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Tuesday, 30 July, 2002, 09:54 GMT 10:54 UK
Should Metsu have quit Senegal?
Senegal coach Bruno Metsu has formally quit the Dakar Lions to take charge of UAE side Al Ain.
Has he been unfairly treated, or just been greedy? This debate is now closed. Metsu's original plan was to take temporary charge of Al Ain and return to Senegal in 10 months time.
But after the Senegalese federation vetoed this idea, Metsu quit, saying he had to "think of my future." Al Ain offered him large sums of money to move to the gulf but he may not have got the job if Senegal had not reached the World Cup quarter-finals. Should the federation have compromised, or did Metsu owe them loyalty? Was he right to go? And who should succeed him ? Where do Senegal go now? No matter how we look at it, Bruno Metsu is wrong. Firstly, Metsu was made by Senegal, that is he was a relatively an unknown person. He only took the job having seen the pool of talent there and over time the team developed. But for the teams placing in the World Cup, he wouldn't have gotten this offer.
Secondly, when you have a contract, the terms are usually clearly stated and I do not think that there was any provision for leave of absence. Lastly, Senegal can still find another coach if they want that can now perform better as he will have to contend with the current level of the team without falling below that. Those who think that something would go wrong with the Senegalese team in the absence of Metsu, let us imagine the worst case if Metsu drops dead today while still with the team, won't the team continue without him? In my opinion, and depending on the contract, if he did not give the required notice before leaving, he should be made to pay in lieu, because a contract is a contract and there are no sentiments about it.
The man should not have resigned. It is difficult to acquire such an international reputation, but easy to lose it. There was no way Mr. Metsu could have made such a demand outside Africa. I hope he doesn't regret his decision later, as others have done.
Let him go. He did a great job. It is not about the money. It is his lack of respect for the team and the hospitality of the Senegalese community that is deplorable. Now he has a name. Let him live up to it. We are all watching.
Kenneth Agoi, USA
Have in mind that the Senegalese players where the ones that played thier hearts out, so the Metsu could be seen. The talent is there, if he liked Senegal he should stay and find ways to fix the blunder he did by not sending on a substitute during the Turkey game. The players were tired, Turkey made a change and the player that came in made the difference. Let him go, he is selfish and greedy. If he is known today, it's because of the those players. He should be thankful to them.
Politics, Politics! Again a great African team suffers because of politics. There is no question that Metsu is a great coach, his track record (African Nations Final and the World Cup) has proven that. If the value of many Senegalese players can increase after the world cup, why can't a coach's?
I think that the Senegalese federation should have matched the offer made by Al Ain or let him go for 10 months and return.
The notion that coaches are the ones who make teams sucessful in Africa should be something of the past. Bruno leaving Senegal is not bound to cause that many problems for them. Let him go! He should be appreciative to the Senegalese players for puting him on the world map otherwise Al Ain would not have been looking for him.
However, the Senegalese team and federation aspire to be professionals all the way. We cannot have a team without a head for one entire year. Can anyone guarantee his return if his club decides to double his salary next season? The door was never closed to him but he would have needed to reapply for his position later on.
It is very sad that coach Bruno Metsu is abandoning the team that he has taken to the top. I hope that what happened to Nigeria's Super Eagles when Clemence Westerfhof left will not happen to Senegal's Lions.
Good job Metsu. He could not show more love for Senegal even if he tried. He came in for a temporary stay, stayed longer than he planned, married from Senegal, so he now has a permanent second home in Senegal; if they have children, they will be part Senegalese. He gave the Dakar Lions their character, almost won the African Cup of Nations for them, took them to the quarter finals of the World Cup - and he can not ask for a 10 month haitus?
Who is the genius that is in charge over there in Dakar?
The Senegal Football Association has acted stupidly by refusing Metsu to take temporal charge of the UAE side. They have forgotten that he is the one who led them to the World Cup quarters and he also made them world famous. The SFA behaved like like true Africans who never want to see the success of their own people.
This whole scenario reminds me of Bonfrere Jo and Nigeria after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Bruno Metsu will go to the UAE and will realise how frustrating coaching can be with all the money and hardly any talent. He will not achieve any meaningful result (don't think his new club wants to splash money just for the fun of it, they want results). Then he reach a point where he would either be sacked or Bruno will become frustrated, then he will remember his darling team Senegal, and he will want to make a spirited comeback.
Let us not be pessmistic in our thinking.We should appreciate what Mr. Metsu did for Senegal team. We should not blame him on his decision to go to UAE. This is the business, humans are looking always for more profit. I am sure Senegal will get another coach who will perform like him or better than him. Senegal's team success should not depend on one person only. If their success depend on one man that is very bad.
