Swedish Coaches Keen to Develop Liberian Football


As Liberian football continues to be in a downward trend where the senior national team is a minnow on the continent and youth football relatively non existent and the national league poorly organized and lacks attraction causing teams to be unable to regularly and effectively compete with their counterparts round the continent, two of Sweden's best coaches say they are keen to help transform the country's football in making it move to a higher level as a means of becoming not only a force on the African continent but in the world as a whole.

Sven Sjunnesson and Djorn Peters in a packed news conference on Thursday, September 29, told reporters at the Urban Villa Hotel that they have come to Liberia upon the invitation of former sports journalist Emmanuel Geeza Williams who is the Executive Director of Sports to Develop Underprivileged (SDU) to meet with the relevant stakeholders in presenting their case to take over Liberian football mainly the grassroots sector which would serve as the basis for the country's football development.

"We want to help Liberian football develop. Our philosophy is teamwork and the team is totally what the individual can promote", noted the 53 year old highly experienced tactician Sven Sjunnesson who has an advanced UEFA PRO certificate or license. He was however quick to point out that the key to making such thing work is the Liberian people saying "we must do it together". When asked of his assessment of the country's football since they managed to see a practice match between Premier club Watanga FC and newly promoted First Division outfit FC Fassell at the Fish Market Sports pitch and a Third Division play-off match at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS), Sven replied by noting "Liberia has lot of talents. The players are very talented, the players have technical skills, but the basis is not right. The development of players here must start from between 6-7 years old.

Sven served as Head Coach of the Youth Academy of Malmo FC (top flight team in Sweden) from 1999-2004. He also served as Coach of Second League side Limhamn Bunkeflo and also Coach of the talent academy from 2005-2008. He has since 2009 run the Golden Boot Academy in Ghana and also runs another in Nigeria and says they hope to establish an academy here in Liberia which would be the first of its kind in the country.

Sven also has a certificate to educate coaches in UEFA countries mainly Sweden and is a teacher in the Football University in Sweden. The experienced tactician has also served as lecturer in several football clubs, scouting in the Scandinavia by the Football Network.

Several promising players plying their trade in various parts of Europe have benefited from his master class tutelage and guidance, some of whom include Marcus Rosenborg of German Bundesliga side Werder Bremen,Chelsea FC Youth prodigy Marko Mitrovic, Dutch club FC Twente asset Rasmus Bengtsson, Labinot Harbuzi of Turkish side Genclerbirligi, Marcelo Sarvas of Polish side Polinia Warsaw, Guri Baqaj of Italian Serie B outfit Albinoleffe and Ferdinand Opoko of Serbian Premier league club RAD Beograd.

For his part, the 32 year old Djorn Peters who is one of the best youth Coaches in Sweden said among others that he has been involved with football since the age of five and intimated that they have interest in developing Liberian football as they are keen on working with the national team, but in youth football development. Djorn who has link with the youth system of Italian club AC Milan said they are keen to train local coaches and would like to be fully based in the country order than living in Sweden and come down just a week or so to a match. "we will be based here if we are given the job as we want to work in developing Liberian football" . Indicated Djorn.

Commenting further the young Swedish coach stated that they want to train coaches and are keen on working on a program between 4-5 years where they would then leave everything as a means of continuing or picking up from where they ended to the local coaches who will then be trained, trusted and have the rudiments to go all the way. Like Sven, Djorn revealed that the matches seen in Liberia shows the players are technical but lack position and progress in their game. "For an example, one of the games we saw was such that a player took the ball to the wing, and when he tried to give a cross, there was no one in the box to pounce on it", he stressed.

Djorn whose visit in the country is his first in Africa further said they have plans in taking a U-15 Liberian side to the Gothia Cup in Sweden, a tournament that brought to the fore the likes of Dioh Williams and Dulee Johnson who along with defender Jimmy Dixon he described as highly respected players as far as Swedish football is concerned as they made high marks there.

The pair also have plans for academy and social work in Liberia and told reporters "to succeed here you must start from the grass root. Start from the U-15, U-17, U-19 and U-21 where they would compete in various competitions organized by FIFA and other organizations as a short term one, and for long term, the idea of academies being set up will be a major focus".

They further noted that they met authorities of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia Football Association (LFA), something they describe as being very positive and were hoping to get in the country's football program to play a major role in helping to develop it. According to them during their meeting with the country's football authorities, they presented to them proposals or a working document as it relates to how they intend developing the country's football.

In a related development, the Coaches on the same day donated a consignment of top class football and boots to the SDU to be used for youth football development.

Mr. Williams who had earlier introduced the two classical coaches said the SDU was making arrangements to organize a club that would compete in the Third Division in one of the Sub-Committees and said the Coaches have what it takes to move or transform Liberian football, but cannot do anything without getting their foot in the door. "They will need to firstly get their foot in which means they will have to be given the opportunity to get in the country's football system to start working as they bring a lot", the well known promoter who initiated the SDU venture in sending a team to represent Liberia at the South Africa and Denmark Homeless World Cups where they ended at a surprise third spot intoned. Such program has led to some of the players now plying their trade in Germany after they were scouted by agents.

Mr. Williams narrated that there are plans to take teams from the country to partake in other Youth competitions in various parts of Europe and said he encouraged the Swedish pair to come to Liberia as a means of having an idea of the country's football where they would meet relevant stakeholders and as well put forth programs that would make them have interest in trusting them to work together. He also said there are prospects for players plying their trades in some of Europe's best leagues like the case is with Sekou Jabateh Oliseh who is at CSKA Moscow. According to him, the Swedish coaches have the necessary contacts to take players to some of Europe's biggest leagues and clubs which would mean well for the country. " They package they have is youth development, and with Liberian football in a downward trend, there is a need to bring to the fore such a good program that would reawaken it", Mr. Williams hinted. He said they also have sponsorship package for the various national teams, clubs and the national league as they will go in the towns and villages to scout talents and will do a whole lot for the country's football program.

The coaches have since left the country, but prior to them leaving, they appeared on a radio Veritas morning show where they outlined their plans to help develop Liberian football by bringing into it new life through a well structured and organized youth program. And, during the 30 minutes phoned in program, all eleven callers that participated from the Capital Monrovia and other parts of the country hailed the coaches for the plans and said they were fully behind them.

They then urged the country's football authorities to see reason in hiring the two tacticians who they say bring to the table a whole lot of positive attributes and plans that will no doubt help take Liberian football to a more appreciated level.
Many followers of the country's football have since greeted the coaches programs, plans and visit as unique one that the relevant authorities must not take lightly but seriously as the country's football is in the doldrums and needs people like Sven and Djorn to reawaken it through modern programs.

One influential noted "one touching thing in their message is the promise that they will be stationed or based here in Liberia when they are appointed to handle the country's national teams. Unlike this current Coach Roberto Landi who is not based here but is involved in a part-time arrangement as he only comes down few days to a game , these guys have vowed to go in various parts of the country, in towns and villages to scout younger talents which i think is a very good omen for our football program"

The onus is on the MUsa Bility led LFA to make the necessary recommendation to the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) for these two professional Coaches from Sweden to be afforded the opportunity in a more organised manner in taking over the Lone Star mainly in the area of youth football development or grass root football where they would add a lot that has since been missing in the country's most popular sports, football.