By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
The Head Coach of Brikama United Football Club, Modou Lamin Nyassi is set to become the greatest ever coach of Brikama United if he wins the Football Federation Cup (FF Cup) against serial winners Wallidan FC at the Independence Stadium this evening.
In what will be a consolation to both teams’ disappointing season, the country’s record trophy winners Wallidan will have a harder battle against the hungry Modou Lamin Nyassi and his team on the pitch at the Bakau stadium.
Underrated by many, Modu Lamin Nyassi, nicknamed Charly is just 90 minutes away from writing history for Brikama United since the formation of the town’s football club by winning both the GFF league and the FF Cup for the ‘satayba’ boys; none of his predecessors had achieved this feat. Charly is just 90 minutes away from setting a record.
Brikama as a town is blessed with fantastic and trophy-winning coaches from the late Lamin Sarr to the late Sulayman Kuyateh, but none of these two had won the league for Brikama United.
Brikama United first won the top flight Gambian league trophy in the 2011-12 league season when Ensa Sambou displayed magic and stunned Gambian football fanatics by winning the league in style. Their second trophy would come three years later under Sulayman Kuyateh as he guided them to the FF Cup in 2015.
However, both Ensa and the late Sulayman had never won both the league and the FF Cup for Brikama United, a feat that Charly is set to accomplish.
“I won everything for Brikama. I was the captain of the team when we qualified to the first division as winners, and won the league as the coach. If I win the FF Cup today, that will be something great for me in my career. I lost the final in 2018 and I don’t want history to repeat itself today,” Charly told The Fatu Network.
In 2015, when Brikama United won its first first ever FF cup, Charly was the Assistant Head Coach to the late Sulayman Kuyateh. When Kuyateh left, Charly became the Head Coach, and lost the FF Cup final in 2018 but won the league in 2019.
Soft-spoken but lethal against opponents, Charly has constantly presented Brikama United as contenders for trophies in the Gambia.
Describing Charly, Ebrima KB Sonko, a native of Brikama and the PRO of the Sports Committee, likened him, as a coach, to Zidane.
“I will rate him as the best coach for Brikama United ahead of the late Kuyateh and Ensa Sambou if he manages to win today,” KB commented.
If Charly wins Wallidan today, he will be the first Brikama United manager to have won both the league and the FF Cup. However, in terms of trophy records, he will match Sulayman Kuyateh’s records who won the League with Gamtel FC and is the only coach to have won the FF Cup for Brikama United.
A victory today will earn him top status in the annals of Brikama United’s history and put him up there with Sulayman Kuyateh in terms of trophies won by a native of Brikama.
Brikama United and Wallidan will jostle for the FF Cup at the Independence Stadium today at 4 pm.
