So we’re still waiting on the announcement of the Ivory Coast job. Sven Goran Eriksson and Bernd Schuster are known to be on the shortlist. In the last couple of days, former Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has sadly surfaced as an option, probably because of his wildly successful stints at Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City. You already know how I feel about the African coaching selection process. But after this recent news of Mark Hughes’ inclusion on the shortlist for the Ivory Coast job, it is clear that someone is playing a practical joke.
The Ivorian Football Federation’s shortlist is shocking considering none of these candidates have any experience coaching in Africa. Well, maybe it really should not be that shocking considering the same process just took place in Nigeria with a familiar cast of characters. However, it is difficult to believe that Eriksson, Schuster, and Hughes, three men lacking any discernible experience in Africa, are the most qualified candidates willing to accept the Ivory Coast job.
I haven’t changed my mind since my last article on African coaching. There seems to be no long term development plan in place in most of the major African footballing nations. You have teams loaded with some of the biggest stars in the world, managerial turnover reminiscent of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea, and wildly inconsistent results. African football needs managers willing to commit to a long-term development plan, and that comes down to both the managers and the federations.
Consistency in Ivorian football probably won’t come from hiring any of these three men simply because they’ll be gone as quickly as they arrived. Anyone who thinks Sven won’t be ready to jump ship as soon as the next Notts County shows up with a consistent paycheck is delusional. In the past year, Sven was willing to coach Second Division English club Notts County, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast. If that doesn’t smell of desperation, I don’t know what does. And desperation should not be on the list of attributes for your next national team coach.
Similarly, I’ll go as far as to say that Mark Hughes is not planning on a permanent or even semi-permanent move to Côte d’Ivoire. He will be heading back to anywhere as soon as an option is available. So really Ivory Coast, stop making me plead. You are just feeding the dependence problem again. Stop setting up the Ivorian people for the departure of yet another parent-like figure. You might think it’s a great short-term move, but a quick look at history suggests otherwise. It’s time to invest in your people because it’s looking more and more like no one else will.
Don’t worry about Sven. He will have other options. Maybe North Korea will have an opening soon and the Great Leader will give him a call. I’m sure he would show up for the interview.
[...] that he’s conned one of them into biting. I’ve yapped enough on the issue here and here. Not a fan of the decision. Sven can be proud of the fact that he is now the new Bora [...]