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Soccer News of Thursday, 30 July 2015

Source: goal.com

'Indigenous coaches can manage Ghana team better'

Veteran Ghanaian coach J.E. Sarpong Veteran Ghanaian coach J.E. Sarpong

Veteran Ghanaian coach J.E. Sarpong has described the Ghana national team job as the easiest in the world.

Sarpong was commenting on assertions that local coaches are simply not good enough to handle the four-time African champions.

“Coaching Ghana national team is not a big deal because the players are already made, you just need to be a good manager to manage the egos of the players in there so they will respect you as a coach,” Sarpong told Kumasi-based Ultimate FM.

Since the departure of Ratomir Djukovic in 2006, no foreign coach appointed by the Ghana Football Association has stayed in the country to work. They mostly travel down ahead of international assignments.

Kwasi Appiah was the last indigenous coach that handled the Black Stars. His appointment was terminated after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with Israeli coach Avram Grant taking over.

Ghana’s bitterest football rivals Nigeria on the other hand, have kept faith in local coaches, recently appointing former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh to replace another former Nigeria international Stephen Keshi.

Sarpong believes there is nothing difficult about coaching the Black Stars that local coaches could even be more capable.

“After all, how many days does the team assemble before a game? The coach doesn't do anything much apart from managing the egos and winning their respect to play for him?”

The Former Asante Kotoko, Hearts of Oak and Liberty Professional coach was a member of the silver-winning Ghana team at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal.