It is a prestigious position to earn as the coach of the senior national football team of Ghana especially from the backdrop of our three consecutive world cup outfits and pedigree on the African continent. A job that many Ghanaian coaches are dying to to have and serve their nation of birth. It is rather sad that these days, our football handlers find no interest in giving the black stars coaching job to locals and hence, handing it to Avram Grant in late 2014.
With a short time of preparing the team, Avram Grant guided Ghana to the final of the African cup of nations last year only to lose to Ivory Coach on penalties. Grant became a darling of many Ghanaian soccer fans because of the way his hand-print was displayed on the pitch by the players of the black stars. Subsequently, Ghana placing second in the tournament meant every member of the team earned himself a brand new karaoke car.
A very months after the FIFA world cup as well as the African cup qualifiers began and again coach Avram Grant with his superstitious blue shirt, guided Ghana with exceptional results till the end of last year. However, Ghana football Association gave Grant the month of December 2015 to go on leave in his home country and return to Ghana in January 2016. Interestingly, after three months, the coach had still not return to Ghana to monitor activities here. It had to take the GFA to officially write to him to give him an ultimatum to return or risk being punished for his long absence from Ghana.
Prior to his short leave to Israel by the permission of the GFA, Avram Grant was criticizing the poor organization and delay of the Ghana league as the reason why the local players are not getting call-ups into the black stars. I believe as at that time, it was alright to understand what he meant but now that the league has started and moving into week four, we can no longer agree to that claim. Many Ghanaians believe three months stay in Europe was more than enough time to have monitored Ghana players abroad and should have returned to Ghana at least a week to the start of the Ghanaian league. It is quite a disgrace to even think that the national team coach of the Ghana is not interested in what is happening in the country that has employed him.
Avram Grant is undoubtedly one of the highest paid national team coaches in the world with a monthly salary of $50,000 a month and yet he barely stays in Ghana for a month. One can confidently say that apart from Africa and Ghana in particular, this kind of situation can never happen in any European country. For instance, I don't think the Spain national team coach can stay in another country for three months without monitoring the Spanish league and still maintain his job. Oh No! He would have lost his job long time. This is the country we find ourselves in that foreigners are far more respected than locals.
It wouldn't be much of a wonder if a local coach was in the same position of Grant and acting same way, he would have been sacked.
Ghana has a crucial AFCON qualifier against Mozambique in two weeks time and yet there has not been any monitoring of local players by the head coach of the Black Stars. In few days, Grant will announce his squad for the two legged encounter, and it is so predictable that 99% if not 100% will be Ghanaian players plying their trade abroad. The attitude of the coach towards the Ghanaian league is simply an insult to the GFA and the premier league board if they don't know already. There are so many talents there who can easily fit into the black stars but the question is; who is ready to monitor and recommend them for a call up? Of course I know journalists will do their best to identify and recommend the best talents here but if the coach turn deaf ears, it will all be in vain.
In conclusion, I'm pleading to coach Avram Grant that now that he has arrived in Ghana, he should be be very vigilant to monitor the best of talent who can legitimately fit into the black stars set up. Again Grant should do well to stay for at least the next three months to get a feel of the local league and boost the moral of players his with his presence at games in the league.
WRITER: Edward Kyei Frimpong
Eddybless100@yahoo.com
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