It is a sin for Ingwe to be trophy-less for this long, says Marin

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

New AFC Leopards head coach Dorian Marin says it is a sin for the club to be trophy-less for a protracted period.

It is on this premise that he accepted a call to come and coach Ingwe after he was approached by club chairman Dan Mule in person.

“I did my inquiries and was told Mule is a straightforward man that boosted my confidence to take up the job. I have been in some clubs where truth is an expensive virtue,” Marin said.

Apart from accepting to coach Ingwe, Marin says he has another mission which is to take East African football to another level.

He admits he is irked by the current level of football in the region as compared to the 80’s and 90’s. “There was football then, East African clubs used to reign terror in regional championships like Cecafa, Mandela Cup, CAF and other contests.

What we see now is a joke,” he noted. Since jetting in Dar es Salaam on Monday, Marin has had three training sessions with Ingwe and has played one match, beating Tanzanian Premier League champions Yanga 4-2 on post match penalties to advance to the finals of SportPesa Super Cup scheduled at Uhuru Stadium on Sunday.

From the brief stint with Ingwe players, Marin has resolved to introduce his own way of football at the den. “My way of football is the creation of high scoring chances in a match.

We have to destroy the opponents build ups, we have to be clinical with our set pieces,” he explains.

He is glad that his charges are open to learning though their attitudes need serious harnessing to strengthen them mentally.

“My way of football involves positive aggression, I don’t believe in players who keep playing the ball backward.” Just like Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho, Marin too believes football is not about entertainment but raking in points.

“My way of football is about winning, that is what I want AFC players to do for me, I won’t care what other people say. A win is a win as long as I am climbing up the standings.”

Marin is confident that AFC shall have gotten their groove back by the end of the Kenyan Premier League 2017 season as he is eager to prove to Kenyans and other coaches that it is not a must you coach Gor Mahia to win trophies in Kenya.

Before landing the AFC job, Marin made several applications to coach the club as well as the national team Harambee Stars which were fruitless.

Marin is best remembered to be the coach who smoked out Kenya’s dream for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana.

He beat Harambee Stars 2-1 in the first leg of the qualifiers held at Moi International Stadium Kasarani on September 3, 2006 and won return leg 1-0 in Asmara with the Red Sea Boys of Eritrea.