My Way: By Ignatius Osei-Fosu

The youngest head coach in Ghana's top flight likes to say what is on his mind. Most times he is misunderstood. It does not mean he is about to stop

“Ignatius. You must become a coach . You are young but you are open minded and firm. These are good traits to have.”

The late Ben Kuofie changed the well laid plans I had for my future with these words. I was a young teacher teacher who had almost become a catholic priest with eyes on punditry. It was the only reason I attended the coaching courses.

Well that and Somtymer Otuo Acheampong’s nudging towards the trade with the reason that I would make a better pundit if I had an understanding of basic coaching skills. These are the two persons I have to thank for all the “trouble” I cause on the touchline.

I have always loved football. I come from a family of academics in Kumasi but the passion for the game has always been there, passed on from my parents through to my siblings. However, like most Ghanaian families with lettered upbringing, one is expected to aim for so called greater heights. Become a lawyer, doctor that sort of thing. I understood that was going to be my path. The impassioned shouting and thudding of feet against ball in the neighbourhood however always called to me. I think I was a decent enough player. It is after all my story.

Any dreams I had of testing how far I could go with the game on a professional level ended with one bad tackle and a broken leg in secondary school. I attended the elite St.James Seminary at Abesim.

Life comes at you hard most of the time but it is the response to adversity that always defines a man. I tell my players this all the time because I have done so many times myself.

That broken leg did not mean I had given up my football dreams. I just channeled it into amateur punditry at Focus Fm and other spots that would have me. It is how Somtymer, then a sports presenter of considerable repute in Kumasi took notice. Did I think I could make it? Yes. I was smart and confident enough. I had a masters degree and I was teaching by this time. Did I really want to do it? I think at the time i was conflicted but I still gave it my best shot.

One clash of ideas however brought a resolution to my inner conflict. It was an observation and analysis practical. My assignment was to observe a match between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and King Faisal. Kotoko were league champions and had Masud Didi Dramani as their head coach. My job was to write a report on Kotoko’s defensive play in the attacking third. In simple terms, check how many times their strikers won back the ball from King Faisal’s defenders. I did my report and returned to class. Simple enough right? No.

The assignment was to be reported with Didi Dramani himself in attendance. He was after all one of the most effective instructors within the system. I told him his strikers had not won back a single ball in the course of the game. He disagreed with my interpretation of what I had observed and was reporting to the class. He cited his insistence on using a medium press during the game to mitigate the fatigue of his players due to their trip to another country for a continental clash. Bottom line, we went hard at it with both of us soundly defending our positions. Coaching capo Ben Kuofie was suitably impressed. He asked Didi Dramani to mentor me and and he agreed. He taught me a lot.

I get asked a lot about philosophies and the like. It is always good to have a defined style in mind. I prefer my teams to play progressive possessive football with a fast attack. All this while keeping a compact defensive shape. When drilled down properly, it is beautiful to watch and I have derived satisfaction from this.

I got my first professional coaching job at 30 years old. I mention age because it is important in Ghanaian culture and society. It defines how people perceive you and respond to you. It defines what you get. There is a natural resentment for upwardly mobile young people. I get that a lot in football. Most people in the Ghanaian football super structure are used to dealing with older people. Think about it. Majority of the people who become coaches do so at the end of their playing careers. So for them, their coaching education begins mostly after 35 years. I completed my badges before I was even 30 . Jobs were hard to get simply on the basis of being considered too young. It scarred me.

I have developed a defensive posture because of this. Maybe it is why I am considered an irritant on the touchline. I am not. I just don’t like to be bullied because the person wielding authority feels he is older than I am. The rule books speak nothing of age. Respect my station. I respect yours. Let football be played and whatever the outcome, I will accept it.

I am happy to see colleagues like Hamza Obeng work these days. It means progress has been made but we need more clubs to take a chance on younger coaches. The experiences will not always be pleasant but there will be long term benefits.

Take my first senior job for instance.

I was hired by Liberty Professionals to assist the legendary Sellas Tetteh. I don’t know how many people applied for the role but I recall being the only person at the interview.

“Did you watch Liberty vs Kotoko in Kumasi? Break down how Liberty lost that game.”

That came from club board member and then vice president of the Ghana Football Association, Mr. George Kwasi Afriyie.

He sat behind his desk and he looked imposing. Luckily it was a game that I took extensive notes on . He looked sufficiently impressed by the time I was done along with the other members of the panel. I got the role not long after.

Sellas Tetteh gave me my voice. He was a very willing teacher and was always ready to listen . We had disagreements too but that is the nature of coaching. Minds must debate ideas and the best point of strategy taken. A few weeks into the job, he lost his wife and the role of technical lead was thrust on me. My aim was to find balance within the team. The biggest decisions I had to make were regarding the midfield. Gerald Arkson was the team’s star holding midfielder. He was however what one would call a constructive defensive midfielder. With a central backline that was a bit shorn of pace, I felt the team needed a destructive player. So I made the decision to bring in Simon Zibo. The team also needed attacking verve and the academy had the player I felt was the solution, Brite Andoh, a diminutive box to box midfielder.

We had a good team that played well that season. However results did not match the performances. Local fans had nicknamed me “schoolboy coach” not because of any lack of tactical acumen but simply because I was young. I did not respond well to the situation in hindsight. In the period that I was in charge , I held on to a resolute belief that I was on the right path and did not really respond well to input from other quarters. Bottom line, I was asked to leave. At that point, I felt it was unfair but as I grew I realised that i could have handled certain scenarios much better. I have learnt from that experience. To succeed in coaching requires a lot of listening to all voices. You will have to sieve the voices and make sense of the information. Not all will be useful but the main point is -LISTEN!

Most people don’t know I have coached with a medical condition . There were times at Liberty Professionals I was moving from hospital bed to touchline. It was not easy. The stress of leading played a role in exacerbating my condition. The more the stress, the more pain I endured. There were several times, as I writhed in pain in a hospital bed, I wondered whether football was worth this much trouble. Weirdly, I can say it is. I am much better now thanks to my family. They stood by me and nursed me all those times.

These days I am bit more contemplative but no less headstrong . It keeps getting me into trouble but maybe its also because I am a misunderstood and I have very little space to defend myself. Ghanaian football fans are beyond passionate especially on matters of their clubs. Take my recent “Fix it” tweet and its resultant controversy with Kotoko fandom.

There was no malice meant. I coach a small team. In the two games we played against Kotoko, I set up my team to take advantage of Kotoko’s most glaring weakness at the time, a dysfunctional midfield unit. It worked a treat and I daresay we should have won but that is football. I however walked away with a feeling that this was supposed to be a team that represents the Ghana league on the continent. We should not have stood a chance. My tweet was a call for improvement. Disagree if you must but take note how Habib Mohammed was drafted into midfield post that. They have become a more sturdy outfit. They fixed it! I love social media and what it has offered the Ghanaian game but fans take it a tad too far sometimes.

I am fighting relegation with Techiman Eleven Wonders. It is the most difficult job I have done but also a satisfactory one. We play football the right way . It is why I get upset when I feel we have been treated unfairly on the pitch. For teams like us, our tactical acumen and talent is all we have to compete and that is all that should matter. The community is close though and we are determined. In the end we will not be caught for want of effort.

My coaching journey has only begun. It has been far from perfect but i would not have done any different. I prefer to remain true to myself rather than change to satisfy others.