Rwanda is now preparing for life without outgoing coach Carlos Ferrer who left the job to coach Belarus on a one-year deal subject to be renewed.
The Spaniard was in March 2022 appointed to coach Amavubi on a one-year deal replacing Vincent Mashami before his employers extended his contract for another two years hoping that he would inspire the country to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations which was his main assignment upon appointment.
Ferrer, who had gathered a rich vein of experience coaching at the Barcelona Academy in Warsaw, Poland, Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan and AS FAR Rabat in Morocco among other teams, was not the only person who applied for the job.
The shortlist included Nigerian gaffer Sunday Oliseh, Stephen Constantine, who had a short spell with Amavubi, experienced French gaffer Alain Giresse, Sebastian Migne, Tony Hernandez, Gabriel Alejandro Burstein, Hossam El Badary, Ivan Hasek, Arena Guglielmo, and Noel Tossi but FERWAFA finally settled on the Spaniard.
Ferrer's major task was to qualify the Amavubi to the 2023 AFCON in Cote D'Ivoire, a dream which is now effectively over with Rwanda sitting at the bottom of Group L with two points from five games and one game to play.
Ferrer's unwanted record
The Spanish coach played seven competitive games with the Amavubi and failed to win a single one. He recorded four draws and 3 defeats.
His overall statistics in all games is just one win in 12 games which was in a friendly game against Sudan in Kigali, on November 19, 2022
His strong hold
Despite failing to get the needed results as the head coach of the Amavubi in his 16-month stint, Ferrer did something remarkable in relation to team building.
He admitted the local league lacked the needed quality in one of his interviews and he would prefer a mixture of locals and foreign-based players in his ultimate Amavubi selection.
Ferrer was able to call young players like Hakim Sahabo, Patrick Mutsinzi, Gilbert Ishimwe, Glen Habimana who could be the future of Amavubi if managed well. All these players were invited after a comprehensive scouting by Times Sport.
The tactician may be history in Rwanda's coaching archives following his departure but he will be remembered for giving Amavubi a priceless asset in the person of Hakim Sahabo who has the tendency to lead the team for many years.
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What next for Amavubi?
Rwanda has to regroup in November when the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup for the Africa zone begin.
The country has barely three months to put things in order as they are in a tough Group alongside Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Benin.
The onus now lies on the Rwanda FA to proceed with early appointment of a new coach early so that he can start building his team.
Which type of coach should Rwanda hire?
Whether he is an African coach or an expatriate, the FERWAFA should look for a coach who is hungry for success.
The federation did it previously by appointing Serbian Ratomir Dujkovic who took the country to its only AFCON in 2004 and subsequently qualified Ghana to its first world cup in 2006.
"Duya" as the Serbian coach was affectionately called, was not a big name tactical brain but he really understood football, knew how to get the best of his players and was eager to win matches.
FERWAFA should get a coach of that caliber to lead the team into the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Certainly, the resignation of those who employed him also played a part in Ferrer's exit but his statistics were not encouraging and the time was due for him to assess himself and consider a future elsewhere.
