Hiring coaches: Could Africa imitate the South American exam

[Sunset]

Hiring coaches: Could Africa imitate the South American example?
http://www.goal.com/en-gh/news/4375/edi ... ID=HP_FA_7



Goal analyzes the recruitment plan implemented by several South American football associations and notes what Africa could learn
By Sammie Frimpong

South American football has a peculiar challenge that Africa's, quite unfortunately, does share.

The issue is, most of its nations - especially the 'smaller' ones - appear to have so little trust in their own local coaches. Possibly, they simply do not have enough of the good ones.

That said, many of these - unlike several of their African counterparts - are averse to the idea of hiring expatriates from other continents to take up these jobs. Instead, they have sought and found a very agreable compromise to solve that conundrum, one that all parties involved appear content with and which has worked out just fine thus far.



Of the six teams from CONMEBOL (the South American football region) that have featured at the ongoing Fifa World Cup, three have managers who, although not indigenous to the nations they work for, are among the best the continent has to offer. While mighty Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay have employed the finest among their own, lesser fancied Chile and Colombia have Argentinians in charge (Jorge Sampaoli and Jose Pekerman respectively), while Ecuador came managed by Colombian Reinaldo Rueda.

The pattern - confirmed by similar trends at previous editions of the Mundial, particularly in 2006 and 2010 - is quite revealing.

In 2010, for instance, Paraguay had Argentine Gerardo Martino and Chile were guided by Marcelo Bielsa, the former Barcelona coach's countryman. Four years prior in Germany, Ecuador were coached by Colombian Luis Fernando Suarez, and Paraguay by Uruguay's Anibal Ruiz.

Clearly, then, South America's 'other' teams would rather pick trainers from their stronger neighbours - namely Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and, to a slightly lesser extent, Colombia - than recruit from beyond.

Even North America's more 'Latino' countries have adopted the habit to a considerably significant degree, with Costa Rica and Honduras visiting Brazil with Colombians Jorge Luis Pinto and Suarez (mentioned earlier) at their respective helms.

It isn't solely about maintaining a healthy language barrier [spoken Spanish is a common thread that runs through most of these countries], however.

With the steady rise and emergence of stellar names like Steven Keshi (Nigeria), Kwesi Appiah (Ghana), Gordon Igesund (South Africa) and Hassan Shehata (Egypt), there should be no shortage of quality, proven coaching talent for hire to go around

It entails much more: a matter of pride, and the sheer refusal to have their distinct brand of colorful, attractive football tainted by the mechanical, rather inflexible version of the sport that most Western managers tend to propagate wherever they go. For these countries, retaining a unique identity is far more valuable than anything any high-profile European coach could offer.

Perhaps Africa could take a leaf out of that copybook, should the likes of Burundi, Kenya, and South Sudan consider appointing for themselves, in the not-too-distant future, the best of the continent's home-grown coaches, bred in the advanced and more sophisticated football schools of Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, etc.

Already the Togolese, Rwandan, and Malian FAs, among others, have experimented with the concept, with appreciable levels of success.

With the steady rise and emergence of stellar names like Steven Keshi (Nigeria), Kwesi Appiah (Ghana), Gordon Igesund (South Africa) and Hassan Shehata (Egypt), there should be no shortage of quality, proven coaching talent for hire to go around.

Worth a try, if you ask me.

[Damunk]

Hiring coaches: Could Africa imitate the South American example?
http://www.goal.com/en-gh/news/4375/edi ... ID=HP_FA_7



Goal analyzes the recruitment plan implemented by several South American football associations and notes what Africa could learn
By Sammie Frimpong

South American football has a peculiar challenge that Africa's, quite unfortunately, does share.

The issue is, most of its nations - especially the 'smaller' ones - appear to have so little trust in their own local coaches. Possibly, they simply do not have enough of the good ones.

That said, many of these - unlike several of their African counterparts - are averse to the idea of hiring expatriates from other continents to take up these jobs. Instead, they have sought and found a very agreable compromise to solve that conundrum, one that all parties involved appear content with and which has worked out just fine thus far.



