The new head coach of Samger football club in the 2nd division of The Gambian league has promised to regain the team’s lost glory. Sulayman Kuyateh signed a two-year contract on Thursday with an option for an extension.
Known for their ‘Tiki-Taka’ style of short, quick passes, Samger was unique in its ball possession-oriented method of playing and with free-flowing passes. They had in the past shown what they were made of, notably beating one of the strongest teams in Gambian football Wallidan in the 2007 FA Cup final.
Ebrima ‘Bura’ Jaiteh, Pa Sulayman Badjie, Omar Waterman Jassey, Lamin Sarjo Samateh, Buba ‘Melles’ Jallow are a few of the players that polished a team dubbed the ‘Academy Boys’.
But having relegated to the 2nd division more than two times, Samger went off the scene and it looked like the one-time football giants are now underdogs in the national domestic league, and it would take them a new generation of players to get back into competing ways. However, the new gaffer said his job is to bring back the good old days in the team. “One of my tasks is to help bring back the team to the 1st division,”Sulayman tells The Chronicle. “I’ve admired the set-up of Samger. I will work with both the players and management to make sure we bring back those happy days in the team”.
“Though fighting to win back promotion to the top tier is part of my plans, but most importantly is to prepare these players to be professionals. I need to work hard and with the help of the management and the players, we’ll make it possible”.
In 2005, Sulayman Kuyateh guided Brikama United to their first league title. In 2018, he also led Gamtel to a title finish in his first season with the team.
He was awarded best local by Sports Journalists Association of The Gambia in 2018.
