Hope for the Polish national team comes from the two-million-strong African state

End of October 2020. Coach Sebastien Migne is losing two PNA qualifying matches – with Tanzania and. He lives at home – in France. I do not want to move to Equatorial Guinea. The profession is quite big. Soon the coronavirus pandemic is holding football around the world. Migne is represented by Zoom. The restrictions make it difficult for him to travel to Africa. Eventually, the Federation loses its patience with him, accuses him of laziness and ends cooperation by mutual agreement.

There are only 13 days to the key elimination. The national team does not have a selector. The federation doesn’t even have an idea who could become one. There is little time, so Juan Micha temporarily takes over the staff. He is at hand, he works with the staff up to 17 years of age. His experience? He led the women’s team and junior teams. For three years he was also an assistant in the staff of the adult national team general manager. But for the first time in his career, he starts working independently with adult footballers. There is no room for error – failure takes away the chances of promotion.

For starters – two matches with Libya. 1: 0 and 3: 2. Six points, but lots of emotion. The table is arranged in such a way that the next game against Tanzania will be crucial. Who wins, will go to Cameroon for. In the 90th minute, Equatorial Guinea wins after a penalty kick. After the game, the footballers hug and toss Juan Michaels, and the federation offers him a new deal. No more temporariness. It stays permanently.

It is difficult to avoid a comparison to the Polish national team. She also had a coach who was reluctant to leave his country and did whatever he could remotely. The cooperation was also not long and the federation stayed on the ice shortly before the most important matches. Juan Micha had even less time to prepare the team than the new Polish coach will have, but he managed and became a hero. May Cezary Kulesza make an equally good choice as the president of the Guinean federation.

Equatorial Guinea broke Algeria’s historic series. “I don’t know how to explain what I felt”

Juan Micha is 46 years old, he was born in Equatorial Guinea, but he obtained his coaching license in Spain. His greatest advantage is the knowledge of native football. In the past, he has worked with almost all the players he has called up at PNA. He met with some at youth training camps, with others he had contact as an assistant to the Argentinian Esteban Becker, who worked with the Equatorial Guinea team from January 2015 to June 2017. However, no one in the federation saw material for the head coach of the most important national team. For many years, CEOs preferred foreign selectors – mainly from Spain.

– It is an honor for me to lead Equatorial Guinea. This is my country, so I approach it differently. I believe that coaches from Africa should have the same, or maybe even greater chances of working with their national teams as coaches from Europe. We know these players best. We have a lot of talent in Africa that European selecters cannot recognize or appreciate properly. These boys are dying with them. Unfortunately, federations, as a rule, underestimate native coaches. It has only changed a bit in recent years. Mainly due to the successes of Algeria trained by Djamel Belmadi. When I became the selector myself, I felt from the very beginning that nobody in the federation trusted me too much. I had to work twice as hard for everything as a coach from Europe. Only the success in the qualifying rounds was a clear signal that I have the talent and that I am fit for this job. I managed to win the contract – Juan Micha told “Marce”.

Fate brought Belmadi and Micha together during the PNA. Equatorial Guinea joined the group from Sierra Leone and two big favorites – Côte d’Ivoire and precisely Algeria, which hoped to go through the group stage unbeaten and equal the historic record of the Italian national team – 37 games unbeaten. But the second game – with the underrated Equatorial Guinea – ended in a 0: 1 defeat. Esteban Orozco, who plays in the Spanish fourth league, scored the goal. And this best reflects the scale of the sensation. Equatorial Guinea, which included players from the amateur leagues, beat the “invincible” national team of stars Serie A and Ligue 1.

– I don’t know how to explain what I felt when we beat Algeria. It was an honor for me. They underestimated us. And this is a mistake, because there are no defenseless teams in Africa. Above all, I was proud of my players. They deserve applause for their work and for this success. As a coach I grow with them – admitted Juan Micha.

Equatorial Guinea’s successes coincide with those of the Spaniards. There is no coincidence

The success of Equatorial Guinea has one more father – Josele Gonzalez, who has been the federation’s technical director for four years. This year’s PNA is the first Equatorial Guinea has reached through the elimination. She had guaranteed two previous appearances as the host. “My most important task is to find players in Spain who have Guinean roots and can play for the national team,” Gonzalez tells “Marce”.

It’s quite natural. Equatorial Guinea is one of the least populated countries in Africa. It is estimated to have only two million inhabitants, so there are also fewer players. But even much larger and densely populated countries like Algeria and Nigeria are looking for talented players abroad. The greatest successes of the French and Algerians came at the same time. A few years ago, when the Portuguese counted in Europe, Mozambique and Cape Verde were strong in Africa. Equatorial Guinea’s successes coincide with those of the Spaniards. This is not the case. It is a question of scouting in former metropolises.

In the 24-person squad that Juan Micha called up for the championship, there are as many as fifteen Spanish-born players, and fourteen play for Spanish clubs. – There is one condition: the mother or father of such a player must be Guineans, and the player himself must be willing to play for us. We must see enthusiasm in him. We do not persuade and we do not bid. We don’t want mercenaries. Those times are over. In previous years, when Guinea hosted the PNA, there was pressure to do well from dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguem Mbasogo. The Federation thus strengthened itself with Colombians, Argentines, Spaniards and Portuguese, whom it sought roots. It would not have passed with us, ‘points out Gonzalez.

“You know what I really want? For every supporter to be proud of a team that is trained and guided to glory by a coach born and raised in Africa”

– Our key to success? We are a family without stars, headed by Juan Micha, who is above all a good man. His employment hit the bull’s eye. People identify with us. Everyone likes a fairy tale about Cinderella. I will not forget the road from the stadium to the hotel after my victory over Algeria. The streets were full of people cheering us on. We’ve reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals in the past, but these were our tournaments. It has a different dimension. Now friends and strangers wrote to me. Thousands of congratulations and wishes – says Gonzalez.

– What are we capable of? I don’t think about it. I adapt my tactics to the next opponent and I know before each game that I can win. We play differently with Mali or Sierra Leone. Each team has its own specificity. My job is to find the weaknesses and limit the biggest advantages. It works. We are not a band that will impose their conditions, no matter who they play with. We must have an idea for every game. We are going through this tournament step by step. We’ll see where this leads us. We will definitely never stop fighting – says Juan Micha “Marce”. – We talk a lot about successes. Do you know what I really want? – he asks the Spanish journalist at the end. – For every Equatorial Guinea supporter to be proud of a team that is trained and guided to glory by a coach born and raised in Africa. This is my greatest goal.