Portuguese coach Humberto Coelho who has been shortlisted for the Black Stars vacant position has put together his comprehensive plans for the country.
His full statement submitted to Ghana Football Association is below:
First and foremost , I will like to congratulate the Ghana Football Association, the government and entire people of Ghana , the former coach and the vibrant Black Stars for the successes and strides made in past and recent times.
I believe Ghana is on great pedestal of world football today due to hard work and determination.
However maintaining high standards i believe is more difficult than its initial achievement. Therefore I congratulate also the former coach for the good foundation laid.
My desire to coach the Ghana Black Stars is born out of a long term admiration of the team and the country at large. Hence i have laid down plans for the team should i get the job which i wish to share as follows;
CONTINUATION:
I am a staunch believer in continuation and as the saying goes, ‘you don’t change the winning team’. I believe a solid foundation has been laid by the GFA and the former coach and i intend to continue with the good work and improve upon it since the winning team can be improved and strengthened.
GOAL SCORING: I have been following the Black Stars for the last few years and have identified goal scoring to be one of the missing links in the team. Hence the scoring of single goals in the last twelve matches until the recent three goals scored against Swaziland.
I believe in attacking football, goal scoring and the ‘Agro’ soccer of Ghana. I have always encourages and improved goal scoring in my teams and as a defender during my playing days, i scored 50 and 6 goals for Benfica and Portugal respectively. That is not to suggest that i do not concern myself with effective and competent defences in my team. I was a defender by trade and it is a topmost priority for me.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: My aim is to also incorporate the youth into the Black Stars team as it is evident that the future of the team depends on the youth.
It was amazing how the U20 team won the Fifa Under-20 World Cup and it shows the abundance of talents and I believe a cautious graduation and progression of such young players into the Black Stars as have been started is eminent.
I also intend to set up a monitoring system and team supervised by myself to monitor the local league to unearth as many talents as possible to fuse into the Black stars team to make it stronger like it was in the early 1990s and currently.
I will co-operate with the coach of the CHAN team, junior national U17,U20,and U23 teams and to assist them in the best way possible to get the best players for the immediate future.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: I believe in equal opportunities for all players irrespective of names and stature. My selection is always based on competence, current form and the players’ abilities and understanding of the philosophy and tactical play of the team.
This is evidenced by the fact that in the EURO 2000 finals, by the time my team reached semi final, I had used all 23 players in the competition including all three goal keepers.
Hence the reserve goal keeping problem of the Black stars will be a thing of the past should I be given the job.
OBJECTIVES: 1. To ensure Ghana wins at least one of the next two African Cup of Nations.
2. To qualify and to reach at least semi finals of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil.
3. To build unity among players and management to ensure all mentioned above.
I believe in Ghana and know that i am not being over ambitious and all mentioned can be achieved if we put our axes together.
I am available and willing to meet your high office for further discussions should you deem it necessary.
Long live Ghana and the Black Stars.
Signed
Humberto Manuel de Jesus Coelho