With Carlos Queiroz appointed to lead the Ghana national football team ahead of the FIFA World Cup, has Ghana made the right choice at the right time, and what tactical, structural, and psychological changes must Ghana implement to compete at the Mundial to ensure the Black Stars make a meaningful impact at the tournament?
George Afriyie, Former GFA Vice-President
My position on this appointment is very simple. I have a simple policy in life, and as far as our football is concerned, when a decision is taken, I can only support the decision because the decision has already been made.
I can only support the decision taken by the leadership of the FA. At this point, we have only a few weeks to the beginning of the World Cup, and so we can only support; we can offer our prayers and support so that the team can do well at the Mundial.
But having said that, let me say this. I made it clear from the beginning that whoever they are going to hire for this time must be a long-term coach, at least for two years. That is what I know. National team coaches are hired for a minimum of two years. The reason is very simple.
The calendar of the national team is always out there for you to consider. Remember, like I’ve said several times, immediately after the World Cup, there’s also an African Cup of Nations qualifier ahead of you, and then an African Cup of Nations tournament proper ahead of you.
So, you just have to bring in a coach who will plan a long timetable.
Anybody who fails to plan plans to fail. We should always take our time, plan, go in for the best, and make sure that we give him at least a minimum of two years to manage the national team.
That has been the process for some time now. I wish that the GFA had signed him on for at least two years and not just for the World Cup, but then for at least two years, so that immediately after the World Cup, he would prepare for the African Cup of Nations.
Remember, we’ve not won the African Cup of Nations for over 30-something years, so at least, it is another trophy that Ghanaians are yearning to see.
Augustine Arhinful, Former Ghana International
As to Ghana making the right choice as to the selection of Carlos Queiroz or otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to say it because his work can always tell us whether the choice that Ghana made was the right one.
So, we can only say that we were looking for a coach. We’ve got one, and we need to just forge ahead.
Apart from that, there’s nothing we can do for now. As to the psychological strength of the team and all, he’s an experienced coach, a father figure, 73 years old, and he’s been in the business for a long time.
So, as for the psychological aspect of it and how to motivate the players, he will always be capable of doing that.
So, let’s hope that his coming will bring the needed flow to the team. But also, don’t forget that the materials we have will always determine the strength of the team and how the team performs.
In this case, the players that we have and at any given time, the players that we are going to select, will determine how the team will perform.
But I think I’ve read snippets of his interviews, and I know what I heard the FA spokesperson say, that he has all the data of the players, and he has been following the players.
So, we will just have to believe what the spokesperson has said, and then we’ll run by it.
George Addo, BBC, Sports
I think he’s probably the best candidate the Ghana Football Association could have got, given the amount of money that the FA wanted to pay, given how short-term the contract is going to be, and that the Ghana FA needed a coach who has some considerable World Cup experience and also needed a coach who has some African background.
I think Carlos Queiroz ticks all the boxes. From the money side of things, surely having coached South Africa as well, he has the background, having also coached Egypt and sent them to the Afcon final, he definitely has some context for that.
And of course, he’s been to the World Cup four times. This will be his fifth time.
So, I think on those levels, he definitely is the best choice under the circumstances, even though I would have preferred maybe a different coach if we had a better budget and everything.
What does he need to do with the Black Stars at the moment? I think first of all, we have to defensively be very organised. We are very, very erratic at the back.
I’m still not sure if the technical team know who the first-rise goalkeeper is. Centre backs, right back, left back.
We need to be sure of what we’re doing and get the right players in the right positions.
And then again, the connection play in the midfield suggests we may not have Mohamed Kudus. It means that we need a midfield that can create.
Obviously, it looks like we’re going to be playing a defensive game.
Jerome Otchere, Sports Analyst, PR Manager, PCG
I’m not convinced by the coach’s World Cup records made available by the media as against claims that he’s a big coach and for that matter a big signing by GFA.
He might have coached for long time but of what significance is that when in totality his entire World Cup record shows he’s an average coach?
That said, it’s football and as we often say, the game defies logic at times. In that regard, it’s okay to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he leads to excel.
I wish him and the team well because as a Ghanaian, Ghana’s success will always excite me.
All things considered, sometime later, perhaps after the World Cup, we must have a proper conversation about how the present FA has generally been disappointing when it comes to the appointment of Black Stars coaches.
Since they started work, their handling of Black Stars coaching issues has been well below expectations, and that has been a contributing factor to the team’s unimpressive performance in the last five to six years.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh