Lessons from Milovan’s posture

By Kofi Akordor
The rapturous explosion of joy which was triggered by the Black Stars’ victory over Serbia in the World Cup match last Sunday, contrasted sharply with the gloom on the face of Milovan Rajevac, coach of the national team.
In the full glare of hundreds of television cameras, Coach Milovan snubbed Mr Kwesi Appiah, his deputy on the technical bench, and he walked away, crestfallen. Probably this is the first time that a coach of a victorious team felt so defeated, disappointed and even ‘wild’ when he should have been all smiles, dancing and hugging the technical team and players.
Various explanations came up. One was that the coach did not want to jump the gun to celebrate too early when there are many more hurdles to clear. Of course this could not make sense; otherwise no team would celebrate goals until the last whistle. Another, which came closer to the truth and which is the subject of this article, was that the coach did not want to be seen jubilating over the defeat of his country.
Nobody was expecting Coach to be ecstatic about Serbia’s defeat. But is snubbing the most reasonable thing to do? At least as a coach of a winning team, a polite shake of hands would do and as Ghanaians, we would understand the conflicting emotions stirring within the Serb.
Coach Milovan’s agony began when Serbia was drawn in the same group as Ghana at the group stages. The question then was which comes first — professionalism or nationalism?
Meanwhile Coach Milovan continued to assure Ghanaians that his heart was with the Black Stars and that he was not going to allow any nationalistic feelings to cloud his professional judgement. But what we saw last Sunday was a complete betrayal of an inner feeling that was hard to suppress. Perhaps Coach Milovan was counting on a draw so that duty to country and job would have been satisfied before Asamoah Gyan’s late penalty strike made the difference.
The disappointment was evident in the post-match conference when Coach Milovan declared; “Perhaps we (Ghana) got more lucky than them (Serbia), because we scored one goal, and we obtained the three points today. I hope Serbia can pick up six points from their next two games”. Serbia had since plucked three points from Germany and perhaps will add another three from Australia.
The important question is what happens if destiny should smile on Ghana and Serbia and the two should meet again in the tournament; say in the final? We may not be second time lucky and history is there as a guide.
In 1974, a Yugoslav coach led then Zaire to be slaughtered 9-0 by the then Yugoslavia in a World Cup match. In 1990 in Italy, Cameroon lost by a 4-0 margin to the then Soviet Union when it was being coached by a Soviet. This was a time when Cameroon was showing a lot of promise on the world stage. In 1998, Nigeria suffered a similar fate, when under Coach Bora Milutinovic of Yugoslavia; they went down 3-0 in the hands of Yugoslavia in France. In 2002, Cameroon again lost 2-0 to Germany when they were under Coach Winfried Schafer, a German. You may say these are cruel coincidences since Frenchman Bruno Metsu led Senegal to beat France in 2002 in a World Cup match.
But the question which continues to pop up is, when shall we, as a sovereign nation, begin to take up the mantle of leadership in all spheres of our national life? Shall we begin to beat the inferiority trap and see merit in our own selves? What have foreign coaches got up their sleeves which our local coaches do not have? Most of these coaches have language problems which affect their ability to communicate effectively with the players, as is the case with our current coach who uses the services of an interpreter to communicate with the players.
The argument usually goes that the foreign coaches command the respect of the players. That is where the inferiority complex syndrome becomes more manifest. Why should we be running with our tails between our legs at the command of a strange white man but fail to respond to the same command because it is coming from a fellow Ghanaian?
What impression do we create in the minds of players if we are prepared to pay so much to a foreign coach to do a job a Ghanaian is capable of doing and even better, while the Ghanaian coach is paid a pittance? Immediately, we have declared our own man inferior and, therefore, does not deserve the respect accorded a foreigner. The players are Ghanaians and would not think differently from the thinking of the rest of us.
We are a sovereign nation with a common destiny. So unless it becomes necessary, we must realise that our destiny lies in our own hands. There are many who when confronted with a choice between nationalism and professionalism would choose the former and it is natural. That is why Coach Milovan’s posture last Sunday should not surprise anybody. He could have done worse.
We need coaches who will celebrate our victories not as a duty well-performed, but as shareholders in the collective fortunes of the state, just as they will mourn our loss, not as a personal failure, but as that of a proud sovereign nation.
Even though it is still early yet, there is no evidence so far to prove that the African teams with foreign coaches are putting up any exceptional performance in South Africa. This is a clear indication that the growth and survival of football on the continent should be the business of Africans themselves.
FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, the man who has done so much for African football, emphasised this point when he said most of the so-called top class coaches who come to make millions on the continent are not fit to be college coaches in their home countries. He also reiterated the point that it is time Africa began seeing its progress in the sport on the continent.
All said and done, it would be said that at the end of the day, patriotism, dedication and commitment to the national cause would be the greatest motivation for victory. Last Sunday was an experience we should learn from — that it is time to stand on our own feet.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
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