THE appointment of coaches for the various national teams is an indication that the technical director of Namibian football, Seth Boois, wants to get the ball rolling in his efforts to restore the credibility of the game.
Boois announced the appointment of six coaches and their assistants for national sides, from the Under-10/12 age group right up to the Brave Warriors. A goalkeeper coach was also appointed for the women’s team and the junior teams.While it is the prerogative of the technical director to pick his men for the various teams, it will also be his responsibility to take the blame if the results are not favourable.Apart from that, the appointments, which have already been approved by the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Executive Committee, have raised a view questions.I will start with the two most critical appointments, those of the under-20 and under-23 sides.These two are the feeder teams to the national team and whoever is appointed in those positions should have a great deal of knowledge of the game and should be able to identify talent at first glance.Brian Isaacs has been tasked with leading the under-23 side.He has coached the under-20s in the past and his experience as a coach on club level will possibly carry him through this ordeal of dealing with the youngsters to prepare them for the national team.Nothing wrong with his appointment, but Bobby Samaria has been roped in as the under-20 coach.He has shown to be a master of winning cup competitions with his premiership side Black Africa, but can he handle the youngsters? At the under-20 level, players need to perfect their skills and should already develop a winning culture to carry it through to the senior level.Samaria, a relative newcomer to the national set-up, will have to remember that the youngsters are not ready-made material like his cup-winning side, and he will have to sharpen them and, most importantly, produce the results.For the national team, there are no appointments yet, but I think Namibia should go global for this one.Namibian football needs to go a step further on the senior level and a foreign coach with a wealth of experience and a different view on how to make the team a force again is needed.Local coaches have had their chances and they have produced mixed results.In some cases the results were poor, as players complained about their coaching tactics and technical know-how of the game.Boois said the recycling of people such as Markus Damaseb, who will serve as the team manager for the Brave Warriors, Killa Samaria as the team manager of the under-23s, Eric Hansen as team manager of the under-15s and Juliene Garises as the manager of the women’s team was inevitable.He argued that the experience these people have gained over the years will help make work easier for some of these teams, but I think otherwise.Yes, these people have experience, but are they the only ones? Damaseb, Garises and Samaria were all flung out of the NFA executive committee for the poor performance of that body for years, and now they are given another opportunity to serve as team managers.I will take an example: Petrus Damaseb stepping down as the NFA president and again becoming the driver for the association on its payroll.No offence.Eric Hansen is the current chairman of the NFA’s Organising and Competitions Committee (OCC) and making him the team manager of the youngsters is a blow to other people who could have been given the role.The question is why do the same people rotate in positions, while there are so many able people who can do the same jobs but have never been given the opportunity.This is absolute selfishness and a total disregard of the abilities of others who are also in the trade.Boois said the people should be given a chance, especially the above-mentioned team managers, but how many chances have they blown already? Well, there is nothing that can be done, as the various appointees have all received their letters of appointment (I believe).It will now be up to the coaches and their assistants to prove that they can do a decent job.The ones who are new to the coaching fold, this is your opportunity to prove your critics wrong and turn the tables – Namibian football is longing for a drastic change.A goalkeeper coach was also appointed for the women’s team and the junior teams.While it is the prerogative of the technical director to pick his men for the various teams, it will also be his responsibility to take the blame if the results are not favourable.Apart from that, the appointments, which have already been approved by the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Executive Committee, have raised a view questions.I will start with the two most critical appointments, those of the under-20 and under-23 sides.These two are the feeder teams to the national team and whoever is appointed in those positions should have a great deal of knowledge of the game and should be able to identify talent at first glance.Brian Isaacs has been tasked with leading the under-23 side.He has coached the under-20s in the past and his experience as a coach on club level will possibly carry him through this ordeal of dealing with the youngsters to prepare them for the national team.Nothing wrong with his appointment, but Bobby Samaria has been roped in as the under-20 coach.He has shown to be a master of winning cup competitions with his premiership side Black Africa, but can he handle the youngsters? At the under-20 level, players need to perfect their skills and should already develop a winning culture to carry it through to the senior level.Samaria, a relative newcomer to the national set-up, will have to remember that the youngsters are not ready-made material like his cup-winning side, and he will have to sharpen them and, most importantly, produce the results.For the national team, there are no appointments yet, but I think Namibia should go global for this one.Namibian football needs to go a step further on the senior level and a foreign coach with a wealth of experience and a different view on how to make the team a force again is needed.Local coaches have had their chances and they have produced mixed results.In some cases the results were poor, as players complained about their coaching tactics and technical know-how of the game.Boois said the recycling of people such as Markus Damaseb, who will serve as the team manager for the Brave Warriors, Killa Samaria as the team manager of the under-23s, Eric Hansen as team manager of the under-15s and Juliene Garises as the manager of the women’s team was inevitable.He argued that the experience these people have gained over the years will help make work easier for some of these teams, but I think otherwise.Yes, these people have experience, but are they the only ones? Damaseb, Garises and Samaria were all flung out of the NFA executive committee for the poor performance of that body for years, and now they are given another opportunity to serve as team managers.I will take an example: Petrus Damaseb stepping down as the NFA president and again becoming the driver for the association on its payroll.No offence.Eric Hansen is the current chairman of the NFA’s Organising and Competitions Committee (OCC) and making him the team manager of the youngsters is a blow to other people who could have been given the role.The question is why do the same people rotate in positions, while there are so many able people who can do the same jobs but have never been given the opportunity.This is absolute selfishness and a total disregard of the abilities of others who are also in the trade.Boois said the people should be given a chance, especially the above-mentioned team managers, but how many chances have they blown already? Well, there is nothing that can be done, as the various appointees have all received their letters of appointment (I believe).It will now be up to the coaches and their assistants to prove that they can do a decent job.The ones who are new to the coaching fold, this is your opportunity to prove your critics wrong and turn the tables – Namibian football is longing for a drastic change.
