Ghana has shown concrete interest in Amir Abdou, Mauritania’s magical head coach who has been incredible in the last two AFCONs with minnows Comoros and Mauritania.
Amir Abdou, 51, born in Marseille, France, and raised in Ivory Coast has shone on the continent as a coach.
The astute coach surprisingly qualified Comoros for their first-ever AFCON in 2021. In a group alongside Ghana, Gabon and Morocco, Comoros shockingly defeated Ghana 3-2 and finished 3rd in the group. That achievement will forever remain in the history of Comoros football.
Amir Abdou joined lowly Mauritania in 2022 and spearheaded the Lions of Chinguetti to their 3rd AFCON. Mauritania had never won a single game in their two previous AFCONs but won against the star-studded and much-fancied Algeria 1-0 to knock the 2019 champions out of the group.
Mauritania lost 1-0 to Ryan Mendes’ 88th-minute penalty in the Round 16 against Cape Verde.
Amir Abdou is little by little becoming a top-notch coach as he has been punching above his weight with minnows on the continent.
The Ghana, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso’s FAs have reportedly been in contact with Amir Abdou’s camp for his service.
Ghana is said to have offered him $45,000 monthly while the Mauritanian federation has offered $35,000 per month for a contract renewal.
Meanwhile, Abdou’s contract with Mauritania expires in March. Amir Abdou deserves all the recognition as one can see his handiwork in his teams.
Comoros and Mauritania have proven to be fearless under Amir Abdou’s tutelage. The confidence these two teams have shown in the last two AFCONs is incredible.
The 51-year-old French-born is tactically superb as he knows how to deal with every opponent he comes across.
Against the physically unbreakable Burkina Faso in the 2023 AFCON, he made sure that his side faced them applying constant pressure and a huge intensity to be able to match them.
When Mauritania needed a result against Algeria in the make-or-break tie in AFCON 2023, he just was calm and waited for his moment to punish the skilful Algerians as the Algerians were not given the spaces they needed.
His teams have never been outplayed in competitive fixtures hence making him a difficult coach to face.
Amir Abdou deserves his flowers for working hard to reach this level. He certainly has a lot of offers to choose from as Ghana’s FA and many others have shown keen interest in securing his signature.