Pacific FC bench boss Pa-Modou Kah, as with all good coaches, deflected the glory to his players.
“The award is in my name but it is really for our players and staff,” Kah said after being selected Canadian Premier League coach of the year Tuesday in Toronto.
“Without the players, I don’t get the award. With the injuries and [yellow-card accumulation] suspensions, it was the next-man-up mentality. This is for the players and the commitment they made and the belief they had in what they can achieve.”
What they achieved was PFC’s first CPL championship in a dizzying year which also included a first victory over a Major League Soccer team with the win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship before a credible 2-1 loss to Toronto FC of the MLS in the semifinals.
Kah also thanked his family, which includes wife Dewy and daughters, six-year-old Nahla Aja and three-year-old Zahra Hana.
“When your home life is settled, it’s easy to come to work,” he said.
But life will get more complicated with travel to often-intimidating Latin American soccer environments, and more team depth needed, as the CPL title comes with an automatic berth in the CONCACAF League the following year.
“It’s beautiful. It’s what you live for and play for. It’s about preparation. We have to stay humble and keep working hard,” Kah said of the challenge next year.
Kah himself is becoming a rising commodity.
“There is a lot of talk about me,” he conceded.
“But my focus is on the club and what next is needed to be done. What is meant to be is meant to be. Everything is a stepping stone. Whatever comes, comes.”
Kah, to reporters at the CPL awards ceremony, touched on a person of colour being named top coach: “It’s about paving ways. Other people have paved the way for us, my job is to pave the way for minorities to see that they also can be in leadership roles. The narrative has always been that minorities only play the game and then leave. I think where we are now, you can see it more and more: Yes, we do know how to play the game but we also know how to excel in leadership roles.”
PFC midfielder Alessandro Hojabrpour, who headed home the winning goal in the 1-0 win over two-time defending champion Forge FC in the CPL championship game at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, was named top CPL U-21 Canadian player. The third-year PFC pro could soon potentially be entertaining MLS or European offers.
“[Hojabrpour] was a silent leader and has grown a lot and his award is well deserved,” said Kah.
Brazilian-import João Morelli Neto of the HFX Wanderers of Halifax was named CPL player of the year and also captured the Golden Boot for the most goals with 14.
Striker Terran Campbell of PFC was among the three finalists for CPL player of the year along with 18-time Canada-capped Kyle Bekker of Forge FC.
Jonathan Sirois of Valour FC of Winnipeg, who played on loan from CF Montréal of MLS, won the Golden Glove as top CPL goalkeeper.
