Tucak cracking under pressure

Shame on Tucak. Yes, I am offensively serious on this. If you can’t stand the smoke, get out of the kitchen. Just pack your bags and return to Croatia, take a few lessons in public relations before you even think of looking for another job. With the current state of Rwanda’s national team, the last thing that team coach Tucak Branko needs is isolating the media from the team. If he continues with his stubbornness of not talking to the media, he is digging his own grave. Who told him that he could wage war on the media and win it? With the media, just like Hamas and the Israel government in Gaza Strip, you can start a war on it but you can not win. In Gaza, Israel has started numerous hostilities on Hamas but never before have they won any despite their destructive bombardments. Although the state of affairs between the national team coach and the local media is one not very similar to the situation between Israel and the Palestine radical group, but it has some connotations. The media industry is not a place for extremism but if pushed into a tight corner, it could turn out to be the most ruthless. The media can make or break anyone, anywhere and anytime. So, Mr. Tucak better is advised on the route he took—as there are terrible potholes ahead that he may never be able to drive through. For almost a year and half since Tucak took over as Amavubi Stars coach, he has never given an impromptu or exclusive interview to any local journalist, whatever the circumstance! This is very strange for someone in the position he is. It’s unheard of. Unfortunately, the media guys have managed to live with that nonsense, yet the man at the centre of it all seems to have taken them and the entire Rwandan public for granted. Does Tucak think he’s Jose Mourinho, Marcelo Lippi, or Alex Ferguson? What has he won as a player and as coach? If these great coaches have the utmost respect for the media, who does he think he is? He’s not even Sam Timbe! He, with the backing of his bosses at Ferwafa, only addresses the media in press conferences, which also are not a guarantee. These meaningless so called press conferences are arranged only and when it fits Tucak and Ferwafa. That’s a fact. A very dangerous one. From the first day, I’ve gone on record and dismissed Tucak not being the right man for the job. He’s tactically naïve, he has never made an inspirational substitution whether to defend a precious result or even when his team has gone behind. His general approach to matches is very negative. Rwandan deserve better. Sixteen months since replacing Josip Kuze, Tucak has made any improvement neither to the team nor to individual players, which raises question mark about his ability as coach. His professionalism has been a source of high suspicion from day one. Players always complain of his lack of man management skills and his dictatorial style of doing things. His word is final. He never entertains other people’s opinions, which is why he fell out with his former assistant Raoul Shungu. To cover up for his weaknesses, he took the dangerous route of blacking out the media from his operations. It’s not going to work. Because he’s not confident in himself and his ability in the job, he thinks that not talking in the media will solve his shortcomings, not knowing that it instead does the exact opposite. They say that ‘when you go to Rome, you do as the Romans do’. And on very many occasions, when you choose to do otherwise, 10 times out of 10, you’re bound to fail. So, Mr. Tucak failed even before he started. This selfish bloke has failed to win football matches, failed to win over the players, the fans and the media, but worst of all, he has failed to realize that he made a grave mistake of alienating the media. Apart from that green patch of four wins in the last 2010 World/CAN qualifying round, Tucak’s record as Rwanda’s national team isn’t the most impressive to the extent he should fill full of himself. He’s not any better than some of our local coaches, and the sooner he realized this fact, the better for his future. Somewhere else, if a national team coach loses five out of six international matches (the other being a goalless draw), eight times out of 10, he would lose his job. So, Tucak is very fortune to still be in his job despite having never really convinced that he’s the right man for it.In those six matches, Amavubi have conceded 10 goals and only scored one. That’s an awful record to which the coach should be held accountable. And one way of doing that would be by giving explanations to all stakeholders in the team of which the media he’s trying to undermine is at the centre stage. Let’s face it; Rwanda is not going to qualify for the world cup, period. And playing at the Nations Cup finals in Angola is not guaranteed, not only because Tucak is not good enough for the task but also he doesn’t have the right ingredients in terms of players and organisation. Sacking him now is counterproductive; giving him a new contract will be suicidal. Giving him the job in the first place mistake was Number One. Contact:nku78@yahoo.com