Ghana/Angola
January 10, 2011
Goran Stevanonic, New Ghana National Team Coach
By Williams Ekanem
Last weekend saw some African countries going back to the drawing board with the appointment of new national soccer coaches by Ghana and Angola.
While Lito Vidigal will take over as Angola's national coach after signing a two-year contract, the country's soccer officials said at the weekend, Goran Stevanovic will be unveiled as the new Black Stars coach at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday after agreeing a four-year contract with the Ghana Football Association.
The former Angola international was in charge at Uniao Leiria in Portugal last year, the country in which grew up and where his brother Jose Vidigal played at international level.
Vidigal, 41, takes over from Zeca Amaral, relieved of his duties after just four months in charge of Angola, and becomes the fourth coach of the Angolan side in the last 12 months.
The Serbian agreed terms with the Ghana Football Association at a meeting in Accra and will take charge of his first competitive game when the Black Stars travel to Congo for a Nations Cup qualifier before taking the side to Wembly for a friendly international against England on March 29.
He was assistant coach for Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 World Cup, assistant at Partizan Belgrade before taking over the job as the main man until April 2010.
Meanwhile, former Black Stars player, Dogo Moro is reported to be in support of the new Serbian Coach
Dogo Moro, a former defender of the senior National Team, the Black Stars and Kumasi Asante Kotoko, re-echoed suggestions to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to give the vacant coaching job to Serbian Goran Stevanovic for the accelerated development of the sport in the country.
He said he was optimistic that giving the job to the Serbian was crucial in fostering continuity and consistency in the development of Ghana football as "Coaches from that part of the world tend to understand better the philosophy and culture of our own brand of football".
Goran, Portuguese Humberto Coelho and Ghanaian-born Herbert Addo are the short-listed contenders for the coaching job following the departure of Milovan Rajevac.
Making the suggestion to the GNA Sports in Kumasi on Sunday, Dogo Moro pointed out that his support for the Serbian as Coach of the Stars emanated from the sterling performances by Ratomir Dujkovic and Rajevac who guided the Stars to the one-sixteenth and quarter final berth at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup Championships, respectively.
Dogo Moro cautioned the GFA against what he described as attempts to scoop in Ghanaian-born French International Marcel Dessaily as coach of the Stars, saying even though he achieved a lot as a player his "credentials as a coach is nothing to write home about and as such we need not experiment with him".
An eight-man search team of the GFA is said to have completed its analysis on the credentials of the three coaches who were short-listed from amongst about 100 applicants with Goran expected to be given the nod for the vacant job.
Touching on juvenile football, Dogo Moro expressed worry at the poor management of colts football in the country, saying this could eventually deny Ghana the opportunity to raise talented stars for the nation.
Dogo Moro therefore urged the GFA to collaborate with corporate bodies in improving infrastructure at the juvenile level for the sustainable development of Ghana football.
In the same vein, England have arranged a first international friendly with Ghana, with the game taking place at Wembley on Tuesday, March 29 .
Ghana, who reached the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals, have several British-based players in their squad including captain Michael Essien, who plays at Chelsea, Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan and Fulham's John Pantsil.
The friendly will be played three days after the Three Lions play Wales in a Euro 2012 qualifier.
Tickets for Ghana at Wembley will go on sale to England fans members on Friday, January 28, and to the general public on Tuesday, February 1.
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