Flames ‘chosen’ one?
Flames expatriate coach is expected to jet into the country at noon today, and our sources, indicate that the man entrusted to take over the mantle is Belgian Ronny Van Geneugden, The Nation can reveal.
He takes up the job with Gerald Phiri and Deklerk Msakakuona as his deputies and his first task will be the Championship of African Nations (Chan) preliminary qualifier against Madagascar on April 22.
The identity of the coach has been the subject of debate as people felt Football Association of Malawi (FAM) should be transparent considering that there were no interviews for the job.
The Belgian has some experience at club level, but he has never coached a national team let alone in Africa.
According to www.football.top.com, a football managers database, Van Geneugden carved out the name for himself at Oud-Heverlee Leuven.
“He took over reigns at the club in 2010 when it competed in the third division and led Leuven to the promotion at the end of the 2010/11 season. The next season was even greater success as Van Geneugden helped the side to break into the Belgian Pro League.
“In 2014 Van Geneugden was released from the club. He then had a stint with Belgian Pro League side Waasland-Beveren before joining Cypriot First Division side Enosis Neon Paralimni from November 2015 to May 2016,” the coach’s profile reads.
His playing career stretched from 1980 to 2002. He started his professional career at Belgian side Thor Waterschei from 1980 to 1988 before joining Dutch side RKC Waalwijk where he played for a season.
Van Geneugden returned to his homeland where he continued his career with Antwerp, SK Lommel, Germinal Ekeren, Lokeren and retired at Verbroedering Geel in 2002.
The coach was linked with a move to Orlando Pirates last month, but the deal flopped after an outcry from the Buccaneers that the Belgian is not good enough for the struggling South Africa Premier Soccer League (PSL) giants.
When asked about the coach’s CV compared to others that expressed interest in the Flames job such as former Zimbabwe coach Callisto Pasuwa, Zambia coach Honour Janza, Paolo Duarte, Bruce Grobbelaar and Ian Gorowa, our source said affordability was likely the basis.
“Coaches are very expensive. He was basically picked on the list based on what Malawi can afford to offer him,” he said. “I am sure the others were too expensive for the Malawi FA.”
FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda said he had taken a vow of silence on the expatriate coach’s identity until he is officially unveiled.
“Please don’t put words into my mouth. I will not comment on that,” he said.
On the coach’s itinerary Gunda said: “We already said he is coming on Thursday. I cannot be sure on the exact time he is arriving because of flight connections. When the information is available we will let you know.”
Commenting on FAM’s decision to keep a tight lid on the coach’s identity, renown analyst Charles Nyirenda said: “I think it is completely wrong to hide the identity of the coach because that is public information.
“No interviews then hiding the identity doesn’t augur well for FAM’s image in terms of corporate governance that promotes transparancy and accountability.
“Look, South Africa is negotiating with Stuart Baxter and he will be getting R1 million if successful. They are very open about it; no secrets like is the case here.”
