Micho’s Tweets reflect poorly on him

Despite tedious protestations about the activity on his Twitter feed, Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s mannerisms show no signs of splintering.

The Cranes coach can never be accused of having a softer mien. While the demeanour has translated into Cranes having few unnerving experiences on the pitch, it has not extricated Micho from controversy.

Last year, when Micho went into a Twitter meltdown over salary arrears straddling months, his boss and Fufa president, Moses Magogo, retorted that the Serb ‘has a problem handling success’. One would imagine former Cranes player David Obua sees things a little differently.

Perhaps more along the lines of Micho failing to handle criticism after the Serb went haywire in response to a comment that Uganda played ‘street football’ in its opening 2017 Afcon match against Ghana

Obua’s ‘street football’ comment delivered in the air conditioned studios of SuperSport in South Africa prompted a salvo from Micho on Twitter that’s as searing as the heat in the Gabonese seaport of Port-Gentil.

Micho’s tangible anger at Obua’s brutal condour triggered a ping-pong between both parties that at one point threatened to overshadow yesterday’s match against Egypt.

Asked in the pre-match press conference whether a Twitter slugfest, which hit a crescendo with reference to Obua’s most sordid act as a Cranes player (tossing his Cranes jersey after being substituted), would harm Uganda, Micho said he thought otherwise.

Six suits
The 47-year-old coach added that his actions were purely parental, by which he meant he was protecting the players Obua said play without structure. Micho made the press conference room roar with laughter when he revealed that he took six suits with him to Gabon and that he intends to use all of them.

If this does come to pass, Uganda will contest the 2017 Afcon final. But if the team, which Micho said intends to use Obua’s criticism as a source of inspiration, suffered defeat at the hands of Egypt last night, the Serb won’t have to bother dry-cleaning all six suits.

Regardless of whether Uganda won or lost last night, what would need to be dry-cleaned along with the suits used in Gabon is Micho’s reaction to criticism.
A public figure of his stature should fare much better or - to borrow part of Obua’s riposte - be more streetwise when dealing with criticism. There are times when it is okay to agree to disagree. Silence, someone once said, is golden.

Roger Milla tips goal-shy tourney to come to life

Sharing a hotel (Le Méridien) with a Cameroonian national football team playing in its 16th Afcon finals has been a telling experience for your columnist.

The Indomitable Lions are a shoo-in to book a quarterfinal berth today when they face hosts Gabon in what should be a thrilling match.

Being up close with the team has made yours truly appreciate the little small things that come together to create the beautiful mosaic we have come to know as professionalism.

For instance, players are mandated to keep within a specific weight category to pull off varying tasks. After each meal they are weighed to ascertain if they are complying with the regulations.

The manner in which the team uses its legendary players like Roger Milla, Geremi Njitap and Pierre Wome is quite productive. Your columnist had the chance of picking the mind of Milla.

The great man is 64 but barely looks it. As fit as a fiddle, he walks with a spring in his step and always has a ready smile much like he did when he scored four goals and hailed them in an unconventional style at the 1990 Fifa World Cup.

Milla won two Afcon titles with the Indomitable Lions back in 1984 and 1988. He was joint top scorer during the 16th staging of the tournament with two goals. The tally gives one a picture of how the game’s most valuable asset was in scant supply back then. The goals per match average was 1.44.

After a slow start, there are fears that the 2017 Afcon finals taking place here in Gabon will not provide that many goals for fans to hail.
Apologists will point to the standardised nature of the game making it one of fine margins.
Blowouts are as such bound to be few and far between. On his part, Milla believes that the tournament will be replete with goals now that teams having familiarised themselves with the weather conditions and playing surfaces in Gabon.

What we now know....

We now know that there is no such thing as a minnow in African football. How else would you explain the Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau making four-time African champions Cameroon work hard for a 2-1 win!

We know that a contender for goal of the tournament came off Piqueti’s boot in that match at Stade de l’Amitie.

We know that no exceptional goal was scored as Algeria held Zimbabwe to a 2-2 draw.

This result nevertheless rocked the foundations of the tournament especially since the Desert Foxes were expected to take the tournament by storm. Instead a storm looks set to sweep them away.
Not that Leicester City will complain.

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@robertmadoi