Excitement over local coaches handling African World Cup teams much ado about nothing
Senegal's head coach Aliou Cisse gestures during their Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) quarter-final match against Equatorial Guinea at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde on January 30, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Apparently Halilhodzic was discarded because of his stubborn refusal to recall star players, Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui of Bayern Munich, to the team over disciplinary issues.
- I, however rate Morocco as the best of the African teams bound for Qatar. While at it, Regragui is not even a native of Morocco. He was born in France 46 years ago.
On Wednesday last week an appointment was made that has historic significance to African football.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced it had reached an agreement with Walid Regragui for him to become the Atlas Lions new head coach, replacing Bosnian-French coach Vahid Halilhodzic.
This brought to five the number of local coaches who will handle African teams at the 2022 Qatar World Cup in November, December.
It means that for the first time in the history of the World Cup (since Africa started having more than one representative), all coaches in charge of African nations will be local, that is assuming they will keep their job till the world finals in Qatar.
Before the Atlas Lions changed the head of their pride, the last African nation headed to the World Cup to go local was Cameroon when former International Rogobert Song was appointed coach in February.
He replaced Portuguese Toni Conceicao who had guided the Indomitable Lions to a third place finish in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finish on home soil early this year.
Former Senegal international Alliou Cisse, has been in charge of the Teranga Lions since 2015. Ghana’s Black Stars are under ex-international Otto Addo, while Tunisia are being handled by local boy Jalel Kadri. Both were appointed early this year.
A recent story on cafonline.com, the official website of CAF, said:
“The presence of the five African coaches at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar represents a giant step towards the development of African football.
“This is enough proof that local expertise can also work well when and if given a chance. This will be an opportunity for the whole world to discover the ability of African tacticians.”
It may have caused some excitement and anticipation in this part of the world particularly from the exponents of local coaches, but I feel the optimism is just hot air.
I can go further and stick my neck out this early by stating the five coaches will not go far in Qatar.
Firstly, history shows that no local African coach has excelled at the World Cup.
Brazilian football legend Pele once famously predicted that an African nation would win the World Cup before 2000, but the best outing by a team from the mother continent has been a quarter-final appearance.
That was achieved in 1990, 2002 and 2010, and by foreign coaches. In 1990 it was the time of Cameroon under Russian coach Valeriy Nepomnyashchiy to guide the Indomitable Lions to a historic last eight.
For good measure, Rodger Milla, called to the team via a presidential decree, scored four goals to win the Bronze Boot award
Frenchman Bruno Metsu ‘the white sorcerer” repeated the feat with Senegal in France 2002 before Serb Milovan Rajevac guided Ghana to the quarter-finals in South Africa 2010 .
Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah, who was an assistant to Rajevac in 2010, recently stated that he would have won the World Cup that year were he in charge of the team. Chortle!
This same man took the team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where they lost two matches and drew one to finish last in their group for a timid exit.
Let me stick to the current local men and their chances.
I am surprised Senegal have stuck with Cisse for seven years now. When he failed to win the 2019 Afcon in Egypt Senegalese were baying for his blood saying he was not good enough for the team.
He only just kept his job after leading Senegal to their first ever African title at the 2021 Afcon finals held in Cameroon in January, February.
Cisse may have been voted CAF Coach of the Year, and may have a world class Sadio Mane at his disposal, but the Senegal of 2022 does not come anywhere near that superb squad the current coach captained 20 years ago.
Secondly, the appointments of Song, Regragui, Kadri and Addo were rather abrupt.
Song, in echoes of 1990 when a presidential directive saw Milla included in the Cameroonian squad, was appointed on the express instructions of President Paul Biya.
Amidst murmurs of doubt, Song only just guided Cameroon to qualify for Qatar on the away goal rule after an aggregate 2-2 draw with Algeria in their two-leg final round qualifier.
Song, 46, has little coaching experience at senior level, and restoring the roar of an Indomitable Lions seriously lacking genuine world stars will be a tall order.
Kadri was appointed Tunisia head coach in January, just days after the Carthage Eagles were knocked out of the Afcon at the quarter-finals stage.
The appointment of Regragui, just three months to the World Cup, is decidedly disruptive. He replaced Halilhodzic who had guided the promising Atlas Lions to the World Cup.
Apparently Halilhodzic was discarded because of his stubborn refusal to recall star players, Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui of Bayern Munich, to the team over disciplinary issues.
I, however rate Morocco as the best of the African teams bound for Qatar. While at it, Regragui is not even a native of Morocco. He was born in France 46 years ago.
