Avram Grant reflects on 50-year coaching career and reveals why he has been galvanized by Zambia role
GRANT TALKS CHIPOLOPOLO PROGRESS IN FIFA INTERVIEW
Avram Grant reflects on 50-year coaching career and reveals why he has been galvanized by Zambia role.
Avram Grant is explaining what keeps him coming back for more aged 68 and over half-a-century into his coaching career.
Grant was just 18 when he wholeheartedly threw himself into a vocation that would take him across the globe and to some of football’s greatest stages.
His journey from coaching Hapoel Petah Tikva’s youth team to his current role with Zambia has featured success, heartache and tumult in equal measure. His competitive fire burns as brightly as ever, however, and he is convinced his vast experience can help propel Zambian football forward.
“I was looking for the right challenge,” said Grant, who was appointed in December 2022. “I was presented with a vision for football in Zambia and I thought, ‘Why not? I’d like to do this’. It was the right job for me – and I love Africa. I think the atmosphere here is amazing. I like the culture. The people are very free-spirited. And as a football guy, I love how much talent there is within Africa.”
Zambia have made significant progress under Grant’s watch. Last year, they achieved Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification for the first time since 2015, booking their spot with a stunning 3-0 win over Côte d’Ivoire, who went on to win the competition. And while Grant’s side suffered a group-stage exit at AFCON, their performances provided much cause for optimism. They drew with Tanzania and DR Congo and were edged out 1-0 by FIFA World Cup 2022™ semi-finalists Morocco – a game Grant insists “we deserved to win, not even draw”.
“We have improved a lot in all areas of the pitch,” said Grant. “Our game is organised, we defend well, we attack with all the team. Apart from the game against Morocco, since I came in, we have scored in every game. I am very happy with what we have done – but we need to do even more.”
Grant’s focus is now on his team’s upcoming FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifiers. They have taken three points from their opening two Group E games and will resume their campaign in June when they face AFCON adversaries Morocco and Tanzania.
“They will be big challenges, of course,” Grant said. “There is no doubt Morocco are stronger than us, but we must never give up. We know our place, but we will give everything. I think people would say it will be hard to qualify for the World Cup. But when we played Ivory Coast, people also said we had no chance. I said, ‘So what?’ We beat them not just by one goal, but 3-0.
“It was the same when I became coach at Chelsea. I remember all the articles saying, ‘they have no chance, no chance, no chance’. Nobody thought we could do well. Then we played great football, reached the Champions League final and were close to winning the Premier League.”
Grant’s spell at the west London club represented his most high-profile role of his storied career. Having initially been appointed Chelsea’s Director of Football, he took over the coaching reins from Jose Mourinho after the Blues made an indifferent start to the 2007/08 season.
“I inherited a team with a lot of problems,” said Grant. “Jose had done a very good job but this year and the year before, it was not the same. And the media were saying it was ugly football. But after a short time [with Grant as coach], we played fantastic football. Every month we were better. We beat all the big teams. We beat United, when Sir Alex Ferguson said that was the best team he ever had, we beat Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, we beat Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals – getting to the first final in Chelsea’s history. A lot of Chelsea supporters have told me that was some of the best football they have seen.”
Grant’s side ultimately came up agonisingly short in their bid for silverware. United beat Chelsea to the Premier League title by two points before Ferguson’s team edged them on penalties in the first all-English UEFA Champions League final.
“I still have a lot of great memories from that season,” said Grant. “It was a pity about the penalty shootout. During the game [which finished 1-1 after extra time], we hit the post, we hit the bar… Even Sir Alex said we were the better team that night.”
Grant required all his powers of resilience to recover from that blow and the subsequent disappointment of losing his job with Chelsea. Premier League coaching roles with Portsmouth and West Ham United followed, as well as positions in Serbia, Thailand, India and the Ghana national team. Now out to leave a legacy with Zambia, he spoke to FIFA about his deep connection with African football, being a father figure to his players, and uniting people through the beautiful game.
FIFA: Avram, how would you describe your ambitions with Zambia?
Avram Grant: We’re trying to develop everything on the pitch and off the pitch. The first challenge for us was to qualify for AFCON, which we did, and second was to build something for the future. We are trying to build a stable team. We are not like Congo or Morocco, who have all their players playing at the top level in Europe. Many of our players play locally. I hope more players will play in Europe soon. We have some young players who do, and I think they will develop well and play in the national team. The league in Africa is very competitive, but our target is to build a younger team and I hope, from this generation, we will see more players who play in Europe.
We have a tough group in World Cup qualification, but we will fight and give our best, as always. We made huge improvements in 2023 and I hope, if you speak to me at the end of this year, I can say we have gone even further. We want to build so Zambia can have a strong team for many, many years.
What will be key to progressing football in Zambia and Africa as a whole?
I believe there are three main things. First, the quality of the pitches. It is like a dancer – you need a good floor. And by the way, I was very impressed at the last AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire. The pitches were fantastic. If we can give players across Africa better pitches, it will help them improve. The second one is the development of the backroom staff – the analysis, medical and scouting departments. This will help players maximise their potential. There has been progress, but I think it can be even better. The third is education for the coaches, both in the main leagues and the coaches of the youth teams. If these three areas will improve, the sky is the limit in Africa.
How would you describe your style as a coach?
I want to be like a father to the players – but a father that knows to tell his sons when they’re making mistakes! I’m a director of the movie, I’m not the star. The stars are the players. I always say to my players, you just need to follow the rules of discipline and give 100 per cent, and I’m with you. I feel that all the players I’ve had have been my sons.
When you look back at your career, is there an achievement you’re most proud of?
For the public, they will probably look at two things. First, taking Chelsea to their first Champions League final, playing so good there but losing on penalties. The other one was the 2015 AFCON with Ghana – again we got to the final and we lost to Ivory Coast after 22 penalties in the shootout.
But I think the biggest achievement came with Portsmouth in 2010. We reached the FA Cup final when we barely had a team. We were deducted nine points in the league [for financial problems]. All we had was me, the staff and the supporters. We went all the way to the final, beating Tottenham in the semi when they had an amazing team with Harry Redknapp. In the final, we played Chelsea and missed a penalty to go ahead in the second half. Then Didier [Drogba] scored and Chelsea won 1-0. If football didn’t have penalties, I would have had a few more titles!
You’ve been coaching for more than 50 years. What continues to motivate you?
I love this game. I love the competition. I love the creativity of football and even dealing with problems, which you always have. I love the pressure you have to achieve something. Football also can unite people. This is the nature of the game. When I was coaching in England and other places, you have people playing together from many countries. They are happy together, sad together and they learn together. I have worked on projects before where we tried to put football pitches on borders, in places with conflict, to bring people together to play. Of course, when there was war, we had to stop it. The idea still exists, though. I think we can use the football to do something for society. I will not give up on this.
(CREDIT: FIFA)