Coaches Tanko, Appiah and Konadu making a strong case for young Ghanaian coaches!

Young Ibrahim Tanko has made his own piece of history as being the first Ghanaian coaching export to take a team to the World Cup

Wonderful exploits of some young Ghanaian coaches have reaffirmed the belief that the future of Ghana football is bright. And of course, the future would be more brighter if we continue to hone and harness the managerial acumen of the up and coming coaches in the system.

For the first time, two of our own young coaches - Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu will lead the senior national team, the Black Stars to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil thanks to the trust and confidence reposed in them by the Ghana Football Association, (GFA).

As if that was not enough, another young Ghanaian, Ibrahim Tanko  aided his boss Volker Finke to book a ticket for Cameroon to the same destination.

The likes of Kwesi Appiah, Maxwell Konadu and Ibrahim Tanko's coaching exploits in recent times have gone a long way to justify the assertion that the current generation of Ghanaian coaches can go far if we repose confidence in them.

Young Ibrahim Tanko made history after  helping Cameroon book a ticket to next year's FIFA World Cup  in Brazil and this comes after series of tutorials under German Volker Finke that has seen him worked as an assistant coach for Freiburg's reserves in 2007.  

After 18 months on that job, he made another stint in the J. League's Urawa Red Diamonds, in the same capacity, as he rejoined his former Freiburg boss Finke.  

On June 2013, they continued their partnership as Tanko joined the coaching staff of Cameroon national team, headed by Finke and this was the beginning of an era that will see the ex-Black Stars striker  making his own piece of history as being the first Ghanaian coaching export to take a team to the World Cup.

I had series of pleasant encounters with the affable young coach in the 2011 African Youth Championship in Johannesburg, South Africa when he embarked on a personal drive to scout for young talents.

So it came as no surprise to me when authorities of the GFA appointed him  as the head scout of the senior national team, the Black Stars prior to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in January 2012. 

Ibrahim Tanko's nobility and level of knowledge in football, especially, youth development is second to none. No wonder Finke has never had a cause to doubt his (Tanko) understanding of the modern game.

The former Borrusia Dortmund player, as an assistant coach for the Indomitable Lions, saw his side demolish Tunisia in a convincing 4-1 victory in Yaounde and will surely be part of the technical team to Brazil.

He sums it all in his feelings for such a wonderful feat.

"I feel very good, it is not only good for me but for Ghana as well and it's so great to become the first Ghanaian to help an African nation qualify for the World Cup".

Typical of the 36 year-old trainer, he did not take glory for such a feat, rather, he lauded the Cameroonian players for their professional approach.

"I played my part but the unity among the players also played a major role, we had a very good atmosphere when we came to camp.

"All the players knew what was at stake so they were all determined and at the end we were able to qualify."

Coaches Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu will also lead the Black Stars to the World Cup - First by any Ghanaian coach

The current breeds of young Ghanaian coaches have developed the penchant to upgrade their knowledge in the game. Their desire to achieve a lot in their chosen career is admirable but they can only get to the top with the help of local authorities.

Coaches Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu aspired to the top and one will not be far from right to say that they have finally arrived after dint of hard work and serious learning.

Thanks to the GFA Technical Directorate, many up and coming coaches in Ghana have undergone series of training in order to acquaint themselves with the intricacies of coaching.

The likes of Didi Draman of Asante Kotoko, Black Stars coaches Appiah and Konadu, embattled David Duncan, Yousif Abubakar of Heart of Lions and many more coaches have embarked on one course to the other to upgrade themselves in order to be ever ready for the ever changing game of football and the results are palpably clear.

It is only left for managers and owners of local clubs to give such coaches the needed opportunity to impact on our players.

It is high time club owners and managers of various national teams reposed confidence in the current breeds of coaches. I find it quite unfortunate that club owners keep hiring  unknown  foreign coaches that they themselves struggle to mention  their names to coach their teams. They give them all the needed support, yet, the result is nothing to write home about. In fact, those foreign coaches add no values to the teams.

We only need to encourage our own, give them good conditions of service and they would surely turn around the game of football in Ghana.

These new breeds of coaches are hungry for success but they can't do it without the needed support and encouragement.

Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu brought the Black Stars to this far and all of a sudden, some faceless people clamoured for some foreign face to beef up the technical team of the Black Stars.

It's been exactly a year since David Duncan came in to salvage the sinking image of Hearts of Oak and after building quite a potent squad from some young talents, the Hearts of Oak Board decided to terminate his contract with no tangible reason.

Can you imagine what would have happened if  Duncan was a foreign trainer?

Why is it difficult to respect and accept our own?

So if a German has believed in Ibrahim Tanko, then why can't we, as Ghanaians, believe in our own young talented coaches.

So if German Volker Finke reposed confidence in a young Ghanaian coach, then why can't we do same as a nation?