{"id":193990,"date":"2024-06-27T13:15:50","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/06\/27\/nsoatremans-gm-on-clubs-fa-cup-success-and-what-lies-ahead\/"},"modified":"2024-06-27T13:15:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:15:50","slug":"nsoatremans-gm-on-clubs-fa-cup-success-and-what-lies-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/06\/27\/nsoatremans-gm-on-clubs-fa-cup-success-and-what-lies-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Nsoatreman\u2019s GM on club\u2019s FA Cup success and what lies ahead \u2013"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nsoatreman FC marked a milestone last Sunday, winning the first major silverware of the club\u2019s young history after beating Brong Ahafo regional neighbours Tano Bofoakwa to be crowned Ghana\u2019s newest FA Cup kings.<\/p>\n
The victory, a hard-fought one secured on penalties, complemented a fine sophomore Ghana Premier League (GPL) season that saw them finish fourth\u2014a marked improvement on the previous campaign\u2019s 13th place.<\/p>\n
Some would attribute that rise to the appointment of head coach Maxwell Konadu ahead of the season, and rightly so, but an arguably bigger factor in Nsoatreman\u2019s success was another pre-season recruit: Eric Alagidede, the 44-year-old who joined the club as General Manager (GM) around the same time as former national team coach Konadu\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a role he had ever handled on such a scale, but Alagidede\u2014who cites as an influence James Essilfie, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Medeama\u2014was not exactly a novice, having worked extensively in football administration prior to taking up Nsoatreman\u2019s job offer.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\u201cI started off as CEO of Apata Kofi Soccer Academy in Winneba, going on to helm the affairs of Westland FC, a third-tier side which produced goalkeepers Richard Ofori (of Black Stars fame) and Yaw Ansah Fufuro (currently with Aduana FC),\u201d he tells this writer in an exclusive interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGPL side Karela United were my next employers, and I served for four years as their Business Development & Communications manager before resigning in 2021 to become CEO of Koforidua Suhyen Sporting Club\u2014a project started together with some partners\u2014prior to my July 2023 move to Nsoatreman,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n
Alagidede\u2019s new position entailed overseeing the day-to-day management of the club\u2019s operation on all fronts\u2014including matters pertaining to the technical team, playing body, and activities of auxiliary staff\u2014signing of player contracts and, well, so much more.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout sixty percent of the success of a team depends on proper managerial skills,\u201d Alagidede asserts, going on to detail how he goes the extra mile to ensure things are properly done.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\u201cI do not limit myself to work that could be done behind an office desk, rather ensuring I am a regular presence at the training ground every other day so I have a fair idea of the players\u2019 conduct, fitness, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when the team is in camp preparing for home games, I go there at odd hours to monitor and observe happenings. That has helped me cultivate a personal relationship with the players which, in turn, facilitates my work and the team\u2019s functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The results, as pointed out at the outset, have been amazing. Actually, given what he set out to achieve in his first season, Alagidede\u2019s Nsoatreman have exceeded targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my inaugural speech,\u201d he says, \u201cI made it clear that I would want to secure the team\u2019s top-flight status for the 2024\/25 season, and also change the narrative of Nsoatreman being the division\u2019s worst travellers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
The latter was a sore point in a fairly decent debut campaign, with the team picking just a win and a draw away from their Nsoatre base.<\/p>\n
Under Alagidede\u2019s guidance, however, that has been fixed in some style. In the 2023\/24 season, no team won more games on the road than Nsoatreman\u2019s five, and only Asante Kotoko racked up more points in that column (19) than Nsoatreman (18).<\/p>\n
To climax it all was, of course, the FA Cup triumph whose glow is still apparent on my interviewee\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
Alagidede rates the season just gone as merely \u201csuccessful\u201d, modestly, and refuses to take all the praise for it.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\u201cNone of this would have been possible without a well-motivated squad made up of a blend of experienced players and eager youngsters, a brilliant gaffer who maximised the resources at his disposal, and a very capable and supportive Board,\u201d Alagidede rolls out the credits.<\/p>\n
It has not been all plain-sailing, though, he is keen to point out.<\/p>\n
Managing a Ghanaian club, especially one still quite new to the harsh realities of challenging at the highest level, is fraught with difficulties, and Alagidede emphasises how easy it is not for \u201cmost young teams or newly-promoted clubs\u2014like Nsoatreman\u2014to compete favourably with the Kotokos and Accra Hearts of Oaks for quality players due to the sheer financial muscle required to do so\u201d.<\/p>\n
Having qualified for next season\u2019s CAF Confederation Cup (by virtue of winning the FA Cup), though, Nsoatreman would have to pull out all the stops to get the best players they can\u2014during a period when traditional heavyweights Kotoko and Hearts are also looking to significantly upgrade their respective playing bodies\u2014so their maiden continental campaign proves a truly memorable one.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\u201cWe are already in the market for some experienced players both locally and within the sub-region as well as other parts of Africa to beef up the squad,\u201d Alagidede reveals, adding that Nsoatreman \u201cunderstands the pressure that comes with playing in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
That pressure has certainly been ramped up by fellow GPL side Dreams FC\u2019s impressive run to the Confederation Cup\u2019s semi-finals last term, but Alagidede insists that sterling example is anything but daunting, only an encouragement that \u201canything is possible with proper planning\u201d.<\/p>\n
And while making a mark in Africa is the immediate goal, Alagidede is clear about what legacy he hopes to create at Nsoatreman in the long term.<\/p>\n
\u201cI intend to set up a structure that will bring financial benefits to the investors and instil a winning mentality in the club,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n
He has, without a doubt, got that mission off to a blistering start.<\/p>\n
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