Kickoff (Cape Town)
20 August 2008
As Milovan Rajevac drove into the Ghana Football Association offices for his first media of encounter as Ghana coach, the first thing that caught my eye was his white shoes.
Sparkling white shoes over black suit and within seconds it had become a talking point.
For the conservatives amongst us the question was simple, how could he wear white shoes? Minutes later when he walked into the room for the pres conference I discovered my first mistake of his reign. I had judged him too early. It was white shoes with white belt to match and a white shirt to boot. He was not a fashion disaster after all.
In many ways Rajevac's time as national coach will be spent proving to people they were wrong about him from the start, that he deserves his chance with a side like Ghana and that he can indeed deliver.
The Serbian is up against it from day one. He was not the world class manager the GFA promised. Every game he has to prove is a good choice and after an hour briefing the media he seems to have won a few friends.
For the records this was as mild as it gets at a Ghana coach press conference. Ratomir Dujkovic spent his first briefing defending his record. Claude Le Roy ripped into a journalist on the first day for taking a phone call at his briefing.
Rajevac had his nervy moments too notably when one journalist told him "you look frail."
But he took it with a smile maybe and delivered his answers with a maturity that got a media noted for abrasive questioning nodding at every turn.
For instance asked about whether his inability to communicate clearly in English will not affect his work here, he simply retorted by saying that when our players travel to France, Germany or Italy to play for clubs there, their lack of local knowledge about the local knowledge is never used against them.
The Serbian also did a smart thing in acknowledging that his attackers have fired blank in the past, a fact many previous coaches have brushed under the carpet.
The problem with the strikers has persisted for a long time and if can solve that, then Ghana would be a more formidable team than it has ever been.
But while the first day was filled with the right vibes, there will no doubt be many tough days ahead and how the Serbian deals with that will define his reign here.
For instance his decision to build the team on the old spine will be applauded so long as it brings results. But he will discover that in Ghana one bad game comes with mass calls for changes in personnel.
He will also find a media that will question many things, ask many questions and one that will look on the daily basis for the negatives rather than the positives.
It's the way it works here even though ultimately we all want one thing which is world cup appearance. After appearing in Germany 2006 and realizing that the World Cup feels much better when you are a part of the real action rather than being just a part of a global television audience, the whole of Ghana will be driven to be there again.
It is nice to know Rajevac is up for it too, that he considers this as a potential step forward in his career and does not consider himself the big man who came to sort out our ills.
So we will go along with his calls for unity while he leads from the front. Here though unity means a diversity of opinion on everything from choice of friendly games, to players picked and tactics that he will be used.
Ultimately he will be responsible for the decisions and if he gets it right as we desperately hopes he does, we will praise him to the skies and even give him a chieftaincy title like one town did his compatriot Ratomir Dujkovic after the 2006 World Cup.
If it does not go well, and God forbid, his press conferences will not be anything like the smooth ride he had on day one.
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