The latest in the mad rush for the highly-attractive Black Stars coaching job is that no local coach had been enlisted among the 32 applicants for the vacant job when the Ghana Football Association closed applications last Friday.
The latest development is in sharp contrast with recent trend when some Ghanaian coaches braved the odds to rub shoulders with their highly-fancied European counterparts anytime such opportunities availed themselves.
Sources close to the FA indicated that 32 applicants submitted their applications before the deadline of the process last Friday.
Though the reason for the local coaches to stay away from the selection process could not be readily ascertained, some observers fingered the recent raw deal meted out to Coach Kwasi Appiah as the possible cause. Another school of thought cited their slim chance against the expatriates as the main cause.
The GFA invited applications for the position after parting ways with Appiah a week ago.
“We would have wanted a local coach to come into the fray; it’s important,” FA spokesperson Ibrahim Sannie Daara, told Joy FM while confirming that no local applied for the job.
He hinted that the GFA would begin pruning down the 32 applicants to a considerable number for interview tomorrow and hope to conclude the search by the end of this week.
Among the long list of applicants in line to succeed Appiah are former Stars coach and frontrunner, Milovan Rajevac, and his compatriot Zarvisa Milosaljevic, Portuguese duo of Rui Almeda, Jose Alberto Barosso, Argentines Ricardo Gareca, De Felipe Omar and Trotta Roberto, Briton Bobby Davidson, Frenchman Michel Pont, Belarussian Leonid Kuchuk, Peruvian Carlos Roberto Paulette, Swede Tom Strand and Peter Obermeyer of Germany.
Portuguese Barroso was twice assistant coach of Portugal in 1989 and in 2009, having previously handled the Portugal under-21 side. He had also coached clubs such as, Académica and Famalicão, both in Portugal.
Serbian Milosavljevic, a former professor of physical education at the University of Belgrade, once handled the Serbian Under-16 and Under-19 teams. He also coached five clubs in his native Serbia, including top-flight outfits FK Mogren and Dinamo Belgrade.
He had previous experience in Africa where he led APR FC of Rwanda to win the National Cup and Super Cup in 2002 and coach of Lesotho’s national team.
Frenchman Pont was until recently the assistant coach of Switzerland, supporting Ottmar Hitzfeld during his reign, which ended at the World Cup in Brazil.
