*This article was originally published in the column Geof's Game Plan in the Herald newspaper in October 2007 after Pfister's appointment.
By Geof
It has taken Cameroonian sport officials eight months to name a new man at the head of the football national team. His name is Otto Pfister. Is he worth the wait? What are the pros and cons of this choice?
Without a head coach at less than 90 days to Cameroon’s first encounter at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, our country had become the laughing stock of the continent’s football elite.
According to the advert issued in July, authorities needed a coach with a trainer’s diploma, international experience, ability to speak English or French, availability to reside in Cameroon, and a solid three-year plan for the country’s football. The President of the Federation Iya Mohammed specified in an interview that they wanted a man who has led a national team to an African Cup of Nations (probably a continental equivalent elsewhere), handled a major European club or managed a team at the World Cup.
Otto Pfister seems to fit the criteria. He has a coaching diploma earned 40 years ago in his native Germany. He speaks French and English and is ready to stay in Cameroon for the period of his contract. I have not seen his three-year plan but some sources claim he has a plan, which goes as far as 2014! Although he has never trained a major European team, Pfister qualified Saudi Arabia to the World Cup in 1998 and recently led Togo, albeit disastrously, to the World Cup in his native Germany in 2006.
I dare say if there is any positive regarding his pedigree this lies in his knowledge of the African football milieu. To succeed as a coach in Africa you should be ready to be the punching bag between the federation and the ministry of sport, be prepared to negotiate match bonuses, be ready to arrange camping sites and friendlies – things one is not called upon to do while heading a European squad.
Pfister has experienced this. He is currently coaching Sudanese club Al Merreickh that is playing the final of the Confederations Cup where our own Astres of Douala were bottom of their group. He won the African Cup Winners Cup with Zamalek of Egypt beating Cameroon’s Canon Yaounde in the final in 2000. Pfister was part of the management of Ghana’s under-17 team that won the World Cup in that category in 1991. One year later he led the Black Stars to the final of the of the African Cup of Nations in 1992 that was lost to Cote d’Ivoire after an epic penalty shoot out.
But was he worth the eight-month wait? No.
I sincerely think if our authorities had to end up choosing Mr Pfister then they merely wasted time, money and our anxiety. That is the biggest negative about his appointment. The man was in our backyard so if we needed him we would have simply fetched him without fooling around about selection commissions and short-lists.
Moreover, Otto Pfister only finished 10th following the review of candidate files by a joint FECAFOOT/Ministry of Sport selection panel. As a result, the Federation feels slighted and this does not augur well for the ambiance around the team before and during the upcoming competition.
A ministry of sport communications officer speaking on Canal 2 said this was a decision taken by the Presidency (President?) of the Republic to restore state authority over a wayward federation.
Shame! So even the coach of the Indomitable Lions has to be picked by the omniscient Mr Biya?
I do not know the man (Pfister) personally but his age is not very reassuring. He reportedly suffered from heart problems while in charge of the Togolese team. Isn’t it risky to have him around a set-up like the Indomitable Lions that always has heartrending ups and downs?
At the start of the selection process last July [2007], I wrote in this column that Cameroon not only needs a man of experience, it requires a coach with a proven ability to effectively manage the relationships between top notch professional players with bloated egos. Otto Pfister decided to resign in the middle of the World Cup because he was fed up over negotiations between authorities and top professionals over match bonuses. Would he be able to stand the heat in Cameroon? Let’s wait and see.
Although Otto Pfister is certainly not the man I would have picked, he is Cameroon’s national team coach. It is good that FECAFOOT also made that point clear. Now for the sake of Cameroon let’s allow him work.
Nevertheless, it is worth reminding authorities that Cameroonians are no fools. The circus around the appointment of the coach was gross disrespect toward the people of this nation. In fact, I would have picked a competent coach 7 months ago without going through a selection panel. Alas I am not the Minister of Sport and certainly not the President of the Republic!
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