Some analysts have questioned Football Association of Malawi’s (Fam) decision to impose two local assistants on the in-coming expatriate coach for Malawi National Football Team, the Flames.
Fam arrived at the decision last weekend. However, experience has shown that there is always a strained relationship between head coaches and their assistants when they have been imposed on each other.
Among the examples, a few years ago local Kinnah Phiri fell out with German coach, Burkhard Ziese (now deceased).
Disagreements also arise among local coaches that are imposed on each other.
In most cases elsewhere, head coaches choose their own backroom team.
Former Malawian international, Peterkins Kayira, said the arrangement was a recipe for confusion.
“Proper football administration demands that a coach must choose his backroom staff. In football, players align themselves to different coaches and when the relationship is not good, the team suffers,” Kayira said.
Former Flames forward Andrew Chikhosi concurred with Kayira.
“I would be happy to work with a person of my choice. It is not good for someone to impose someone on you. This normally happens in Malawi because we want to give jobs to our friends,” Chikhosi said.
Reports suggest that Blue Eagles Coach, Derklerk Msakakuona, and Azam Tigers mentor, Gerald Phiri Senior, are favourites for the Flames’ assistants’ role.
However, in an interview on Wednesday, Fam First Vice President, James Mwenda, said the association would discuss with the coach before deciding on the assistants.
“The decision has not been conclusively made. Other coaches would choose assistants on their own while others are free to be given assistants,” said Mwenda, who is also Fam’s Chairperson sub Technical and Youth Committee.
On his part, Thom Mkolongo, who worked as an assistant to Englishman Steven Constantine a decade ago, said there was need for a cordial working relationship between a head coach and his backroom staff.
“During my time with Constantine, we were able to understand each other because he was the one who chose me. But honestly, it is not easy for all the coaches to work well with assistants chosen by someone else,” Mkolongo said.
Fam announced the decision to appoint local assistants after maintaining its position on hiring a foreign coach.
“In order to ensure that the team is quickly assembled and preparations commence ahead of recruitment of the national coach, it was resolved that two local coaches be immediately appointed to take charge of the team. The two local coaches will work with and report to the National Coach once he reports for duties,” reads part of the statement.
Former Zimbabwe National Team Coach Calisto Pasuwa, ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Globbelaar and former Uganda and Kenya coach Bobby Williamson are among the foreign coaches that applied for the Flames job that fell vacant after Ernest Mtawali was fired at the end of his one-year contract.
Malawi will travel to Madagascar in the African Nations Championship on the weekend of April 20-22 before a return leg two weeks later.
In the Africa Cup of Nations the Flames were drawn against Africa champions, Cameroon and Morocco.
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