It is one thing to get a result from a struggling team or a young team but to achieve anything with the current Cranes side is a tall order because it is neither here or there.
I have always known coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic as a master tactician and I believe he can muster at least a draw in Algiers this weekend when The Cranes take on Algeria in a Nations Cup qualifier.
What I don’t trust about the team is the set-up that provides no direction about the future. For instance, there are players whose last meaningful performance for The Cranes was in 2019 and are only still selected because they are loyalists to the powers that be at Fufa.
They don’t question the injustices teammates like Yunus Sentamu go through as long as they are in the squad. Then there are those who even have no clubs yet they are accorded red carpet treatment.
Of course there are a number of promising players on the team but it is still too early to determine how far they can go given the history of many still births in the team.
Matters are not helped by the fact that Fufa still runs the game on patronage, the reason it sent a delegation of 15 officials, most of which are merely touring Algeria on holiday.
Granted, if Micho has run away with a credible result in Algiers, it could set the tone for a successful campaign because The Cranes should beat Niger when it visits on June 8 as well as defeating Tanzania.
After all, we only need to finish among the top two to qualify for Afcon in Ivory Coast. To me, the real success is not just about qualifying but the manner in which we do it.
Will Micho employ a do-it-at-all-costs approach or employ a progressive style that provides assurance of the team’s future?
That remains to be seen but with a squad that lacks a peerless leader as well as a dependable striker, we may be set for a long, nail-biting campaign.
The author is SC Villa first vice **president in charge of mobilization.
