A Coach
for the Lone Star
WHERE IS WILFRED LARDNER?
By Omari Jackson
When former Lone Star head coach, Kadalla Kromah,
decided that it was better for him and his family to throw in the
towel and to announce that the administration of the technical
outfit of the national soccer team, Lone Star, was beyond his reach,
he offered administrator Marbue Richards as the only man with the
education and training to pick up from where he left off, while in
hiding.
And I sympathize with Kadalla Kromah. Known for his
tough talking, Kadalla, who until his date with the national team,
handled first division clubs in Ghana and Nigeria, was determined to
reach the stars. When he took over the national team, he was beside
himself with hope and expectation.
Hoping then that the Gyude Bryant government would
support his administration, the tough-talking coach announced that a
new direction was in the making.
However, the team s loss to unknown and unsung Gambia
in the early stages of the competition and the unfavorable reaction
of home fans indicated to coach Kromah that things were not normal
in Liberia.
When the professionals , including the old boys
messed up Lone Star s chances in the 2000 Nations Cup, it appeared
to coach Kromah that he had had it with them and therefore began to
use home material, with few professionals.
Then the Gambians came for the return leg and the
experiment paid off. They were sent home packing with an incredible
home score of 3-0. This created an illusion for the coach and he
thought sadly that his plan to rely greatly on materials was working
against popular opinion.
But his undoing was when the Senegalese came.
Whoever told him that home materials were
sufficient enough to overpower the Lions of Terenga and their likes?
And now that the coach had learned his lesson the bitter way, he has
offered an opinion, claiming that a foreign coach is presently not
in the interest of Liberia.
But, my dear Kromah, if the services of a foreign
coach will be unproductive, why did you suggest someone with the
education and experience like me to do the job?
I am sure Kromah has heard of former Lone
Star head-coach Wilfred Lardner, appreciatively known as Kijani? If
he has, I am also sure he is aware of Kijani s past exploits with
the national team. Yes, it was this young man who qualified the
national team to its first participation in the prestigious Nations
Cup in South Africa. It was Kijani s dedication and commitment to
the national team, supported by then Europe-based players, led by
the then incredible George Weah, James Debbah, popularly known as
Salinsa, the celebrated player, and Jonathan Sogbie, lovingly called
Boye Charles that secured Liberia s first inclusion in the Games. I
am not sure Kijani s usefulness for the national team is over. He
only needs the support and the encouragement of the administration
and the playing team.
Lardner is tough. He walks where many fear to thread.
When, during my association with him back in 1996, the Lone Star was
penniless, he always held the belief that something good could come
from personal dedication. He is a man of faith. isn't it recorded
somewhere in the holy book that faith can move mountains? Back then,
he told me that Liberia was going for the South African games, and
we went. I need not bother you with what happened afterwards.
He has been trained under tough conditions which he
balanced it with a coaching stint in France, thanks to George Weah,
whose recommendation found Lardner attached to teams there. He was
in France prior to the team' s South African campaign. But in all
issues Liberian, sometimes we fail to recognize the gem when it is
with us. The sports/political marriage in Liberia are strong that
when you are not in the good books of some of the decision makers,
your chances of sacrificing and enjoying your sacrifices are slim. I
am not sure Kijani is a disappointed man. For, he grew up in the
hands of tough-talking and evergreen Josiah N. Johnson, one of
Liberia s soccer godfathers and the late Walter Pelham. He knows
disappointment when he sees one. And he also knows that many of our
people lack appreciation. However, he is not discouraged.
Why? Because he knows the people. Should not such a man s abilities,
education and experience be utilized? We should by all means.
Marbue Richards' s role in the technical outfit of the national
team can best be realized when he serves as an adviser. I know him.
He has a sense of effective organization and he is strong willed. He
is a committed disciple of the game. His love for the game and the
Lone Star is, I must say, comparable to that he has for his beloved
wife, believe me. Marbue has wept on many occasions when football
decisions that would save the Lone Star had fallen on death ears. I
have dealt with him and I know him well.
So now that Kadalla has seen the light and events have forced
him to quit, he must be thankful that he survived with his life. Now
we are in a different and difficult Liberia. Though he stammers
sometimes, I believe that he can be useful to join the speaking
circuit on sports to sporting organizations. He is tough-talking,
nevertheless.
But as things stand now, Kijani can team up with Frank
Jericho Nagbe, (one of the finest soccer legends Liberia produced),
to handle the national team. (On Mr. Jericho Nagbe, another write-up
will do him the justice he deserves.) Briefly, he is a sensible and
skillful soccer technician. Like Salinsa few years ago, Jericho was
that fine enterprising player whom many danced and sang his
adulation after any soccer encounter in that period. We must give
him the task and support him.
We should also look within the good we have to
rebuild the Lone Star since it is evident that we cannot come up
with the needed finances to hire a foreign coach, and therefore
Kijani and Jericho should be recruited to do the job for now. |
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