Slavko Matic’s reign as Hearts of Oak head coach ended barely five months after taking charge.
He was appointed on a two-year contract in October 2022 following the dismissal of Samuel Boadu after an abysmal start to the ongoing campaign.
The Serbian’s era began with a spark, he steered the club to four wins, two draws and just one defeat in his first seven games.
He then embarked on a brief trip to his homeland and since his return, the Phobians struggled for consistency.
Hearts of Oak began to drop points too frequently in the league and were eliminated by Dreams FC in the MTN FA Cup at the round 32 stage.
Matic also divided opinions when it emerged that he had applied for the then-vacant Black Stars job.
The move angered some fans who questioned his priorities and loyalty to the club.
That was the beginning of a very strenuous relationship that went downhill very quickly.
Following back to back defeats to Aduana Stars and Great Olympics on match-week 18 and 19, Hearts dropped down to 6th on standings with 28 points.
That was the flashpoint that brought everything to the surface, the fans had seen enough.
On Friday, 3rd March 2023, disgruntled supporters stormed the club’s training ground at Pobiman and chased Matic out, stopping him from performing his duties ahead of the Super Clash against Asante Kotoko.
Spokesperson for the National Chapters Committee of the club, Kobby Jones explained that they prevented the manager from supervising training because he was failing to heed to their advice.
The supporters chief attributed the team’s struggles to Matic’s decision to terminate the contract of senior members of the squad including Mohammed Alhassan, Fatawu Mohammed, Junior Kaaba and his reluctance to take on board their suggestions for new players
“Indeed the coach came and we said no, we won’t allow him to train. He tried to explain things to us but we said no, so he had to leave,” he said in an interview.
“The complaints are too much. Since he came in he has let many good players leave and he doesn’t want to take in players we suggest to him. He wants players to come and do justify,” he added.
The 46-year-old gaffer was subsequently spotted at the Police headquarters later that day to make a formal report to the authorities.
Meanwhile, the official position of Hearts of Oak on the matter remained quite unclear because no official statement was released after the unfortunate event.
Assistant coach David Ocloo took charge of the team as they beat the Porcupine Warriors by a solitary goal in a Ghana Premier League Matchday 20 encounter which by the way, also doubled as the 2023 President’s Cup.
While Matic was nowhere to be seen at the Accra Sports Stadium because he was advised by Ghana Police to stay away from the team temporarily for his own safety.
From then on, the signs were ominous, the unshakable feeling was that there was only one way this ends and it was going to be at the Serbian’s expense.
On Friday 10 March, exactly one week after the training ground incident, unconfirmed reports started circulating in the local media that the manager had been sacked.
In the meantime, Ocloo continued in his stop-gap role and supervised the 1-1 draw at Bibiani Gold Stars before a 1-0 win over Kotoku Royals.
Matic who by now had departed to Serbia (albeit without the club’s consent) subsequently filed a case with FIFA against Hearts, alleging unfair treatment.
The embattled manager and his lawyer demanded $2 million in compensation and other benefits.
However, he later withdrew the case and expressed a desire for an out-of-court settlement due to his relationship with Hearts of Oak chairman Togbe Afede.
“My lawyer [Cristobal Martell] prepared everything but I have decided to withdraw due to my relationship with Togbe Afede. We will find a way to solve it because I am busy now with other things and family issues,”
And just like that, a union which promised much and delivered little, ended in a whimper.
Hearts of oak are yet to appoint a substantive coach following the departure of Matic.
It remains to be seen how the final chapter of this saga unfolds, but as Popular American rapper Jay Z once said, ‘no one wins when the family feuds’.
