Daily Independent (Lagos)
11 December 2008
Head coach of the Burkina Faso Under-20 side in the just-concluded West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup, Rainer Willfeld, has berated the organisational style of the championship.
Willfeld, a German coach, was distraught with the fixture arrangement as well as the transportation system.
The Burkinabe coach criticised the manner with which the fixture was arranged, saying the congestion of matches had effect on the players, which has been responsible for the poor performance of some of the teams.
Willfeld advised WAFU that the health of the players should first be taken into consideration to ensure that subsequent editions of the championship produce quality football.
"I think for the health of the players, organisers must realise that it is necessary for the players to rest well before going into next match and this really affected most of the teams that took part in the WAFU Cup," he said.
However, the German handler said he is satisfied with the performance of his team in the championship.
He added that Cote d'Ivoire remains the most organised team of the championship, while others had to depend on individual talents to make headway.
Willfeld counselled coaches in the sub-region to concentrate more on grooming of players to become a team.
"For me, I am satisfied with my boys because they showed that they can learn which is very important from me as their coach. From my assessment of the competition, I think most of the teams apart from Cote d'Ivoire are not well organised as teams. Despite the individual talents that abound among the players, I think the coaches have not been able to harness this to let them play as a team," Willfeld said.
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