Of the six teams from CONMEBOL (the South American football region) that have featured at the ongoing Fifa World Cup, three have managers who, although not indigenous to the nations they work for, are among the best the continent has to offer. While mighty Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay have employed the finest among their own, lesser fancied Chile and Colombia have Argentinians in charge (Jorge Sampaoli and Jose Pekerman respectively), while Ecuador came managed by Colombian Reinaldo Rueda.

The pattern - confirmed by similar trends at previous editions of the Mundial, particularly in 2006 and 2010 - is quite revealing.

In 2010, for instance, Paraguay had Argentine Gerardo Martino and Chile were guided by Marcelo Bielsa, the former Barcelona coach's countryman. Four years prior in Germany, Ecuador were coached by Colombian Luis Fernando Suarez, and Paraguay by Uruguay's Anibal Ruiz.

Clearly, then, South America's 'other' teams would rather pick trainers from their stronger neighbours - namely Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and, to a slightly lesser extent, Colombia - than recruit from beyond.

Even North America's more 'Latino' countries have adopted the habit to a considerably significant degree, with Costa Rica and Honduras visiting Brazil with Colombians Jorge Luis Pinto and Suarez (mentioned earlier) at their respective helms.

It isn't solely about maintaining a healthy language barrier [spoken Spanish is a common thread that runs through most of these countries], however.

With the steady rise and emergence of stellar names like Steven Keshi (Nigeria), Kwesi Appiah (Ghana), Gordon Igesund (South Africa) and Hassan Shehata (Egypt), there should be no shortage of quality, proven coaching talent for hire to go around

It entails much more: a matter of pride, and the sheer refusal to have their distinct brand of colorful, attractive football tainted by the mechanical, rather inflexible version of the sport that most Western managers tend to propagate wherever they go. For these countries, retaining a unique identity is far more valuable than anything any high-profile European coach could offer.

Perhaps Africa could take a leaf out of that copybook, should the likes of Burundi, Kenya, and South Sudan consider appointing for themselves, in the not-too-distant future, the best of the continent's home-grown coaches, bred in the advanced and more sophisticated football schools of Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, etc.

Already the Togolese, Rwandan, and Malian FAs, among others, have experimented with the concept, with appreciable levels of success.

With the steady rise and emergence of stellar names like Steven Keshi (Nigeria), Kwesi Appiah (Ghana), Gordon Igesund (South Africa) and Hassan Shehata (Egypt), there should be no shortage of quality, proven coaching talent for hire to go around.

Worth a try, if you ask me.

Kpom. This is the main issue for me.

[cchinukw]

I like the Ethiopian coach at AFCON 2013.

I wouldn't mind him coaching Nigeria when Big Boss Keshi exits.

[Damunk]

I like the Ethiopian coach at AFCON 2013.

I wouldn't mind him coaching Nigeria when Big Boss Keshi exits.

That guy was good. But wasn't he sacked recently, after their WC elimination?

[nemi2002]

Black man no go respect him own...... They prefer to hire a bus driver with a different skin colour than hire a proven coach from another African country. We have had exceptions to this.

[Damunk]

Black man no go respect him own...... They prefer to hire a bus driver with a different skin colour than hire a proven coach from another African country. We have had exceptions to this.

I think we (Nigerians) are coming round to hiring our own.
The Lagerbachs on Sven's were hired more for the egunje factor than anything else.

My order of preference would be:
1. Nigerian
2. African
3. 'Euro-African' eg Desailly, Vierra etc
4. Others

[nanijoe]

Mine would be:

1. Nigerian
2. Nigerian
3. Nigerian
4. Other Nigerian
5. Any Nigerian

Can you imagine Nigeria being coached by a Kenkey brother? Ghana man no go let us hear word again lai lai

Black man no go respect him own...... They prefer to hire a bus driver with a different skin colour than hire a proven coach from another African country. We have had exceptions to this.

