3 Points For US$120,000
-Coach Hey Fails Miserably
-As Jericho, Kadala Score More Points

By Wleh Bedell      

German tactician Antoine Hey came to the helm of the senior national team of Liberia the Lone Star with the aim of restoring the dwindling hope of the two times Nations Cup finalists (1996 and 2002).

   His appointment was greeted with an aura of great support and optimism as he benefited from a colossal monthly salary of USD $10,000.00 with housing and need for friendly matches provided.

  Connoisseurs believed that all was to be well with the Lone Star after such huge commitment by national government as the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf yearned to be at the South Africa 2010 World Cup.

   But after the first group stage has ended, the Lone Star has disappointingly gone in the whirlwind as Hey failed miserably to produce the magic wand in making the team a formidable force by cruising to the final group stage in competing with the elites on the continent.

  The question on the lips of everyone is whether the unconvincing and tactically lethargic German will be maintained after his wobble performance which observers say can be described as “three points for US$120,000.00, meaning US$40,000.00 for a point.

  Since the end of the George Oppong Manneh Weah’s reign with the national team where the famous “Weah 11” made headways by causing soccer havoc on some of the big guns on the continent which led to the team cruising to the Mali 2002 Nations Cup as well as narrowly missing out on the Japan Korea 2002 Jamboree, many were itching to see the Lone Star come back to winning ways in becoming a respectable force on the continent.

   Firstly, Kadala Kromah an indigenous tactician came to the fore with the hope of restoring parity.

   His reign started well with a stunning 1-0 victory for his side against a star studded Malian side in the qualifiers of the joint 2006 Nations and World Cup qualifiers.

   The goal came from the legs of substitute Alvin Power Kieh in the dying ambers of the melee to send the SKD in frenzy.

   He was given a strong test away to Congo Brazzaville where his charges were hammered 3-0, and he was impressive but unlucky as his side played to a grueling 0-0 draw at home against a then promising Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor led Togo.

   Then Africa’s 1988 footballer of the year Kalusha Bwalya had to tighten his boots’ laces to nip the Lone Star in Lusaka as he came from the bench to punish the Lone Star from a beautifully orchestrated free kick to end the match 1-0.

   The former Accra Hearts of Oak coach then had the opportunity to make amends against an illustrious Senegalese side that had made in-roads in the 2002 World Cup where their fairy tale run ended in the quarter finals against Turkey.

  Being adamant in calling on senior players Oliver Markor and Kelvin Sebwe amidst huge public outcry, Kadala had to run for his life on October 10, 2005 after the Lone Star were pummeled at home 3-0 to the awesome Teranga Lions.

  He was forced to resign making way for his deputy, Kofi Bruce, an ex international.

   In his first match, on September 26, 2006 Senegal lambasted the Lone Star 6-1 in the corresponding fixture.

  Losses against Togo away (3-0) as well as Congo and Zambia at home 2-0 and 5-0 respectively (the latter played behind closed doors) marked the end of a sterile reign.

   Then came another ex-international Frank Jericho Nagbe, whose task was to guide the team in the 2008 Nations Cup qualifiers.

   His mandate was a bit acrimonious as at one point he was ordered to keep faith in the youngsters and then another time was asked to bring on the experienced old guards.

   A loss away to Equatorial Guinea 2-1 with a young squad was improved as far as the results were concerned as he counted on experience to dump Rwanda 3-2 at home.

  The old heads were dropped this time against Cameroon as they lost 3-1 at the Amadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, and were followed by a 2-1 nipping at home against the Cameroonians in the reverse tie.

   Equatorial Guinea made matters worse for the cigarette puffing coach as they held on to a pulsating 0-0 draw before Rwanda sank the red, white and blue outfit 4-0 in Kigali.

   It was then a claim that the locals lacked the tactical panacea to take the team out of the doldrums thus bringing on board a certain 37 year old German named Antoine Hey who was a flop at Lesotho and Gambia.

  Task: Hey’s task was to qualify the Lone Star to the 2010 Nations and World Cup in Angola and South Africa respectively.

   He first started on a buoyant note as he drubbed modest opposition Sudan 2-0 away in a friendly.

  A defeat to another modest opposition Oman 1-0 was followed by a defeat to a deplete Libyan side 4-2, and an eyebrow raising arrangement against Sierra Leone where they won 3-1 in a match where the Lone Star surprisingly featured foreign based players against a completely local based Sierra Leonean side (both sides earlier agreed to use locals).

