Burkhard Ziese Has Played Himself Out of Ghana

Ghana football is in crisis. And that is official. After a long search for an expatriate coach to steer the ship of soccer from the troubled waters had ended with the signing of German technical director Burkhard Ziese, the conventional wisdom was that the nation could settle down to reconstruct the football foundation that was wobbling. Instead, Burkhard has himself become the major problem as the national soccer team prepares for the most important match in recent times.

Last Wednesday, as the Black Stars were about to go through departure formalities for their flight to Kigali, the tiny Central African nation that has become the major stumbling block towards the national team's qualification for CAN 2004 in Tunisia, the Ghana Football Association was locked up in crisis meeting for a very long spell.

The five-member national executive had a number of flash points to deal with. Most of the players expected to make the trip were nowhere to be found and replacements had to be rushed in turn to catch the plane.

With the Black Stars qualification for Tunisia hinging solely on the outcome of the match, the haphazard preparation for the match is a source of worry not only to members of the GFA and a special Task Force put together by the Government to put things right and ease the path for the national team's qualification.

The FA's task is not made easier by the very strange behavior of Burkhard Ziese, the German coach contracted at huge cost to the nation to put the Black Stars and their Under 23 counterparts, the Black Meteors through their paces.

Burkhard was contracted amid controversy. Officials within and outside the Ghana Football Association's Ministries Head Office were opposed to his appointment on the basis that the last time he was here, although he did a fantastic job as technical director of the game, he also stepped on so many toes that many thought bringing him back was not tenable. It took the tenacity of Deputy Minister of Sports Joe Aggrey and others who still remember the German for getting the Black Stars through to the African Cup of Nations Championships after three spectacular failures to get Burkhard the job.

Instead of repaying their loyalty, Burkhard Ziese has orchestrated a number of very controversial decisions that have completely undermined this nation's efforts at soccer revival.

Without assessing the quality of players on the local scene, Burkhard threw spanners in the works of players and their trainers in the local game, by stating emphatically that there were no players of merit at home worth considering donning the national jersey. It was a very irresponsible statement that has contributed to the unwillingness of players to report for national duty.

A day before the players were scheduled to leave for the Kigali engagement, FA officials and the Deputy Minister of Sports Joe Aggrey were frantically searching for players to make up the number. Eventually, they had to fall on sympathetic ears of the Interim Management committeeof Asante Kotoko to release a number of players for the crucial national assignment.

To add to the comedy, Burkhard initially appeared to have sent away Isaac Boakye, the leading striker in the local game this year. The German, according to usually reliable sources at the FA, told Boakye that he was not on the list of 21 players, he the coach had sent out for players to report and could therefore feature in his plans.

Naturally, Isaac took the coach's sentiments to mean he was not wanted in camp and left with his bag and baggage. When officials of the Special Task Force got to know of the new development, they were alarmed. They had to virtually look for intermediaries to agree to get the player to return to camp.

To add insult to injury, when the player returned to camp Burkhard Ziese rebuked him for deserting camp. The plain truth is that Burkhard is becoming an embarrassment to the Ghanaian game. The way he talks down on players without regard to their sentiments is what led to players refusal to report for national duty.

Officials are now losing their patience with the coach who won the contract for a second stint in Ghana on the strength of the way he managed to revive our moribund game when he was here in the early 1990s.

As President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana, I will be failing in my responsibilities to Ghana sports if I condone the reckless behavior of Burkhard Ziese. My honest opinion is that the coach does not deserve to serve this country any more. He thinks everybody owes him a job. But this is our land. The interest of Ghana sports should be paramount over any interest of an individual. I get very angry when foreigners think they come down here, take our money and behave as if they are God's gift to this republic. Ziese has tested our patience to the brim.

He embarrassed us in Nigeria when he refused to allow the Black Stars to come out and play Iran in the third place match of the special four-nation tournament.

When the Black Stars went to Tunisia to engage in another four-nation championship, he abandoned the team and went to Kigali, leaving Isaac Paha and Malik Jabir in charge of the Black Stars.

I have every confidence that the two assistants can take temporary charge of the Black Stars and Meteors while we work out the modalities for a permanent coach. Win, lose or draw in Kigali, Bukhard should not be made to take care of the team.

I have no studied his contract. But I believe this time round, he would not have the confidence to go to the Federation of International Football Associations and make any serious indictment against our football. The man has simply failed to perform and we cannot continue to throw away the nation's hard-earned $10,000 a month on a lost case.

Lest I forget, I have the hunch that in spite of all the problems with preparation, the Black Stars could still do a good job in Kigali. The Black Stars need a draw to qualify and I believe it could be done with or without Burkhard Ziese.