Feature: The second coming of Milovan Rajevac – A hit or a miss?

Published on: 07 March 2014
Feature: The second coming of Milovan Rajevac – A hit or a miss?
Milovan Rajevac well on his way back into the Black Stars fold

By Ameenu Shardow, follow on Twitter @alooameenu

While many have heralded what appears to be the second coming of Milovan Rajevac to the Black Stars as a ‘technical advisor’ to coach Kwesi Appiah, there are subtle concerns over whether a man who has been out of the job for three years is sharp enough to inspire yet another successful World Cup campaign.

There is no doubt about the quality of the Serbian trainer – on the account of what he did for Ghana during his two year reign as Black Stars coach - but the saying: ‘a man is as good as his last job’ doesn’t really do ‘Milo’ any favours in the present day.

The 60-year-old was SACKED in 2011 as the coach of the Qatar national team just within six months of taking over.

After shocking defeats to lowly India and Vietnam, the signs of stale progress were vaguely evident to officials of the Qatar FA who decided the obvious by giving the revered Serbian the boot. Rajevac has been jobless since.

The master is returning as a servant to his then servant
The master is returning as a servant to his then servant
Yes, he was linked to the Egyptian national team job in 2011 but he eventually lost out to American Bob Bradley – a decision the Egyptian FA sorely regrets after the Pharaohs were thrashed in the playoffs for the 2014 World Cup by ‘Milo’s’ former employers Ghana.

So even though the great works of the master Serbian tactician remains fresh in the minds of Ghanaians, the fact remains he has been inactive for three-years and perhaps not in tune with the modern trends of the game, especially when being brought in for another beckoning World Cup campaign.

Historically, Ghana does not do well with returness – German coach Bukhard Ziese is a classical example.

After his initial impressive works as coach of Ghana – ironically over a two year period from 1990 – Ziese returned to coach the Black Stars in 2003 but was shipped off almost immediately.

Ziese who probably was detached from the modern trends of the game decided to put Edward Ansah who who had not kept for the Black Stars for years in goal for a crucial African Cup of Nations qualifier – a decision which proved futile and ultimately finally ended Ansah’s overdue international career.

Kwesi Appiah has asked his former boss to advice him at the 2014 World Cup
Kwesi Appiah has asked his former boss to advice him at the 2014 World Cup
Ghana can however not afford such an expensive mistake with the return of Milovan Rajevac – who has not coached in three years – at the 2014 World Cup where the Black Stars are desperate to perform even much better than previous campaigns.

Despite all the great things to be said about coach Milovan Rajevac, the analysis of what appears to be his second coming rages on and now with a new twist of facts and historical observations.

Coach Kwesi Appiah and the Ghana FA indeed have a big decision to make and it will be very interesting to see what they arrive at.

The ultimate overriding motive should however be in the interest of our dear Black Stars going into the World Cup in Brazil.

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