Sam Arday was worth his weight in gold
Ghana’s football community will this weekend pay a fitting farewell to one of the most influential figures in the sport over the last three decades, as the mortal remains of Coach Sam Arday are laid to rest today at the Osu Cemetery after burial service at the St. Peter’s Catholic Church at Osu.
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Former Presidents Jerry Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghana football chief Kwasi Nyantakyi, retired legends of the game, administrators and coaches have all paid glowing tribute to the man famously known as the ‘Multi-System Man’ for his exploits at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Ecuador 22 years ago.
Coach Arday’s death last month after a short illness hit the football community very hard, particularly as the country had hardly recovered from the loss of legendary coaches such as Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, Charles Kumi Gyamfi, Ben Koufie, Fred Osam-Duodu and Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie.
His death robs the nation of deep insights into the game and rich experience in identifying raw talents and honing them into great players.
Aside from being a very affable personality who influenced the careers of many players and young coaches, Arday occupied a special place in Ghana football for his many achievements.
He was the head coach of the Black Meteors which featured players such as Yaw Preko, Kwame Ayew, Shamo Quaye, Ablade Kumah and Samuel Osei Kuffour.
Arday masterminded Ghana’s Olympic success at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. It was Africa’s first Olympic football medal, a feat which inspired Nigeria to win gold four years later in Atlanta and subsequently Cameroun at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
Arday’s exploits knew no bounds as his Black Starlets side, featuring players such as Emmanuel Bentil, Awudu Issaka, Christian Gyan, among others, mesmerised the world with his famed ‘multi-system’ which combined different football tactics to win gold in Ecuador.
It was a significant achievement for which then Ghana President, Jerry John Rawlings, decorated him with a national honour -- Order of the Volta.
His illustrious coaching career saw him handling virtually all the male national teams at different times, including taking charge of the Black Stars briefly in the run up to their maiden World Cup appearance in Germany 11 years ago. And during the tournament in Germany, he was on hand to lend support to the Stars’ technical team as a scout.
It was a coaching successful career that took Arday to clubs like Okwawu United, Accra Great Olympics, Hearts of Oak, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and later Gomoa Fetteh Feyenoord and WAFA where he was Technical Director until his demise.
His influential role in the careers of legends such as Abedi Pele, Tony Yeboah and Kuffour, and hundreds of other stars cannot be underestimated.
Coach Arday lived for football, retiring as a police officer to concentrate on the game. His expertise in the development of talent was best seen in his pet project, Fetteh Feyenoord Academy. The academy which was formed in 1999 and later metamorphosed into Premier League side West Africa Football Academy.
The academy produced hundreds of talented but educated footballers, as well as provided a platform for the development of many young coaches.
Such was the influence and appeal of the coach famously called ‘The Whole World’, among many appellations by his admirers, and his achievements will remain golden.