The PFA has announced through its magazine, “Falasteen al Riyady”, that it has chosen Mousa Bezaz as the new head coach of the Palestinian National team. He will arrive in Palestine this week to get a feel of the football situation and to outline his goals.
His full resumé is included in the above linked article. In the 1970’s and 80’s he played in and coached various lower division French sides. He played for top tier side Socheaux from 1974-1983 and has played for France’s under-23 national team.
Bezaz went on to continue his career as a coach in the 90’s, coaching lower division French sides and also coaching in Cameroon. His latest appointment was as a lecturer and consultant to the French Football Federation. Bezaz has a UEFA Pro ‘A’ coaching certificate which is the highest coaching licence offered by the body. Recently, the AFC announced a requirement for all Asian national teams to have ‘A’ licensed coaches.
As evidenced from the message boards, Bezaz’s appointment comes as a relief to Palestine fans who have been frustrated from the seemingly directionless path the team has been on for the last year. This is a step in the right direction. Bezaz is professionally signed and if anything seems to be competent in his field. I don’t know much about him, but he could be the right man for the job. The fact that his coaching experience is mainly in the lower French divisions and Cameroon means he has experience in football development, which is what we need. Palestine does not need a Hiddink or a Scolari, what Palestine needs is a coach who could take the team from the ground up.
