The Member of Parliament for Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region, Mr Kwabena Appiah-Pinkrah, has added his call for Government to appoint a local coach to handle Ghana’s senior national football team, the Black Stars. Mr Appiah-Pinkrah said that it was long overdue for Ghana to appoint a local or a full blooded Ghanaian coach with strong credentials who despite problems of national identity to handle the team effectively and efficiently. The Legislator made a similar call two years ago when Coach Sellas Tetteh, then trainer of the U-20 team, the Black Satellites successfully handled the team to whack the Greens of Libya 3-0. The MP then expressed loss as to why he should not be made the substantive coach of the Stars in their opening encounter of 2010 FIFA World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match. Mr Appiah-Pinkrah told GNA Sports on Tuesday “I still doff my hat for those arguing that we should have a Ghanaian coach”, which is reminiscent of the exploits of local coaches such as C. K. Gyamfi, Osam Duodo, E. K. Afranie, “Sir” Jones Attuquayfio and Abdul Razak, adding that if these were considered old, why not consider the more recent big names like Kwesi Appiah, Sellas Tetteh, Kuuku Dadzie, David Duncan, Herbert Addo and Marcel Desailly?”. According to Mr Appiah-Pinkrah, the immediate past coach of the national team, Milovan Rajevac came to Ghana at a very good time in the history of Ghana football, when factors of a solid team, support and ownership were all at play. The MP who is also a football administrator and management consultant, made a strong case for parity of remunerations for a local coach just as a foreign one, in addition to the same level of facilities and motivation to be able to dispense with the good will of the team. Mr Appiah-Pinkrah said Ghanaian coaches had handled the national team successfully for the African Cup of Nations and wondered why they were not given the nod for the World Cup. He prescribed the requirements for the appointment for a local coach as someone who had played with local teams and to the highest level at the national team, has managerial training, have trained and educated as a coach and practiced as a coach at the highest level, in addition to engaged in physical education. “The coach must be able to manage human beings, and must have the ability to naturally bring in discipline, to accept the players and bring the best in them and win the hearts and souls of the players and the populace. “He must be part of the team and must be the Number 12 man on the field,” Mr Appiah-Pinkrah said, adding he must exercise high level judgment and intelligence. Source: GNA