Advertisement

Rescue mission: Faisal put faith in Turkish coach
King Faisal's Turkish coach, Kasim Gökyildiz on rescue mission,

Rescue mission: Faisal put faith in Turkish coach

Premier League side King Faisal have turned to a Turkish coach, Kasim Gökyildiz, for a rescue mission as the club seeks to get out of the relegation zone as the Ghana Premier League enters the second round in two weeks time.

He faces an arduous task of lifting Faisal, currently 15th on the league log, into safe waters after a disastrous run which saw  them winning just four out of 17 matches and bagging 17 points .

The founder of Faisal, Alhaji Karim Gruzah, told the Graphic Sports that he had high expectation of the coach to help the club improve on their performance, become more competitive and escape relegation, following which his future would be decided at the end of the season.

“His target which is subject to renewal is to manage King Faisal for the rest of the season and ensure that the team become very competitive and remain in the league,” he explained.

“We signed the Turkish coach because our former coach had a CAF Licensed B certificate and we felt that it would be better for us to bring in Gökyildiz to take us through the season because he is much more qualified to be at the helm of affairs."

The 55-year-old got down to work at the weekend as he began preparing the team for his first competitive match when Faisal host WAFA at the Ohene Ameyaw Park at Techiman when the second round gets underway next week.

The Turk arrived at a time Faisal had reinforced the team by signing promising young goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim -- recently promoted to the Black Stars following his outstanding performance which helped Ghana to win the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania -- on loan from Asante Kotoko.

Other signed players include a former AshantiGold left-back, Eric Donkor, a former Kotoko right-back, Paul Aidoo, a former Aduana Stars centre-back, Samudeen Ibrahim, a former Hearts midfielder, Richard Wiafe, and Latif Salifu whom Faisal founder, Alhaji Karim Gruzah, expects to help the new coach -- whose CV lists the UEFA License A among his coaching credentials -- to turn the club's fortunes around.

“We have also promoted some of our young players into the senior side with the hope of blending them with the newly signed players and old guards to ensure that King Faisal bounces back as a formidable side in the second round,” Alhaji Gruzah added.

Gökyildiz is not new to Ghana football. He previously handled AshantiGold after being given a provisional license and superintended over three games, winning two and drawing one.

Later, the Ghana Football Association revoked his license to work in Ghana, stating that per its checks with both the German Football Federation and the Turkish Football Federation, it was unable to validate the authenticity of the coach's license.

His arrival brings to three the number of expatriates who will be leading clubs in the second round of the league, with Serbian Vladislav Viric in charge of Dreams FC while Danijal Mujkanovic of Croatia is at the helm of affairs at bottom club Inter Allies.

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |