The Parade April 2013 | Page 54

Africa Do Away Can Sports With Foreign Coaches? Reinhard Fabisch Gilbert Munetsi U nder the guidance of Stephen Keshi, Nigeria, home to the highest number of African players in Europe, made a mark worth emulating at the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa. One can be fooled to think that since the bulk of the ‘Super Eagles’ spend most of their time with top European coaches, that can automatically transform into success at national level. Unfortunately, that has not been the case, as a glance at the past history of this populous nation can reveal. Twice, they have been to the World Cup finals with foreign coaches and failed to make any meaningful progress. First it was the Dutchman Clemens Westerhof at USA-94 and then at France-98 under Bora Mulitinovic. Nothing changed when local Adegboyega Onigbinde had the final say at the 2002 finals in Korea/Japan. So unpredictable are the dynamics of football which is why it is probably called the world’s most beautiful game. Some of the foreign coaches so much fall in love with Africa to the extend that they start hopping from one country to another. One such colourful character is German Otto Pfitser who first came to Page 54 Otto Pfitser Africa in 1972 as coach of the Rwanda. Pfitser has coached eight different nations on the continent; Rwanda (1972 76), Upper Volta (1976 - 78), Senegal (1979 - 1982), Ivory Coast (1982 - 85), Zaire (1985 - 89), Ghana (1989 - 95), Togo (2006) and Cameroon (2007 - 09). If he was not on a national assignment, the German was either in the Middle East or still in Africa coaching club football. He has been in charge of Al Zamalek and El-Masry (Egypt), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) and Al-Merrikh (Sudan), among other top clubs on the continent. In a career spanning over three decades, Pfitser is believed to be fluent in more than 40 dialects as a result of his stay in Asia, Middle East and Africa. The man even shunned the job market in his home country ever since he came to Africa. Other foreign coaches to have changed employers regularly on the continent include the French duo of Henri Michel and Phillipe Trousier. Both men have coached different outfits at both club and national levels. Trousier has been in charge of Ivory Coast (1993), Nigeria (1997), Burkina Faso (1997 - 98), South Africa (1998) and Morocco (2005) while Michel took charge of Cameroon (1994), Morocco (1995 2000), Tunisia (2001 - 2002)Ivory Coast The Parade - Zimbabwe’s Most Read Lifestyle Magazine Rudi Gutendorf (2004 - 06) and again Morocco (2007. Save for the Russian Valeri Kuzmyich Nepomniachi who took Cameroon to the quarter final stage of the world cup in 1990, the majority of foreign coaches have faced an uphill task at the global competition. Zimbabwe after 32 years of independence has had its own share of expatriate coaches. They include Wieslaw Grabowski (Poland), Ben Koufie ( v????&V???&Bf&?66??B'VF?wWFV?F?&`??vW&????&2GWf???&B?7v?G?W&??B??6?V?V?2vW7FW&??b??WF?W&??G2?????FW&f?V?B?66?F??B??B??6Rf????0??'&???( n( b??B??rvV?2??6fRf?"F?R?GFW"v???27F???FW7F??p?F?RvFW'2?F?W???f??VBF?wV?FP????&'vRF?F?Rd4???Bv?&?B7W?f???2?F?R?FR&V???&Bf&?66??27F????&Vv&FVB2F?R??7B7V66W76gV?f?&V?v??6?6??????&'vRgFW"6??Wf??r????F6?V?&VFV?'V???F?RV?g???p?&?V?G2?bF?R??Bg&?6??Bv?&?B7W?6??WF?F???2??2F?R#Rd4???F?&R??7FVB'????&?66??&V6???2?6?66W"f?2VvW&??v?BF?6VR??r???f?&V?v?6?6?W0?v???w&6RF?R?666?????B?27F???F???V&?F?6??6?VFRF?B??7BFV?2@?F?R6??F??V?F?f???2v???7F?6?F?F?V? ?7W'&V?BFV6???6?7Ffb?E?&??#0??