Everyone - inluding the players, Metsu and the soccer federation - share the credit for the succeesses of the Senegalese national team. It could not have been the achievement of any single party. One cannot fault Metsu for opting for a higher pay, after all, he could have been fired at the World Cup had the team failed to perform.
However, if the Senegalese federation could not match the offer Metsu had at UAE, there was no point in allowing him return after 10 months. How do you prevent the pattern from repeating itself? It is not usual practice for national coaches to moonlight, away from their primary assignment. Metsu has moved on, Senegal now has to find a suitable coach to continue from where he stopped.
Senegal should/could have worked out a deal with Metsu - maybe a combination with the UAE and working for Senegal at the same time (for 10 months). Yes he has a contract but performed very well and is entitled to be rewarded for that, as his players have and will. It's a typical example of success being claimed by officials/politicians.
l would like to thank Mr Metsu for a job well done. He has made Africa proud. The Senegalese today are the best football team in Africa. That is the work of a good coach. He has utilised the opportunity that came his way. l hope he will come back.
It is very sad that a decision like that has been made. In my view, 10 months is a very short period. Senegal have made a big blunder in refusing Metsu to go back as their coach. The management should think about the interests of the coach in the Senegal team and the relationship the players have with the coach. To me that is what matters. There is a proverb which says "being shy makes one eat poison." I only pray that the management should look futher than the 10 months or else they are doomed. Act now!
Rayfanyo, Cameroonian in the U.S.
It is always best to leave when the ovation is loudest. Besides, since his market value has gone up, Metsu must take advantage of this. When its time to sack a coach there are very few sentiments about past performance. Coaching is not a pensionable job. Good move Metsu !
Bruno Metsu did a very good for Senegal, but the point here is that he still has a contract that is pending. Taking up the UAE job is just being greedy. I just wish that one day our African coaches will be very reliable and this will reduce or even eliminate our dependence on foreign coaches.
As an African, I wish to say that Metsu's departure from Senegal is not the best decision. He did a lot to the Senegalese team - took them to the African Nations Cup final, the quarter finals of the World Cup and most of all, kept Africa's image in World soccer. The Senegalese soccer federation should find a way to bring him back because this will have a great influence on their players.
Most of the Senegalese players play in Europe and I don't see why Metsu should stay in Senegal while there is a job to be done in the UAE.
I wholly support Bruno Metsu's decision to sever all links with Senegal. The Senegalese FA have been very ungrateful to Metsu. Within the next ten months that he was asking for a leave of absence, Senegal did not have any presssing international engagement, so they should have agreed to his request. This is a man who truly loved Senegal but he has been wronged.
It is a difficult issue, but I think after the "success" at the World Cup, the Federation should have advised the government to increase his salary and benefits to make him comfortable. It's hard to tell whether its Senegal which made him or its him who made Senegal. Best of luck to both parties.
I believe Metsu has the same right as everybody else to make his best choice. I therefore agree with Metsu that his future matters most. He has a family to take care of. By the way, were the Senegalese ready to cough up the money Al Ain were giving him?
If he was coaching France would he would have asked them if he could go and coach in the UAE for ten months?
In my opinion Senegal reached the right conclusion that if he wanted to go and take the job they would not leave his job open in Senegal. A contract is meant to be honoured and there should be no get out clause. It is about time that foreign coaches give us the respect we deserve as a race!
The Senegalese squad is a talented lot that can still perform without Metsu. Coaches are a dime a dozen. It will be Metsu who will be begging to go back to Senegal come qualifying time for the World Cup.
Bruno's team did well and he should capitalize on this as all the Senegalese stars have. He should move on to bigger and better things. Senegal on the other hand cannot be forced by Bruno to be put in a position that no other self-respecting country should be put in, by having a part-time coach who is moonlighting on a club team to make ends meet.
In my view coaches are overrated and as much as Metsu has accomplished, he is not irreplaceable. In fact I think Senegal need a coach that will take them in a different direction and to the next level, maybe a Dutch coach in the mould of a Hiddink.
Metsu is right to go. It is once in a lifetime opportunity. He has to do what he has to do while still hot. If Senegal had a poor showing, he could have been dismissed with no regrets. That was a good move for him. He has to capitalized on his fortunes.
Adeagbo W. A., Germany
If anyone owed anyone loyalty, it was Senegal! This man took the unknown Senegal team to the African Nations Final and then in to the World Cup to beat France. All he wanted was a 10 month break during the quiet season before the African Nations Cup preparations. This appears to be Senegal's loss, not his.
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