Knives out for coach Milo… as second spell ends in tragedy at AFCON

“We firmly believe that we have the right man in place, a coach who is very experienced, a coach who knows our country, a coach who knows our mentality which is very very crucial and a coach who has the respect of our players.” This was the president of the Ghana football Association, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku in September last year announcing Milovan Rajevac as Ghana’s new head coach.

Those who are familiar with Ghana football can testify that the name Milovan is a popular one due to his past glories.

Milovan Rajevac previously coached the Black Stars in 2008 and finished as runner-up at the Cup of Nations in 2010 and narrowly missed out on a semi-final place at the 2010 World Cup to Uruguay. Rajevac left the Ghana in September 2010 and subsequently joined Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia.

The ongoing African Cup of nations is his first tournament since his second coming,  and with his record of accomplishment; many football enthusiasts were optimistic that the trainer would be able to lead Ghana to the finals in February. This is not rule out the fact that several other names had been proposed which some believe would perform better than Milo...

However, things did not go as planned. The black stars had to exit the game on Tuesday losing to  minnows Comoros, in a 3-2 thriller, which already stands out as one of the games of the tournament and perhaps the biggest shock to go with.

Following the hashtag #TeamGhana on Twitter, it was observed Ghanaians were not happy about the outcome of the game with many blaming coah Milovan for his poor selection. Others also blamed the captain, Dede Ayew for the team’s failure.

For a coach who has been tasked with the responsibility of taking the black stars to the 2022 world cup, many Ghanaians believe the black stars is not in safe hands to secure victory in the world cup. However, for Milo, this is not enough reason for him to resign as being pursued by a section of the Ghanaian public. "I will not resign, because I came here to take Ghana to the World Cup…This competition did not go well but it is a learning process for us." Milovan was addressing the media in Cameroon moments after the teams exit from the AFCON. 

Commenting on what many have described as poor performance of the stars, some sports analysts believe the root of the issue is due to poor management of the national team. "We don’t manage the team well, in terms of how much we invest in the team , who we select as part of the team and the business of the team and that is why we will always fail. " Jerome Otchere, sports Journalist.

For others, the current performance of the national team is a reflection of corrupt practices by management.

If these allegations are anything to go by, then perhaps Ghana could adopt the Cameroonian style where former footballers are now at the helm of affairs managing the national team.

Former striker Samuel Eto, four times best football player in Africa was elected president of the football federation.

As to whether or not changes will be made in the national team, there is definitely that pressure on Milo to ensure that the story of the black stars at the 2022 world cup will be a direct link to the teams glorious past.