Samuel Boadu left his role as Medeama SC head coach to take over the vacant coaching job at Hearts of Oak after taking charge of more than 40 games for Yellow and Mauves across three seasons.
The former Asokwa Deportivo apprentice left the team of Moses Parker with a win – lose – draw record of 23 – 11 – 11 respectively in 45 matches played in the Ghanaian top-flight. This season his team won seven, drew five times and lost four games before calling time on his stay in Tarkwa.
Hearts of Oak is a club that lacks coaching stability. No coach has stayed at the club for more than two seasons since 2011/12. Never. C.K Akonnor, David Duncan, Herbet Addo, Kenechi Yatsuhashi, Frank Nuttal and the rest. None of them would last at least 2 years at the Continental Club Masters. One year is the longest period over there.
Again the treble winning club is one of the biggest in Africa but in the last decade the team of Togbe Afede XIV has suffered a serious nosedive. No major silverware has been won – not in ten days – but in ten years.
And so one would pose a question. Why would a young coach leave his job at a satisfactory club like Medeama to come an unpredictable football club like Hearts of Oak?
It is true that the Hearts of Oak coaching role is one of the biggest football jobs in the country and so when it is available , despite the lack of success , it is always an appealing job – both in terms of remuneration and club pedigree – especially for coaches who want to decorate their CVs and that is partly the case for Boadu touted as the ‘Pep Guardiola’ of Ghana football.
To move from Medeama to Hearts of Oak is an upgrade in terms of club size, pedigree and history but currently in terms of team progress and potential, it may not be so.
It must said that the tempting nature of the Hearts of Oak job was not the only reason why Boadu decided to stop coaching Ahmed Toure, Prince Opoku Agyemang, Abass Mohammed, Rashid Nortey, Justice Blay and co in order to take his coaching career to Accra.
An eye-opener is that, after losing to Karela United and King Faisal, the powers that be at the club had considered to sack him which he knew was definitely a possibility especially when the team was not getting consistent good results.
The team bounced back to winning ways to claim three victories on the trot – against Bechem United, Elmina Sharks and Eleven Wonders and this good run of form coincided with the Hearts of Oak job rendered vacant by the resignation of Kosta Papic. Boadu knew his long term stay at Medeama was not guaranteed as his job was threatened and he would take the next available job and fortunately for him Hearts of Oak – who have never beaten Medeama under Samuel Boadu – came calling at the right time.
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