Burkhard Ziese, Porterfield, Polo after stars Job
According to Graphic sports, evidence has emerged that the dream of German Coach, Burkhard Ziese, to re-craft Ghana’s return to international football glory will not be dashed with the passage of time. Twelve years after losing the job as Black Stars Head Coach, under a heap of acrimony, the extrovert German has renewed his want for the role to lead the senior national team following the strange exit of Yugoslav Millan Zivadinovic. Zivadinovic last month bolted from the job after a three-month affair during which he played only one match and lost to Uganda. That period and effort earned the Yugolav over $65,000 at the expense of Ghana. After reading of the Millan swerve in Ghanaian newspapers, Burkhard promptly applied for the job, saying it had not been his class to so react to newspaper publications but was compelled to do so because the Ghana Football Association had not advertised the job in the media. Referring to the earlier applications from which Mr. Zivadinovic was selected, the German complained about the F.A’s habit of not replying to his letters and hoped this time he would be listened to. Confirming the Burkhard story, Mr. Kofi Nsiah, General Secretary of the GFA, said the German had already been written to, acknowledging receipt of his application with the assurance that it would be considered alongside others. Burkhard Ziese in 1991 qualified the Black Stars for the 1992 edition of the Cup of Nations, introducing into the Ghanaian game a rare blend of charisma and cunningness. But the man, now 61, did not stay long enough to steer the Stars through the tournament hosted by Senegal. His brash class earned him official scorn, and though he enjoyed a great deal of support from the masses, his contract was not renewed when it expired in 1991. His place was taken over by fellow German, Otto Pfister, who guided the team to the final, losing by a nail-biting 10-11 penalty shoot-out to Cote d’Ivoire. Over the past decade and more, no coach for the Black Stars stirred so much emotions as Burkhard Ziese. At the time the whole nation celebrated the skills of Joe Debrah and the late Shamo Quaye as the best adverts for football, Ghanaian-class, Burkhard ignored them both in preference for the more masculine play of the likes of Sarah Mensah and Sam Johnson. Defiantly, the German braved through the ensuing controversy and by the time he made participation in CAN 92 a certainty, had converted many of the sceptics into admirers. He was also a man the local media could not ignore, loved and disliked with equal intensity. But all in all Burkhard appeared to enjoy every bit of that stormy stay in Ghana; even his animated relationship with a section of the media and authority. His later experiment with Zambia was as brief as Millan’s work in Ghana and has always relished a re-engagement with the Black Stars. So far, no other clear challenger has applied in writing for the seat currently occupied by Coach E.K. Afranie. But a strong message has come from Football Magician, Mohammed Polo, who has never hidden his conviction that he has what it takes to take the Black Stars back to where it belongs. Former Kotoko coach Ian Poterfield has also expressed interest but he, as in the case of Polo, is yet to formally apply. Mohammed Polo wants the job too FORMER national star, Mohammed Ahmed Polo, has called for a new direction in football coaching in the country if the nation should reclaim its lost glory at the national team level.
He has accordingly appealed to the authorities to take a conscious look at that aspect of Ghanaian Soccer in order to bring some level of improvement into the national team in a bid to achieve the nation’s long-cherished dream of making it to the World Cup.
Polo who has repeatedly challenged the FA to entrust him with the handling of the Black Stars, renewed his bid for the high profile job.
In an interview with the Graphic sports last week, Polo expressed great pain and regret at the inability of the Black Stars to qualify for the ultimate competition in international football - the World Cup - inspite of several attempts to get there.
He said if appropriate structures are not constructed, and the attitude of officialdom, especially the department of coaching, is not given a positive look, “Our efforts will always end without a crown to show for them”.
He decried the situation were ‘old’ coaches are recycled and then offered the same old jobs they had earlier failed to achieve results on.
Polo, himself an ace dribbler, and appropriately named the ‘soccer professor’ by the media during his playing days, said he was least enthused about the performance of the Black Stars in their recent match against their Rwandan counterparts despite romping home to an encouraging 4-2 victory.
“We were technically poor and showed no organised tactic for greater period of the match. We could have lost altogether. No wonder the visitors gave us that early scare before we recovered,” he said of the Black Stars performance in that match.
But the prevailing situation notwithstanding, he believes there is still hope for a total renaissance of the national team if young coaches are encouraged and charged to bring some fresh ideas onto the soccer terrain.
“It is time our authorities realised the importance and contribution of coaches to the game. It is only when they educate them selves in this direction that they will give proper recognition to the relevance of coaches in the country”, he said.
He said there is a growing obsession among the very good local players who are all bent on featuring in the shirts of either Hearts or Kotoko, saying such a situation deserves condemnation since it does not promote a favourable competition between the two sides and the rest of the teams.
But Polo said the saga can be reversed if favouritism towards ‘big’ clubs is eliminated, while match officials also ensure that they stay above suspicion. “That way all clubs will be assured of a participation in Africa if they win the league”, he said.
Now a full-time soccer coach, Polo plied his trade with a few club sides in Ghana, notably Hearts of Oak and perennial lower division campaigners, Advance Stars, before taking over some appointments in the gulf region.