OUR FOOTBALL COACH AND "KLU BLOFO" by Samuel Nartey

I presume that "klu blofo" was a term used by the Ga people to identify those who spoke a particular kind of English -- the "Creole" English spoken in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and which has now, soehow been transformed into the "Ppidgin English" spoken in Ghana.

Iin august 2008, when the Ghana Football Association went in search of a coach to replace Claude le Roy, nobody expected that they would choose Milovan Rajevac.But good as it may be, they settled on the Serbian. One thing we were made to understand was that he could not speak English fluently but culd speak "passing English" -- what my grandma will call 'klu blofo'.To assist him, an intepreter was employed for him.

This, I can say, is similar to Ghanaian players who go to Europe and don't understand the language and thus are given interpreters. Many Ghanaians and sports analysts questioned the GFA's rationale for selecting a coach who could not speak English, but the GFA stood by their man. Today, a year after, he has qualified us for South Africa 2010: not just qualification, but this has been the most simple qualification the Black Stars have ever enjoyed, without waiting for the last qualification match, or doing mathematics.

But one record he has set is not speaking 'klu blofo'. for the past one year. During the year, he has not spoken one sentence in English to the media.The only thing I have heard him say is 'thank you', after his interpreter spoke for him in an interview. Compared to his contemporaries like Fabio Capello and Carlo Ancelloti, they were all speaking 'klu blofo' , but just a few months later, they started speaking English at their press conferences. Both of them, I learnt, attended English lessons to better their English, but for Milovan, I have no idea. However, since I am at the linguistics department at Legon and also nearer to the Ghana Institute of Languages, I thought I might catch a glimpse of our dear coach taking some lessons. But no!

I think it's time for Milovan Raevac to start speaking 'klu blofo' for us to hear. I am eagerly anticipating his first press conference in English.