  Then in the competition proper, Hey struggled against his former side Gambia as he snatched draw from the jaws of victory with a nervy 1-1 draw, courtesy of a late minute bloomer from the legs the once gritty Oliver Markor.

  And after the end of six matches, the Lone Star only managed to secure three points with three home draws and three away defeats to the discontentment of many.

  Style: The German made the Lone Star to adopt a style basically based on possession, but in truth, some major elements in contemporary football were missing.

  Firstly, the team scored just four goals and conceded 12 out of six matches which indicate that there was a charitable defense, uncoordinated midfield which could not provide the ammunition upfront as well as the reign to close down opponents and a sterile attack.

   With two goals from set pieces via the effective veteran Oliver Markor and two from open play from the curl legged Dioh Williams, the Lone Star lacked the bite and aggression associated with it during the past especially during the George Weah reign as player and technical director.

   Also, their game lacked width evidenced by scoring just one goal from wide area (Dioh tapping home a cross in the unexpected 2-2 draw with Senegal).

   Also, they lacked the element of surprise as there were virtually no shots on goal or the opponents being caught on the break.

   In the possession game, the team played at a snail space and barely made penetration.

  There were many passes during the team’s build up which made the work of opposing teams easier as they were able to regroup quickly in putting bodies behind the ball.

   They made pointless passes with not too much attempts in terms of goal mouth action in the final third.

  Decision: Firstly, Hey was very erratic in terms of decision making.

   Regrettably, he featured one goalkeeper Melvin King only for the four friendlies surprisingly leaving out best local goal keeper Clarence Roberts and ageing Belgian based goalie Momo Blamo whose recall to the national team after 18 years in the wilderness of soccer without a second of team play was reminiscent of a tourist on holiday in a new location.

  Despite call by goalkeeper trainer Kasumu Sillah that the age-dispute goalkeeper should be dropped for Indonesian based striker cum gloves man Sunday Seah was ignored by the Coach Hey who was not willing to end his marriage with a slothful Momo Blamo.

  Another talking point was the decision of the coach to reside or sleep at one area while the rest of the team was on camp in another hotel.

  This was something arguably on a world record, as the team relatively did not have a chain of command.

   Observers say if the coach apparently believed that the team’s area of camp was not conducive for him to sleep, he should not have in the first place allowed his players to be there.

  Also, the German called players for the campaign most of whom he did not even see in action; be it at club or country level.

   Surprisingly, he named his squad bragging that he was going to deliver.

  Then, during the first match against Gambia’s Scorpion he claimed he did not know the influential Oliver Markor and Francis Doe.

   Something that was frowned on by many as they noted that Hey claimed he knew Liberian players world wide, but with his claim that he did not know the two was an indication that his employment was purely gimmick.

   One other eye brow raising set up was the pronouncement of an elated Antoine Hey after his side’s most back footed 0-0 draw at home to the Fennecs of Algeria in an academic clash to mark the end of the first round of group matches.

  The coach surprisingly noted that he had a team for 2011, with the 18 dressed players on the day which included mostly locals as well as the injured former captain Murphy Nagbe, Ben Teekloh and other three players to complete the 23 man listing as his final squad.

   That was something described as laughable by lovers of the team and wonders which coach in any part of the world would select a team three years to a competition.

   One interesting question is that how fit would Oliver Markor and Anthony Tokpa be in terms of playing after three years, and if Hey makes such assertion can one say that no other Liberian player will rise or be discovered either oversea or on the local scene?

   “Even Didier Tibiley Drogba Yves, Michael ‘Bison’ Essien or John Michael Chikuwendu Obina cannot be too certain they will still be part of the squads of Ivory Coast, Ghana or Nigeria, since the game is based on current form and that no one knows what happens in the future”, noted an analyst.

  Does Hey mean the rest of the Liberian players who have not been called should go to sleep in concentrating on club career mainly or for those who have never won international caps to try naturalize in playing for another country’s national team?

   Even Joachim Low of his native land Germany national team, Carlos Caetano Bledorn Vieri Dunga of Brazil, Hassan Shehata of Egypt or any other tactically sober coach would laugh at such a decision as it is not feasible. 

   Appointment: Normally in every part of the world, coaches are appointed on the basis of achievement and not just mere CV.

