Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz has set out his philosophy as he begins his tenure with the Black Stars, emphasising that his priority is winning matches rather than being confined to tactical labels. The 73-year-old Portuguese, appointed on a four-month contract to guide Ghana through the FIFA World Cup, argued that football should not be reduced to debates over whether a team is defensive or attacking.
His appointment has already sparked discussion about his style, with some analysts associating him with compact, results-driven football. Queiroz, however, dismissed such characterisations, insisting his approach is flexible and focused on outcomes. Addressing the media at his first press briefing in Accra on Thursday, he made his stance unequivocally clear.
“I am a winning coach. I don’t understand this thing of defend or attack,” he stated. According to him, discipline and collective effort without the ball are central to his philosophy. “When we don’t have the ball, we have to fight together, sacrifice, suffer to recover it as quickly as possible in order to create opportunities and score,” he explained.
Queiroz will begin his tenure on May 2, when Ghana takes on Wales in Cardiff in an international friendly. He emphasised that regardless of the opponent or competition, the end goal remains unchanged. “At the end of the day, in Ghana and everywhere else, there is only one reason in football – to win,” he added.
The experienced coach, who previously guided Egypt to the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, will lead Ghana at the World Cup, where they will face Panama, England and Croatia in Group L.
Source: Bernard Ralph Adams
