Sellas Tetteh's hard road to fame
By The Mirror
Career & Money | Sat, 24 Oct 2009
Career & Money | Sat, 24 Oct 2009
Sellas Tetteh: Under most circumstances he remained calm
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Taciturn Coach Sellas Tetteh Teivi of the victorious FIFA Under-20 World Cup team, the Black Satellites, has, for once, departed from his reserved posture to talk about some of his accomplishments in his career which spans over 10 years of dedicated service and commitment to the national cause.
Sellas, also known as Borbor (a Yuroba expression which means Charlie) by his admirers, said the recent success at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup hosted by Egypt made him the first African coach to win laurels in football at that level of world competition.
According to Sellas, who had a chat with The Mirror at his residence at the Old Barrier on the Accra-Kasoa road last Wednesday, he was also the only Ghanaian coach who had consistently been in the system of coaching the national teams for 10 years and had been to the World Cup at all levels of international competition: Under l7, Under 20 and the senior level.
According to the coach of the moment, his only regret in life was his inability to play for any of the national teams during his days as a footballer.
Sellas played for Accra Hearts of Oak and Zebi FC, along with others such as Hesse Odamtten, Anas Seidu, Mac Eben Thompson (Nii Noi Thompson), Kingston Asabre, Dan Tettevi, Bobby Ansah, Nii Adu Sackey, Kwesi Adzrah (Awui), Eric Okoe Matey, among others.
However, he takes consolation from the fact that what he had not been able to do as a footballer, he had done it now and gave thanks to God for that honour to serve his Motherland.
Sellas, who is still basking in the glory of that enviable feat, maintained that "it was not easy accomplishing this epic dream. I knew the task ahead of me and worked hard towards it. My experience in Nigeria as a footballer under good coaches helped me a lot"
Additionally, he said he had worked with (Liberty Professionals, for him arguably one of the best in the country at the moment.
"The good managerial skills exhibited at that level were key and I was in the good 1 hands of my good friend and play mate Alhaji Sly Tetteh, the founder of the club, and Mr Felix Amoah Ansong, the chairman," he added.
Commenting on his reaction when the Satellites defender, Daniel Addo, was red-carded, Sellas acknowledged the fact that he had over-reacted.
He said personally he had gone through that experience and so whenever it happened he did not get tensed up but rather concentrated and focused on the game.
He said the red card shown to Addo was uncalled for, adding that, moments after that incident, he only shifted a midfielder backwards and kept the balance and shape of the team.
He said he usually suppressed his emotions and that he felt mentally happy when things were good and remained as such when things got rough.
He said under most circumstances he remained calm.
Sellas, the Adabraka-born from - La, Accra, and started playing football as a schemer at the colts level with Great Mao Mao. He later joined the Golden Pods of Koforidua and then left for Nigeria in 1979.
While in Nigeria, he played for various clubs at various times and returned to join Hearts in 1983 after over a million Ghanaians had been expelled from that country that year. Among the teams he played for while in Nigeria were the African Continental Bank, Bendel United (1991), Inwanyawu FC (1994) and Julius Berger for six seasons.
Before then he had travelled to Bangladesh to play professional football and later returned to Nigeria. He ended his soccer career with Inwanyawu FC in 1995.
Sellas returned to Ghana immediately and started his coaching career with Kotobabi Powerlines, then owned by Yaw La Danso, whom he said helped him in developing his career.
He said while at Powerlines, he helped the team to move from third division to second division before parting ways with it to join Dansoman-based Liberty Professionals in 1996.
Sellas, by dint of hard work, qualified the team from second division to the first I division in 1996 and helped it to gain promotion into the Premiership in 1999.
He said Baffour Gyan and the current Liberty coach, George Lamptey, were some of the boys he handled at that early stage of his association with Liberty. Continued
Source: The Mirror
Sellas, also known as Borbor (a Yuroba expression which means Charlie) by his admirers, said the recent success at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup hosted by Egypt made him the first African coach to win laurels in football at that level of world competition.