I think we (Nigerians) are coming round to hiring our own.
The Lagerbachs on Sven's were hired more for the egunje factor than anything else.

My order of preference would be:
1. Nigerian
2. African
3. 'Euro-African' eg Desailly, Vierra etc
4. Others

[Damunk]

That one go hard, but I think Nigerians would adapt.
I'm sure there was a time when 'ethnic representative teams' like Enugu Rangers and IICC Shooting stars would have never hired players outside their ethnic groups. But that time don pass longest time.

Mine would be:

1. Nigerian
2. Nigerian
3. Nigerian
4. Other Nigerian
5. Any Nigerian

Can you imagine Nigeria being coached by a Kenkey brother? Ghana man no go let us hear word again lai lai

Black man no go respect him own...... They prefer to hire a bus driver with a different skin colour than hire a proven coach from another African country. We have had exceptions to this.

I think we (Nigerians) are coming round to hiring our own.
The Lagerbachs on Sven's were hired more for the egunje factor than anything else.

My order of preference would be:
1. Nigerian
2. African
3. 'Euro-African' eg Desailly, Vierra etc
4. Others

[fabio]

I like the Ethiopian coach at AFCON 2013.

I wouldn't mind him coaching Nigeria when Big Boss Keshi exits.

That guy was good. But wasn't he sacked recently, after their WC elimination?

What is your definiation of 'good'?

[Damunk]

I like the Ethiopian coach at AFCON 2013.

I wouldn't mind him coaching Nigeria when Big Boss Keshi exits.

That guy was good. But wasn't he sacked recently, after their WC elimination?

What is your definiation of 'good'?

Askology.
What is your own definition of 'good'?
You too like wahala nowadays.

[smartbrother]

Mine would be:

1. Nigerian
2. Nigerian
3. Nigerian
4. Other Nigerian
5. Any Nigerian

kpom
1 Siasia
2 Oliseh,
3 Finidi,
4.Obuh
5 Ikhana
THe only foreigner i would tolerate would be jean tigana who's now retired

[Sunset]

I like the Ethiopian coach at AFCON 2013.

I wouldn't mind him coaching Nigeria when Big Boss Keshi exits.

That guy was good. But wasn't he sacked recently, after their WC elimination?

He was sacked after CHAN, after they didn't come out of their group. Not a good move IMO.

[maceo4]

CONMEBOL as a whole is just as good as if not better than UEFA, so why would they need to Europe to pick their coaches? Their coaches are actually being picked by top European teams such as Barca, Real Madrid, and Manchester City. They have competent leagues on par with a lot of European leagues, for the most part they have a good structure and youth development. There is really no comparison on this front...

It comes down to your options, are there enough experienced coaches in Africa that can do the job? I am against the likes of CIV picking a novice like Lamouchi, I'd rather they picked a local coach if they were going to go that route. I would agree that we need to get rid of the journey-man coaches who have achieved nothing that differentiates them from our own coaches except their skin color. But those listing the Finidi's and Oliseh's should compare their CV's to those of the coaches that the South American teams are selecting, they are not just selecting any old South American, they are selecting those with proven records. The National team should not be a training ground for coaches without the adequate experience, regardless of where they are from.

[Sunset]

CONMEBOL as a whole is just as good as if not better than UEFA, so why would they need to Europe to pick their coaches? Their coaches are actually being picked by top European teams such as Barca, Real Madrid, and Manchester City. They have competent leagues on par with a lot of European leagues, for the most part they have a good structure and youth development. There is really no comparison on this front...

It comes down to your options, are there enough experienced coaches in Africa that can do the job? I am against the likes of CIV picking a novice like Lamouchi, I'd rather they picked a local coach if they were going to go that route. I would agree that we need to get rid of the journey-man coaches who have achieved nothing that differentiates them from our own coaches except their skin color. But those listing the Finidi's and Oliseh's should compare their CV's to those of the coaches that the South American teams are selecting, they are not just selecting any old South American, they are selecting those with proven records. The National team should not be a training ground for coaches without the adequate experience, regardless of where they are from.