ones on flimsy
grounds.
Nana Sarichi said the
performance of certain referees demoralise young soccer talents and kill their
enthusiasm to pursue football to greater heights and urged match officials to
encourage lovers of the game by being above reproach when they handle matches.
GRi…/
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Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 29 October 2002 - Accra-based cycling clubs swept almost all the prizes
at the 2002 Franco-Ghana Cycling Competition dubbed "La Route de
Kumasi" held in Kumasi on Saturday.
The event, the first
competitive cycling in Kumasi, attracted about 90 cyclists from 13 clubs from
six out of the country's 10 regions and they competed in races covering six
kilometres, four kilometres and 30 kilometres.
John Zormelo of River
Park Club of Accra clocked 57 minutes eight seconds to win the pool race and
was followed at the second position by Francis Tetteh who clocked 57 minutes 12
seconds with Joseph Annan of Gutten club of Accra placing third in a time of 57
minutes 14 seconds.
Aminu Osumanu of
Tamale Youth Stars followed at the fourth position in a time of 57 minutes 20
seconds and Emmanuel Wayo of Accra All Stars Club took the fifth position in a
time of 57 minutes 30 seconds.
In the individual time
trial, Henry Djangmah of River Park Club won the race in a time of 10 minutes
26 seconds and was followed at the second position by Kofi Newton of Nippon
Club in a time of 10 minutes 36 seconds while Emmanuel Wayo of All Stars took
the third position in a time of 10 minutes 41 seconds and Sarpeh Nunoo of Young
Stars took the fourth position in a time of 10 minutes 50 seconds.
Unity Migro and All
Stars clocked seven minutes and seven minutes two seconds respectively to win
the first and second places in the team time trial and Sunyani River Park came
third in a time of seven minutes 16 seconds while Nippon and Gutten clubs all
of Accra took the fourth and fifth positions respectively clocking seven
minutes 30 seconds and seven minutes 35 seconds.
In a message read on
his behalf, Edward Osei-Kwaku, Minister of Youth and Sports, entreated the
cyclists to be devoted to the sport so as to help them win laurels for the
nation at international meetings, stressing that it was high time Ghana got
closer to the other disciplines.
He commended the
national cyclists for their wonderful performance at two international
competitions held recently in Togo and Cote d'Ivoire which he noted, had won
them an invitation to next year's All Africa Games to be held in Abuja,
Nigeria.
Kossi Mathieu of the
French Embassy in Ghana, said with the growing interest in cycling among the
youth, there was the need to hold such competitions at regular intervals in all
the regions of the country.
GRi…/
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