   Hey took the Liberian job with a relatively fruitless CV as he had not won any title or competitive match through out his international career.

   Also, he was the very one who was noted to be trotting the globe as he hardly stayed a year on a job with his records in Lesotho and Gambia being glaring examples.

   This brings the question as to who was his appointment may in the first place since in fact he was an underachiever and that he had lacked the tactical nuance to deliver.

   The onus is apparently on the likes of Kadala Kromah, Josiah Johnson, George Williams, Beauford Weeks, Marbue Richards and Wortor Anderson to explain why Hey was appointed in spite of him not being result oriented.

   Organization: It is an un doubtful truth that the German lacks the tactical awareness and organization to handle the Lone Star.

   His training programs have been seemingly unheralded as his emphasis has been on possession and nothing major.

   Set pieces were rarely touched on, and there were not much tactical drills as done during the training of every country under a tactically astute coach.

   Basically, the coach was brought on board to instill discipline which was not forth coming evidenced by him not sleeping at the same hotel with the team, making independent decisions, but, this was not the case as he bluntly stated that he was not given the time to make his own decisions, and finally to make the team win some in qualifying for the next stage of the qualifiers.

   The Blame Game: After failing miserably where he could not win a single match, Hey has resulted to the blame game as he has since lashed at some of the overseas based players for the lack of commitment, as well as interference from officials.

    This is something pundits view as belated as any professional coach would blow an early whistle whenever there are interferences or lack of commitment, and even pack bags and leave if they were continuous ones.

   But, probably as a means of saving face, the German has resulted to shifting blame with the intent of gaining sympathy from his employers.

   Pseudo- Stamford Bridge: Hey’s admirers erroneously believe that the SKD sports stadium has become a fortress since the team did not concede a defeat in its three matches played there.

   They have gone to the extent of naming the stadium Stamford Bridge, a fortress of the London based club Chelsea.

  Frankly, with just three games played there is no need to brag as there was not much test.

  Also, all teams in the group, Algeria, Senegal and Gambia were undefeated at home showed and showed great form.

  A side like the Lone Star under George Weah was tested quite well as they conquered a host of teams at home in close to 14 matches where the likes of Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cape Verde etc were made a prey only to lose out to Ghana.

    Huge Incentive: By Liberian standards, Antoine Hey is being paid a huge sum of money as salary.

   He has a well furnished home that reportedly costs US$2,000.00 as rent and was afforded the opportunity to stage four friendly matches something that has never happened in Liberia for more than 20 years.

   Though, by international standards such amount for salary can be described as peanuts with Hey arguably being the least paid foreign coach on the continent.

  This might have even been a major reason for his appointment however, but the locals might feel downhearted as they had not had such opportunity.

   Reports say coach Kadala Kromah who earned less than US$1,000.00 is still being owed by his employers and Jericho who was being paid US$600.00 is as well reportedly being owed by his employers.

   Despite the huge incentive, Hey was unable to match or beat the records of his predecessors who earned five and four points respectively.

  Also, the German has a pick-up given him by his employers, unlike Jericho who was reduced to riding on a commercial motor bike to attend practices.

   New Team: It is quite unfortunate for people to claim that this current Lone Star under Hey is a new one.

   The players are no strangers to international football and have played under the likes of Kadala Kromah and Jericho Nagbe during previous qualifiers before coming under the tutelage of Antoine Hey.

   For an instance during the first group match against Gambia, all but one of the players in the starting 11 Theo Weeks was a debutant.

   The goalkeeper Melvin King made his international debut in the Unification tournament in Sierra Leone, June 2005 against the Gambia.

   The Lone Star was down by a goal before a heavy down pour caused the match to be cancelled.

   Ezeah Benson made his international debut in the Lone Star 7-2 loss to Tunisia in a friendly in January 2002 with Frank Seator netting the team’s pair of goals.

   James Zotiah made his debut in November 2007 against the Amavubi of Rwanda when the Lone Star lost 4-0.

   Murphy Nagbe made his debut in September 2002 in Conakry when the Lone Star lost 3-0.

   Jimmy Dixon made his debut when he came on as a second half substitute in the Lone Star 2-0 home win against the Cranes of Uganda during the qualifiers of the 1998 Nations Cup qualifiers.

   Also, Stephen Mennoh made his debut in June 2003 when he came on as a second half substitute to score the winner against Ethiopia at the ATS.

