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WHEN Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was asked if he would take up the offer to coach the England national team if given such an offer, his response was philosophical, but somehow straight to the point.
The Frenchman maintained that the England national team should be managed by an Englishman. The writing was on the wall then that should England fail to qualify for Euro 2008, Steve McClaren’s tenure would come to an end and the Frenchman was said to be an ideal candidate to step into the breach as he boasted 11 years of management experience in England back then.
But in an interview with FourFourTwo published in the Daily Telegraph, Wenger said: “I manage in England and I hope I can help English football but the national team should be managed by an English guy.”
He added, and that is what is most important: “If I’m England manager and I play France, what national anthem do I sing?”
The setting could be different, the countries might be miles apart and circumstances different, but Highlanders find themselves in a similar situation with head coach Kelvin Kaindu who has been touted as the next Under-23 national team coach in Zambia.
Kaindu signed a two-year contract extension with Highlanders recently which should keep him in the country until the end of 2015, but there appears to be serious overtures from the Football Association of Zambia to lure him away from Highlanders, and if reports are anything to go by, the Zambians are confident the he would opt to come back home to sing his national anthem.
Media reports also suggested the Zambian football authorities have been working behind the scenes to ensure that Kaindu attends high level coaching training in the UK, where he has been to time and again since last year, perhaps they now want the knowledge gathered there to benefit them. And who would begrudge them for that? He is their man and they would gladly ask you, where are your own coaches?
Kaindu has certainly done a good job at Highlanders, finishing second to get a silver medal in the league race for the two years he has been in the country, and on both occasions, losing the gold medal by goal difference. He also broke the long cup barren spell of the club by winning the country’s major knock out tournament last season, the Mbada Diamonds Cup, and above that, fans have come back to the stadium to support the team. So if you are to appraise the guy, he has done a great job at Highlanders and Highlanders fans would certainly want him to stay as they believe he has what it takes to win them the title they last won in 2006. To them, he is not an expatriate, he is their son, as he once played for the team, and that explains why he was easily appreciated across the board, and when the chips are down, you can tell those boiling inside try to stifle their frustrations because they really like their coach.
But then the game changes when one receives a call for national duty. It then becomes a call of loyalty. Do you remain loyal to a foreign football club simply because they pay you handsomely regardless of the fact that they decide to kick you out if they think you are no longer serving their interests, or you remain loyal to your national flag? It’s a tough call to make, but some Bosso fans have already concluded that it’s time to bite the bullet and it’s a matter of time before Kaindu goes and are already discussing among themselves who should succeed him.
“With all the media speculation that Kelvin Kaindu might be leaving Highlanders to pursue his coaching career in Zambia, the immediate question for me is not necessarily who should take over, but rather what kind of first team coach do we need as Highlanders?
“I think the executive must look at a number of factors when that time to appoint a Kelvin Kaindu successor comes. My thinking is that they must consider a coach who believes in giving budding talent an opportunity to flourish.
“Highlanders’ major business unit and source of income should not necessarily be selling beer at Manwele and Club house or gatetakings where there are all sorts of vultures, but selling players,” wrote Faith Dube on the social media, a Bosso member and Zifa provincial administrator.
When decision time comes, if ever it does this season, Highlanders would remember what happened last season, how the trips to the UK by the coach disturbed the momentum of the team at a crucial time and certainly, it would not be a good idea to have him holding two important jobs at the same time so he will have to choose, and Bosso might not be the chosen one!
The Zambian FA confirmed courting Kaindu: “Yes we are planning for that, because he is doing well there. He will be in charge of the Under-23s for the Olympics,” said Faz technical director, Honour Janza.
He said they start their preparations next month and will soon be engaging the Highlanders leadership over the issue. “It will depend on him and his employers in terms of when he would probably start but we need him,” said Janza, a respected figure within the Zambian football circles.
On the other hand, Highlanders chairman Peter Dube said they were yet to get official communication either from Faz or Kaindu. But it is only logical to assume that Dube is already planning for the worst case scenario. For comments and contributions email [email protected]. You can also follow this writer on Twitter and Facebook.
Online Reporter