Black Stars youthful defender Samuel Inkoom is still rueing his team’s failure to win the maiden African Nations Championship(CHAN) which ended recently in Cote D’Ivoire.
The local Stars, an overwhelming favourites before the final, against expectations of most Ghanaians lost 0-2 to DR Congo in the final after beating the same side 3-0 in the last match of Group B.
Speaking to the Graphic Sports at the weekend, Inkoom revealed that at that stage nothing more than the history of ascribing their names as the first winners of the CHAN was their greater motivation.
This was contrary to rumours that a decision to reduce their winning bonuses from $5,000 to $4,000 by the handlers contributed to the Stars uninspiring peformance against the Congolese in the final.
“To tell you the truth, our focus and expectations were the same as that of the whole nation and we were also so conscious of the joy that the win would bring to the 22 million Ghanaians with expectation in their hearts and the people who love the team Ghana.”
“This was unfortunate and not expected of a team which was the favourite to win the ultimate and we must always feel sorry for the disappointment and just hope for another opportunity to make amends.”
“For us the competition provided us the platform to show our potential to the outside world and also positioned the country stronger on both the African and the world ranking,” he added.
Inkoom who was instrumental in the recent conquest of the Satellites in the Africa Youth Championship said the exposure of the players, the expectation of the people of Ghana and the people scouting for players are more important than the bonuses that they stood to earn saying , “we went there to win and not to lose and our focus was not money, nobody talked or thought of that.”
Inkoom said” for some of us the selection to play in the maiden edition of the tournament was even enough to motivate us, saying, “it was the wish of the team to come home with the cup, and the failure to bring the cup home was a huge disappointment.”
Inkoom said Ghanaian fans were right to expect nothing more than the ultimate because losing to a side that the Stars had so comprehensively beaten earlier was inexcusable.
“But the point is, if you have ever been beaten by somebody before, the next time you are paired with the same person, you are already motivated, knowing very well that your opponent has an urge over you,” he said.
Inkoom lauded CAF for instituting the CHAN, saying that there were great talents scattered all over the continent of Africa but were never given the opportunity to play in their national teams, and that the CHAN platform would also serve as a motivation to all local players.
“The players in the local teams who featured at the CHAN would not only be limited to the national league, but get exposure on the continent’s soccer platform.
“Its now behoves African countries to make sure there is enough support for the local league to be able to support clubs to produce enough for their national squad for future CHAN, he said.
This is crucial because the Africa leagues are always at the mercy of other lucrative leagues which poach the best players noting that former Asante Kotoko striker, Eric Bekoe and others, who started the qualifying series for the CHAN were no longer available when the Stars finally qualified because they had been signed by foreign clubs.
“As I speak, there are offers from foreign clubs to sign some of us, and there must always be ready materials to replace those who leave, he noted.
On his future, the youngster said his manager was handling the offers that they had received on his behalf and at the right time he would make the desired move but said at the moment he was with Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and would do everything to ensure that they move to the top of the league table.
No comments:
Post a Comment