   Dulee Johnson made his debut against Sierra Leone in September 2001 when the Lone Star tamed their hosts 1-0, courtesy of a George Weah’s booming header.

   Zah Krangar made his debut against Liberian born rugged Lawrence Sokota Doe led Equatorial Guinea in September 2006, and scored when the Lone Star lost 2-1.

  James Koko Lomell made his debut in July 2003 against Guinea’s Sylli Nationale at the Accra Sports Stadium where the red, white and blue outfit lost 2-1 as a result of a late goal from Soulimane Youla.    

   Anthony Laffor made his debut in June 2003 against Gambia when the Lone Star lost 2-0 in the first leg of the preliminary of the 2004 Nations Cup

   Other notable names on Hey’s squad included Oliver Markor who made his debut in December 1995 when the Lone Star Lost 2-1 to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in Yaounde with the Lone Star consolation coming through William Fanbulleh.

    Kelvin Sebwe made his debut against Tunisia in the Lone Star 1-1 draw in a friendly in 1990 where Friday Roberts found the leveler for the Lone Star from the spot after substitute Thomas Kojo was upended.

   George Gebro scored on his debut as well against Uganda in 1997, while Francis Doe and Dioh Williams made their debuts in 2005 against Congo Brazzaville and Mali respectively.

   So, the argument that Hey met a new team on board which is in the process of building is quite a lazy one, as there had already been a team in existence.

   The coach had the opportunity to start from somewhere good as the players had since gelled and were accustomed to top flight international football.

   Big Name Players: Another argument that Hey could not do the magic since the Lone Star lacked big name players as evidenced by not playing in the most fashionable leagues of Europe including the Spanish Liga, Italian Serie A, English Premiership, German Bundesliga, French Championat, Portuguese Super Liga, Dutch Erdivisie etc is quite a crippled one as other coaches have managed to yield results with relatively low key players.

   It can be recalled that the Palancas Negras of Angola cruised to their first ever world cup at the expense of the star studded Super Eagles of Nigeria with their top gun Fabrice Akwa plying his trade in the modest league of Qatar.

   They had no player in any of the top 15 leagues of the world or Europe.

   Also, the Hawks of Togo under the tutelage of ex-Super Eagles Nations Cup ’94 captain Stephen Keshi cruised to the first ever world cup in 2002 at the expense of notable names such as Zambia and Senegal with their linchpin being the understudy at AS Monaco Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor.

   In the finals of the 2008 Nations Cup, Egypt won gold with a relatively home based squad despite the freighting names on the squad of Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast Nigeria and Mali. 

   The likes of Malawi, Kenya, Sudan, Benin, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Rwanda and a host of other countries who have qualified for the next stage of the African qualifiers have virtually no so called “big names” or “World Class Players”, but the tactical awareness of their coaches where commitment, hunger, urge and desire are required by the coach form the players have made them to achieve such a glorious feat.

   Hey seems to lack the tactical inclination of the African game, thus failing to do the magic for the Lone Star.

  Fate: In the world over a coach is sacked when he fails to deliver on a piece of job given him.

   There are quite a host of coaches who were either sacked or who resigned due to poor form.

   It can be recollected that Mamoud Al Gouhary who is on record of being the first man to win the Nations Cup as a player in 1957 and a coach in 1998 had to resign after a string of poor results with the Pharaohs of Egypt in 2001.

   Also, indigenous coach Luis Olivera Goncalves who guarded the Palancas Negras of Angola to their first ever World Cup recently resigned due to a string of poor results in the just concluded first group stage of the qualifiers.

    Spain’s Coach Luiz Aragones resigned in 2006 after loosing his first match to Ireland 1-0, but, was recalled by the Spanish FA.

   Senegal’s coach Lamin Ndiaye was sacked last week after failing to qualify to the next stage of the qualifiers.

   Ivory Coast French Coach Robert Nouzaret was sacked after failing to produce with the elephants in 1999 despite guarding them to the finals of Burkina Faso 1998.

  Another case is that of Namibia’s brave Warriors Dutch Coach Arie Schans who despite leading the team to the finals of the 2008 Nations Cup in Ghana was forced to quit after a string of poor results in the recent qualifiers.

   So, the job of a coach on based on consistency; a coach would always be required to deliver by yielding the necessary results of which Hey is no exception. 

   Conclusively, Hey’s team was physically poorly conditioned, technically fair and tactically indiscipline.