The past week or more has witnessed rumour about the likelihood of German coach Klaus Toppmoller being hired to become the technical director of the current Black Stars.
This generated debate in the Ghanaian media as to whether or not the Senior National Football team which is on the verge of making a third straight appearance at the FIFA World Cup needs an expatriate technical director. Several commentaries, articles and stories centered on whether the current Kwesi Appiah-led technical team needs an expatriate technical director in addition to the support and supervision it currently enjoys from the Ghana Football Association(GFA) technical committee.
To begin with, my check from the Ghana Football Association (GFA) revealed that the association has a technical and development committee made up of Ben Koufie, Chairman, Awuah Nyamekye, Sam Arday, Francis Oti-Akenten, Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie, Fred Osam-Duodu, L. O. Laryea and former Black Stars forward Augustine Arhinful. These are some of Ghana’s finest technical brains.
With my knowledge of the game and following the successes chalked by most members of the technical committee, I am convinced that the GFA has a solid technical team.
Perhaps another person who would have been a perfect inclusion is former Hearts of Oak Coach “Sir” Cecil Jones Attuquayefio. However, he is bed ridden. Also a group that has the likes of FIFA and CAF instructor Ben Koufie, Oti-Akenteng a senior CAF instructor coupled with the vast experience of someone like Fred Osam-Duaodu can only be described as a good or solid technical committee and the GFA must be commended for putting together such a group. Also, my interaction with Kumasi Asante Kotoko head coach, Didi Masuud Dramani and former Black Satellites coach Orlando Wellington revealed that the technical and development committee of the GFA has always performed the role of a technical director to all the national teams and that there have been occasions where a specific group of three or two committee members are assigned to a particular national team during competitions or tournaments and they work hand-in-hand with the coaching staff of the said national team.
Both Dramani and Wellington confirmed that they did enjoy the support and supervision of the group during their stay as head coaches for the Black Maidens and Black Satellites respectively.
It is therefore obvious that the current Black Stars technical team is also enjoying same or more considering the pedigree of its assignment and the task that lies ahead of them.
This therefore tells me that the issue about bringing on board an expatriate trainer or a “world class” coach to occupy the position of a technical director to aid the current technical team should not be considered at all.
For once, we need to be proud of ourselves that for the first time in the history of Ghana, a local coach is spearheading a technical team that is on the verge of securing qualification to the World Cup after the exploits of Serbs Ratomir Djukovic and Milovan Rajevac.
And I know when this feat is achieved; Kwesi Appiah will be the first to admit that the GFA technical committee aided him to secure qualification. I clearly see Kwesi Appiah and his technical team improve match-after-match ever since he was handed the Black Stars job. What Kwesi Appiah needs most now is total support to finish his task. We need to know that a 6-1 victory in the first-leg does not mean we have qualified since we have to seal our qualification in Egypt on November 19th 2013.
In football everything is possible. If we have beaten them 6-1, then it is possible they can also record same score-line or higher.
However, I strongly believe what the current Black Stars technical team needs is a solid and competent scouting team to help Kwesi Appiah and his team should we secure qualification to the FIFA World Cup.
I was at the Alisa hotel at Ridge, Accra when after a dismal performance at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nation, the then head coach of the Stars, Ratomir Djuakovic told the world at a press conference that since the World Cup is a bigger stage and wants to make an impact with the Black Stars, he will need additional coaches to scout for him. This made the GFA and the Ministry of Youth and Sports hire the services of brains such as Sam Arday who scouted on Italy, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio on Czech Republic and U.S based Emmanuel Sackey scouted on USA. And we all saw the impact it made at our maiden appearance.
I have and will always respect Ratomir Djukovic as he came out openly to make such a request after realizing that he and his team let the nation down by their poor performance at the Nations Cup.
“With all apologies to our local coaches” A local coach would have told the world at such a press conference that “we will go back to the drawing board and correct our mistakes” a statement they always make when interviewed after a poor game.
It therefore makes sense that a competent scouting team be put together by the GFA and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to aid the current technical team and not brining on board an expatriate coach or “world class trainer to head an already-performing technical team.
However, I will advocate that in selecting a scouting team, the GFA technical committee headed by Ben Koufie should be given that responsibility.
Currently, I know Ghana has four coaches, Maxwell Konadu (Black Stars), Didi Masuud Dramani (Kumasi Asante Kotoko), Ben Fokuo (Black Princess) and Tanko Ibrahim (Winneba University) who have been awarded DFD License “A”, by the German Football Federation, the equivalent of UEFA license A coaching Certificate.
I will easily recommended a coach like Didi Dramani to be included in such a scouting team should the GFA and the ministry decide to set up one. Judging from his track record and his qualification as well as engagement with clubs such Manchester City of England, many will welcome his inclusion in a scouting team. Competent coaches in the likes of Sellas Tetteh, David Duncan among others are at our disposal and it is about time we make use of our qualified, hardworking and competent coaches.
The GFA and the ministry of Youth and Sports must consider other coaches no in the technical and development committee to scout for coach Kwesi Appiah
Writer: Rexford Nii Aryee Tetteh. (Member, United States Foreign Press) niiayitetteh@gmail.com,
