The deep end for Sebastien

What you need to know:

  • Good times. He can count on FUFA running the whole Cranes football thing much better these days.

All manners of research on Sebastien Desabre don’t reveal much more than the fact he has been a managerial nomad on the continent before landing the Cranes Job. That doesn’t say anything about his qualifications at this level, but one has got to trust the experience of the committee that narrowed down on him.
And as it is there shall be no hiding place for him. Barely a fortnight into the job, a concise brief spelling out the management of the Cranes and the development of youth structures tucked under his armpit, he has been shoved in the general direction of Morocco via Qatar.
He will play friendlies against Congo and Cameroun in Doha, before jetting into Casablanca to open his Chan campaign against Zambia next weekend. All of this before he even learns all his players by both names.
It isn’t complicated right? Expect that the man has no demonstrated competence managing at this level. Lest we forget, here is a man who waltzed through Asec Mimosas, CS Garoua, ES Tunis, Desportivo Libolo, Dubai Club, JS Saoura, Wydad Athletic Club and Ismaily, in some places lasting no more than a couple of months.
We can only speculate whether this restlessness is about unmet ambition or demonstrated incompetence. What really stands out is that he gets the jobs he does. So, can we all judge him on the results he will deliver, and not after one game please?
We have signed him on a three-year contract, so we might as well be patient. We must also trust the local deputies given to help him navigate native politics. Let’s just be clear about one thing - he will go through a steep learning curve.
He will have to contend with being judged above his successors. Like they, he will crush into a wall of skewed expectations conditioned by years of near success. He will contend with ‘political’ interference from careerists – who almost always form a weed that grows into national team matters and chokes the efforts of Team Managers. Club football never preps you for such and the skills to handle such are learnt on the job.
Welcome to the deep end Sebastien. Here, it won’t be because you don’t have to contend with the problems that bedeviled your predecessors, but because you just managed to circumnavigate them better.
And I like it that he hasn’t made any noises about interference or hand picking his own deputies. Maybe he is unbothered or his simply bidding his time. Either way, one must first grow the legs to carry them. As early signs of competence go, that is a nice one.
At the very least, he can count on Fufa running the whole Cranes football thing much better these days. For one, he is on a monthly salary that could run some district offices for a year. Team facilitation and preparations are much better. And all these things eventually pay off.
I hope you manage to keep your head above the water Sebastien. Good luck.