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Heaven's gift to Ghana football

Pulse.com.gh editor Godfred Akoto Boafo writes on Black Stars coach Avram Grant, heaven's gift to football in Ghana

Ghana football is apparently not appreciating the greatness that has been gifted it in the shape of national football team boss Avram Grant.

After all he thinks he is the highest profile coach ever to set foot onto the shores of the former Gold Coast, his history with Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham a mirror that he holds out to critics. FA Cup wins, Champions League finals and oh the big one, reaching an AFCON final with only two weeks preparation. Can one fathom how hard that feat was to achieve? If it were an ordinary feat why did we gift him a luxury Jeep Cherokee in recognition of such achievements?

What do Ghanaian fans know of international football and the nuances involved in successful team building? The hours of scouting and conversations required before a team can be picked hence the long absences from his post. These are facts that apparently are not being appreciated hence the unreasonable criticism of long stays abroad.

Why bother attending the recent CHAN tournament when he can always send his assistant Maxwell Konadu to scout the enemy? There is nothing to be learnt from watching other coaches plot their way through such a tournament. No. This is not a job for the great Avram Grant. Not when the lucrative studios of Sky Sports beckons for EPL match analysis. Ghana fans should be grateful their coach is accepted in such grand environs. Do not also forget the mileage we get from the millions who watch him and envy Ghana football for having such a fine mind at the helm of affairs.

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As he has said several times it is not his job to advise or watch other national teams. He is paid $50,000 a month to dream only about the Black Stars. That explains his lack of attention to the hundreds of pre-season matches that local Premier League clubs have undertaken. He has no players in the league to watch. That is why he was absent from the national tour to pick junior national teams even though that can also be considered a scouting opportunity.

Bless Grant's saintly heart for the two hour seminar he conducted for local league coaches right before his latest worldwide jaunt. How many meetings and lectures do you want him to have with these coaches? Do they pay as well as his recent lecture tours of Europe and the United States where he was applauded long and hard by young grass root coaches after hours of knowledge sharing? Gratitude and not insult is what he deserves from us in Ghana. Ours is a coach in demand and we must learn to share him with the rest of the world.

Our messianic manager needs not feel any pressure. After all the Ghana Football Association through its communications’s director says they are comfortable with his absence so why are we fretting?

Await his next visit ahead of the Black Stars next game in March and learn to enjoy Avram Grant for as long as he is Ghana coach. We might never see his ilk on our shores again after his time is done.

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