I would relish coaching Stars, Desailly says

By ERICK OCHIENG’

KENYA: Former Chelsea midfield maestro and captain, Marcel Desailly, says he won’t mind coaching Harambee Stars if a proposal is thrown his way.

Desailly says Harambee Stars needs a winning mentality to be able to bring honour to the country’s football and make East Africa proud.

“Every time teams from West Africa take the lion’s share at the African Nations Cup and the World Cup; this must stop. I say Harambee Stars has the capability to turn all this around in East Africa.

“The era of one-sided competition in Africa is long gone,” said Desailly, who has just finished received his professional football coaching licence.

The French legend is on a two-day tour of the country as an English Premier League ambassador. He is on tour with the EPL trophy.

Enthusiastic football fans had the opportunity to take  photos with the trophy when it arrived in the country on Sunday.

An exclusive photo opportunity was staged at the Barclays Bank headquarters in Westlands, Nairobi, for the bank staff, where the media met and interacted with the former Chelsea captain.

Desailly also presented the trophy to the Kenya Defence Force headquarters in Hurlingham as appreciation from Barclays Bank customers.

He also conducted a football clinic at Ligi Ndogo, where fans had an opportunity to take photos with the coveted trophy.

Desailly, however, said among Harambee Stars’ immediate needs is to work on their tactical approach to the game and team work, which would grow their potential for winning.

“Kenya has the potential to challenge the West and Southern African regions that dominate continental World Cup qualification and the African Nations Cup,” he said.

Giving the example of how West African teams dominated the qualifiers for the 2014 Brazil World Cup, Desaillly said East Africa has the potential to change that trend in the near future through the establishment of academies and strong youth structures.

Although not conversant with the Kenyan Premier League, Desailly said more Kenyan players could make it to the EPL. “I want to see more Kenyan players in the EPL. I laud Wanyama (Victor) for his work at Southampton. Kenya’s football can go a notch higher if more players of such calibre are realised,” he said.

Desailly hit hard on Africa, saying the continent was not doing enough to improve its football standards.

“Africa lacks sponsorships and there are lots of poor facilities that need to be improved. It is the role of federations to improve the level of the game,” he said.         

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