Jakob Michelsen

Danish Jakob Michelsen has filled the national youth team coach’s post and the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) introduced him to the media members in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The 31-year-old coach has replaced Kim Poulsen who used to train the youth teams before winning a promotion to the senior national team, Taifa Stars, last month.

Poulsen won the promotion after the TFF parted ways with another Poulsen, Jan, who has been in the job for two solid years with lackluster performance save for the Challenge Cup title haul in 2010.

The coaches’ panel is full of Danish natives as the TFF has been underlining to maintain cohesion in the training philosophy for players.

The initiative has been taken to avoid a collision of philosophies while maintaining interaction and coordination between coaches and players.

The move aims at simplifying players’ adaptation when they join the senior team.

TFF secretary general Angetile Osiah has said Michelsen qualified from the shortlist of three names proposed by Kim Poulsen.

The coach has been contracted for a year with a task of task of lining a foundation of players as an inventory for the senior national team.

The caching duo is supposed to plan ahead courses of action and need to have a closer working relationship.

Michelsen said he is intending to improve the standard of young players who seek to join the professional ranks.

The youth team coach has arrived at the right time when the teen tournaments of Copa Coca-Cola and UMISETA are underway in Dar es Salaam.

He is supposed to make use of the platform to identify talents for possible development.

“I will be scouting talents out of the Copa Coca-Cola tournament and I have already seen some good players who can match with the formation I do prefer,” he said.

The coach started his career in 1995 when he coached Tonder Sports Club for four years in his homeland.

He moved for Kolding FC U-16 and U-19 in 2000 for another four years. Before coming to Tanzania he had two-year spell with first division club Hobro IK.

The coach holds UEFA license A, DBU senior, youth and basic coach license as currently he pursuits UEFA PRO licence.