By Muhammed Onogwu Galacticus, Lokoja
Apart from the fact that Football coaching job prides itself on professional skills and relationships with the players, former player as a young coach must be seen to be dexterous, exquisite and a commanding figure both on and off the pitch.
Aside his superhuman dexterity, natural skills and unimaginable commanding presence on the pitch, Zinedine Yazid Ismail Zidane remains a soccer idol. Real Madrid saw all these delectable qualities in him before recruiting him as Castilla’s Coach, Assistant Senior Team Coach and subsequently Senior Team coach. Through his peregrinations as football manager, he leaves trail of unbroken records.
Hiring Zidane by Real Madrid was a case of a Poacher-turned-gamekeeper.
Since his exploit as a prodigious young football manager, there has been high level of mimicry by some clubs who started hiring their former players as managers. One of such clubs is Manchester United who hired their former striker, Ole Gunner Solskjear to pull the club out of their doldrums.
Just like the Spanish adage goes “What nature does not provide, Salamanca does not give”, the Scandinavian is moving the club from the Intensive Care Unit where he met it close to the Mogue at the moment. Even after Christmas season, Manchester United maintains its extravagant Father Christmas character as it dolls out points to any club that has a date with them.
Solskjear ; a young prolific striker who is known by Manchester United’s fans across the globe by his last minute-equaliser against Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League finals has change the nickname of Manchester United ground from the “theatre of Dreams” to a permanent “theatre of Nightmare” .
A young man as at 2005, one need Radioactive Element or Carbon Dating to determine Solskjear’s true age, he looks 80 while he is under 50 in real sense, he is overloaded with job hazard without success, oscillating between hope and despair. While Zidane looks younger as a coach than while playing, the reverse is the case for Ole Gunner Solksjaer
The falling of Manchester United from the tabletop down this season is simply spontaneous, it’s so abysmal that they go down the table even when they win matches .
For united fans to think that the Scandinavian will pull Man United out of its woes is like trying to pour perfume on a skunk. It’s is easier for Kogi United to win CAF Champions League than United making top 4 this season.
Hon. Onogwu Muhammed Galacticus is the Chief Press Secretary to the Kogi State Governor and a renown sport commentator write from Lokoja.
See pictures below!.
