Why Africa Must Not Always Go For Foreign Football Coaches

The continent of Africa is one of the continents with the finest football talents whose players ply their trade in renowned championships abroad. They undoubtedly contribute to the world of football champions.

Africa no doubt has written an indelible page in world football history. It has even had a significant representation in the world's football governing body FIFA, and has also showed the world how a world cup event should be hosted when the rainbow nation of South Africa did it in 2010.

The world's second largest continent has produced footballers who have the flair of scoring goals, and have caused money tycoons to release stupendous sums of cash – players that have performed at the pinnacle of world football, sending fans both white and black into a state of frenzy.

Africa has even won FIFA's topmost individual award, the Ballon d'Or when Liberia's George Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah bagged it in the year 1995.

For a continent that continues to lick the sores of inferiority vis-a-via the rest of the world, the knack for football prominence blooms quite brilliantly on its agenda. To corroborate this point, three African nations have reached the ¼ final stage of the mondial, with Ghana being the latest although they proved they could break new grounds by surpassing that feat in 2010 but football gods said it wasn't yet time.

Africa has had and continues to have immense achievements in global football, but in all of these, it is absolutely stunning that most African countries continue to be skeptical about employing local football coaches for their national sides. Football Associations, FAs are still to be convinced that their fellow country men can deliver the goods.

Mind you that out of the 28 editions of Africa's flagship football tournament, the Africa cup of nations that have taken place, 15 have been won by foreign coaches while locals have won 13. The difference here is just two, and this therefore highlights the fact that there is little or nothing particularly special about foreign trainers.

Cote d'Ivoire won the 1992 Africa cup of nations with a local trainer in the person of Yeo Martial, south Africa did same in 1996 with Clive Barker, Egypt had a triple winning streak with a local Hassan Shehata, Ghana also won titles with a local Charles Gyamfi, just to name a few.

It is irrational for Africa to continue to maintain an unproductive status quo, and to keep on spending piles of money on foreign coaches most of who do not end up achieving results. Cameroon of course has had a good number of such joker coaches who come and reap and go with the latest being the Spaniard Javier Clemente Lazario who reportedly used to refuse to identify himself as Indomitable Lions' coach.

The man who succeeded him is still a foreigner, French born Denis Lavagne who has no experience at all with coaching a national side. Sources from Yaounde, the Political capital even tell us that officials of FECAFOOT, the country's football FA has not even given Lavagne his official contract. The heat is till on him, on Wednesday 29 February, he would be leading an unconvincing indomitable lions' side to Guinea Bissau to face the squad in the first leg qualifier of the first round qualification for the 2013 Africa cup of nations after losing out at the 2012 edition

His 22 man-squad for the clash is injury blighted and star player Samuel Eto'o is not included together with his vice Captain Eyong Enoh Tarkang for suspension…. Infact let me end there. I am not talking about Cameroon.

Cote d'ivoire's 2010 world cup coach Goran Sven Erickson for instance earned circa 2 million pounds but gave the elephants a white elephant result at the tournament. It was the same thing with Nigeria's Lars Lagerback.

What a shame it was that for the first time the African continent hosted the world cup, only one of the 32 head coaches was an African, or better still a black man – Algeria's Rabah Sadaane. At the 2012 Africa cup of nations, not up to half of the coaches were African; and to make things much worse, the country that eventually won it, did so with a foreigner, Herve Renard who became the 4th French man to win the afcon after Le Roy (with Cameroon 1988), Lechantre (with Cameroon 2000) and Lemerre (with Tunisia 2004).

Other bookmakers opine however that for a local coach to successfully manage superstars for example like Cameroon and Anzhi striker Samuel Eto'o Fils and cote d' ivoire and Chelsea forward Didier Yves Drogba who play in top clubs abroad and who swim in the millions, could be a herculean task in that there would be lack of respect for the trainer. Some think that African trainers can not work with a lot of commitment and focus or they could easily indulge in nepotism in selecting players to constitute their squads for international outings.

But in all of this, it is just a matter of change of mentality. Let Africans not think themselves inferior to any other human being, or feel that nothing good can come out of them. Nigeria and other countries have begun setting the pace. They insisted on having a local coach after their bumpy ride at the 2010 world cup and they got Siasia – former super eagle. Even when Siasia was sacked for failing to qualify Nigeria for the 2012 afcon, they got yet another local, the big boss Stephen Keshi as replacement. South Africa has Pitso Mosimane who was assistant trainer to the Brazilian Carlos Alberto Pereira just to cite a few.

I have always tried to demonstrate the “nothingness” in a foreign coach by this football historical fact that no country has ever won the world's greatest football trophy, the FIFA world cup with a foreign coach. All the nations that have bagged home the trophy have done so with their fellow country men, with the latest being Spain's Vicente Del Bosque who after the victory was honoured with the title of “Marquis” by King Juan Carlos of Spain. It is hoped that Cameroon too can copy this example. After all there are the likes of Oman Biyick and Patrick Mboma who have the ability to do what the Le Guens and the Clementes didn't do and which current coach Dennis Lavagne might still not be able to do.

By Macdonald Ayang Okumb
Buea, South West Cameroon