According to Sellas, who had a chat with The Mirror at his residence at the Old Barrier on the Accra-Kasoa road last Wednesday, he was also the only Ghanaian coach who had consistently been in the system of coaching the national teams for 10 years and had been to the World Cup at all levels of international competition: Under l7, Under 20 and the senior level.
According to the coach of the moment, his only regret in life was his inability to play for any of the national teams during his days as a footballer.
Sellas played for Accra Hearts of Oak and Zebi FC, along with others such as Hesse Odamtten, Anas Seidu, Mac Eben Thompson (Nii Noi Thompson), Kingston Asabre, Dan Tettevi, Bobby Ansah, Nii Adu Sackey, Kwesi Adzrah (Awui), Eric Okoe Matey, among others.
However, he takes consolation from the fact that what he had not been able to do as a footballer, he had done it now and gave thanks to God for that honour to serve his Motherland.
Sellas, who is still basking in the glory of that enviable feat, maintained that "it was not easy accomplishing this epic dream. I knew the task ahead of me and worked hard towards it. My experience in Nigeria as a footballer under good coaches helped me a lot"
Additionally, he said he had worked with (Liberty Professionals, for him arguably one of the best in the country at the moment.
"The good managerial skills exhibited at that level were key and I was in the good 1 hands of my good friend and play mate Alhaji Sly Tetteh, the founder of the club, and Mr Felix Amoah Ansong, the chairman," he added.
Commenting on his reaction when the Satellites defender, Daniel Addo, was red-carded, Sellas acknowledged the fact that he had over-reacted.
He said personally he had gone through that experience and so whenever it happened he did not get tensed up but rather concentrated and focused on the game.
He said the red card shown to Addo was uncalled for, adding that, moments after that incident, he only shifted a midfielder backwards and kept the balance and shape of the team.
He said he usually suppressed his emotions and that he felt mentally happy when things were good and remained as such when things got rough.
He said under most circumstances he remained calm.
Sellas, the Adabraka-born from - La, Accra, and started playing football as a schemer at the colts level with Great Mao Mao. He later joined the Golden Pods of Koforidua and then left for Nigeria in 1979.
While in Nigeria, he played for various clubs at various times and returned to join Hearts in 1983 after over a million Ghanaians had been expelled from that country that year. Among the teams he played for while in Nigeria were the African Continental Bank, Bendel United (1991), Inwanyawu FC (1994) and Julius Berger for six seasons.
Before then he had travelled to Bangladesh to play professional football and later returned to Nigeria. He ended his soccer career with Inwanyawu FC in 1995.
Sellas returned to Ghana immediately and started his coaching career with Kotobabi Powerlines, then owned by Yaw La Danso, whom he said helped him in developing his career.
He said while at Powerlines, he helped the team to move from third division to second division before parting ways with it to join Dansoman-based Liberty Professionals in 1996.
Sellas, by dint of hard work, qualified the team from second division to the first I division in 1996 and helped it to gain promotion into the Premiership in 1999.
He said Baffour Gyan and the current Liberty coach, George Lamptey, were some of the boys he handled at that early stage of his association with Liberty. Continued
Comments To This Article
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Well done coach Tetteh
Kojolee | Montreal-Canada (Canada) | 10/25/2009 9:39:00 PM
Coach Tetteh, you have done something, no coach in Ghana or African soccer has done before. You really deserve a great honor indeed. Keep on the good course and very soon our National Team will be yours.Well, always try to be positive of your dealings.
I am one of your big fan but I feels bad about the whole Prophet Joshuah saga. Anyway, I hope you have learned something from it. God is there for EVERYONE & THROUGH JESUS, EVERYONE CAN PRAY TO HIM DIRECTLY. It is God who granted us that victory but not Prophet T.B Joshuah.
I know from the beginning that, you were really a good coach until Nyantakyi deprived you from taken charge of Black Star.
But this Prophet T.B case has cause some doubt about you competency. But I knew he wasn't the one who won the whole 7 matches for you. That is why I still believed in you.
We are all praying that, GFA includes you to those officials going to South Africa as well. You have proved critics WRONG and now is the time to show us your ability as future Black Star coach.
Well done, you and Satellite boys and the teams staffs.
"Kojolee@Milo/TettehW/CCamp"
