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Burrell’s no superman
IN a few days, Horace Burrell will reclaim the position of president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), and it is expected that shortly thereafter significant changes will be made to revive the sport.
Burrell, who was at the helm of the sport when it achieved unprecedented success, culminating in Jamaica becoming the first English-speaking Caribbean country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in France in 1998 as well as Youth World Cups in Argentina and New Zealand in the succeeding two years, will take over from Crenston Boxhill at Sunday’s Voting Congress to be held in Hanover.
The weight of expectations will be enough to test even the best administrator. But as Burrell has proved in the past, he and his team — not he alone — will be up to the job. For many, the expectations might be too much and unreasonable. There are those who are expecting Burrell, singlehandedly, not only to turn around the administration, the finances and marketing of the Reggae Boyz, but also to score goals, stop goals, drive the bus to and from training and games, and wash the team’s kits. And this is not just for the senior team, but also for all the age group teams, both male and female.
Expectations must, however, be based on reality and people must realise that while Burrell has a lot of clout in football circles, the job is bigger than one individual. Unfortunately in his previous stint, Burrell came across to many as an egocentric superman, and that led in a large part to his removal from office in November 2003. More than anything else in this second stint, Burrell must detail to the nation as soon as Sunday, even following the formalities, exactly what his priority will be. Will it be qualifying Jamaica for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa or putting in place a serious foundation for the growth and development of the sport?
It was Brazilian Rene Simoes, who guided the team to France in 1998, who said qualifying for the World Cup then was like building a house from the roof down as we had no foundation for sustainable development in the sport. While there is nothing wrong with trying to qualify for the World Cup, rebuilding the foundation of the game here at the administrative and club levels must take priority over all else.
It is also widely expected that national technical director Bora Milutinovic will be history, and by this time next week could be on his way home to Mexico. The US$2-million question is ‘Can we afford this on more than one level?’
There is no doubt in my mind that Bora is the best coach we have ever had or can afford, and it would be best if the new administration would try to keep him instead of playing politics and sweep him out with the old administration simply because they hired him.
I hope the rumours of Simoes coming back are just that — rumours. Simoes has nothing to offer Jamaica right now, and the further away he stays, the better. The man cannot get a job anywhere, not even in a club system, and football has moved on since he was last here.
Finally, I find it interesting when I see the respective FA presidents lining up to bash the outgoing administration, including many who voted for Boxhill and who were fed up with Burrell in 2003. It reminds me of a scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar when the Roman emperor said he would rather have fat men around him as the thin men spent too much time thinking and not enough time enjoying the free food. A lot of what we have heard are people scrambling to get to the head of the line for the pork barrel they hope will be opened soon.
Burrl..wasatthehelmofthesportwhenit cievedunp recedentedsuccess
IN a few days, Horace Burrell will reclaim the position of president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), and it is expected that shortly thereafter significant changes will be made to revive the sport.
Burrell, who was at the helm of the sport when it achieved unprecedented success, culminating in Jamaica becoming the first English-speaking Caribbean country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in France in 1998 as well as Youth World Cups in Argentina and New Zealand in the succeeding two years, will take over from Crenston Boxhill at Sunday’s Voting Congress to be held in Hanover.
The weight of expectations will be enough to test even the best administrator. But as Burrell has proved in the past, he and his team — not he alone — will be up to the job. For many, the expectations might be too much and unreasonable. There are those who are expecting Burrell, singlehandedly, not only to turn around the administration, the finances and marketing of the Reggae Boyz, but also to score goals, stop goals, drive the bus to and from training and games, and wash the team’s kits. And this is not just for the senior team, but also for all the age group teams, both male and female.
Expectations must, however, be based on reality and people must realise that while Burrell has a lot of clout in football circles, the job is bigger than one individual. Unfortunately in his previous stint, Burrell came across to many as an egocentric superman, and that led in a large part to his removal from office in November 2003. More than anything else in this second stint, Burrell must detail to the nation as soon as Sunday, even following the formalities, exactly what his priority will be. Will it be qualifying Jamaica for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa or putting in place a serious foundation for the growth and development of the sport?
It was Brazilian Rene Simoes, who guided the team to France in 1998, who said qualifying for the World Cup then was like building a house from the roof down as we had no foundation for sustainable development in the sport. While there is nothing wrong with trying to qualify for the World Cup, rebuilding the foundation of the game here at the administrative and club levels must take priority over all else.
It is also widely expected that national technical director Bora Milutinovic will be history, and by this time next week could be on his way home to Mexico. The US$2-million question is ‘Can we afford this on more than one level?’
There is no doubt in my mind that Bora is the best coach we have ever had or can afford, and it would be best if the new administration would try to keep him instead of playing politics and sweep him out with the old administration simply because they hired him.
I hope the rumours of Simoes coming back are just that — rumours. Simoes has nothing to offer Jamaica right now, and the further away he stays, the better. The man cannot get a job anywhere, not even in a club system, and football has moved on since he was last here.
Finally, I find it interesting when I see the respective FA presidents lining up to bash the outgoing administration, including many who voted for Boxhill and who were fed up with Burrell in 2003. It reminds me of a scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar when the Roman emperor said he would rather have fat men around him as the thin men spent too much time thinking and not enough time enjoying the free food. A lot of what we have heard are people scrambling to get to the head of the line for the pork barrel they hope will be opened soon.
Burrl..wasatthehelmofthesportwhenit cievedunp recedentedsuccess
said that there may be relevations that will shock 'those who follow our football'. 
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