All good teams reflect the personality of their coach and this very much applies to Ebou Jarra’s Armed Forces, who are infused from top to bottom with intensity, bravery, passion and single mindedness of the man in charge.
Jarra started with a bang when in his first season he helped Tallinding United to gain promotion to the top flight two years ago.
A year after, he inspired a remarkable revival at Armed Forces, ending their nine-year drought to a high with a domestic league success.
Apart from his attention on the game, Jarra is also a motivator. Players simply soak up in his enthusiasm and positivity.
Ebou Jarra always shows a great deal of flexibility in his out-of-possession strategy’ sometimes instructing the side to sit deep, something triggering the press around the half-way line.
Another of his strong characterictics is his level headedness and his flair for keeping his squad focus on the job in hand – and whether vanquished or victorious, he keeps his emotions in check.
Just over the weekend, the team wrote another history under his tutelage when he inspired the men in “kharki” uniform to their maiden FA Cup title after a 4-3 win over Brikama United on Friday in dramatic display at the Independence Stadium.
Jarra is a coach who is keeping consistency in his job; first, he took Tallinding United to top flight promotion, moved to Armed Forces and delivered in two of his seasons with them; a league glory and now a first ever FA Cup title. —- John Mendy
