Japanese coach for Hearts
Accra Hearts of Oak’s winding search for a new coach is ending on a rather surprise note as the club is reportedly close to signing on a little-known US-trained Japanese trainer by name Kenichi Yatsuhashi.
A source close to Hearts confirmed to the Graphic Sports yesterday that the club’s Board of Director’s settled on the 46-year-old Coach Yatsuhashi at a meeting in Accra last Friday.
The source revealed that the club had decided to offer Coach Yatsuhashi, who is already in the country, a one-year renewable contract, due to past experiences.
Until his appointment, Hearts were seriously considering a reunion with their former German coach, Ernst Middendorp, who currently handles Chippa United of South Africa.
Middendorp, 56, last handled Hearts in 2004 and was reported to have emerged as a clear favourite among a long list of local and foreign coaches who applied for the Hearts job, but perhaps lost out due to his demands and age.
That was after talks with Hearts’ first option, Coach Tom Strand of Medeama SC, had broken down on financial grounds. While Tom Strand was interested in joining Hearts, the Phobians had a high hurdle to climb by buying the Swede out of his running contract with the Tarkwa-based MTN FA Cup champions.
Yatsuhashi, who makes history as the first Japanese coach to handle a Ghanaian club, had previously coached ASA College in the USA after an impressive career at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), spanning nine seasons.
During the period, Yatsuhashi’s team won six conference championships, while guiding BMCC to the NJCAA Division 111 nationals and finished as the third best team in USA in 2005.
The Japanese also holds many coaching licences and certificates, including a USSFA and National Youth coaching licence, a CONCACAF international Coaching licence, an NSCAA Goalkeeping diploma, and a KNBV Advanced diploma.
Coach Yatsuhashi’s modest credentials also include coaching Suzuyo Shimizu, a Japanese professional women’s team; local youth club teams, and serving as an instructor for the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association Coaching Education Programme.
As the new substantive head coach of Hearts, Yatsuhashi takes over from veteran Herbert Addo who parted ways with the Premier Club on mutual grounds close to the end of the 2014/2015 Premier League season.