African coaches have been advised to go the Stephen Keshi way in building a career and a strong national team following on Nigeria’s Afcon success
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi continues to receive plaudits from different quarters for leading the Super Eagles, complete with six home-based players and 17 debutants to win a third Africa Cup of Nations trophy in South Africa.
Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has added his voice saying that local coaches must toe Keshi’s line to succeed in their jobs and to grow the game on the continent.
“Keshi was obviously a big factor in Nigeria’s success in South Africa,” Baloyi revealed onFootball411.
Keshi has had stints coaching Togo and Mali and he famously qualified Togo for the 2006 Fifa World Cup.
“He proved himself coaching smaller nations in West Africa, so it was only a matter of time before he achieved success with his own country.”
And as Keshi has continued to emphasize that he has nothing against foreign coaches but that those employed should be tested ones, Baloyi added that local coaches definitely hold the edge against their foreign counterparts because they better understand the terrain.
“African coaches often have the edge over their European counterparts as they better understand the politics of the country, but more importantly can truly relate to the culture.
“Football is not about the biggest personalities or egos, but rather camaraderie and team work. Keshi rallied his soldiers and got them fighting for each other,” he concluded.
Keshi became the second person to win the Nations Cup, both as a player and now as a coach.
Goal.com
