Ghana defender Jerry Akaminko has opined that the decision to name a new captain ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) led to Ghana’s early exit from the tournament.
The then-head coach of the side, Kwesi Appiah with less than a month for the start of the tournament in Egypt named Andre Ayew as the new skipper for the Black Stars.
The decision forced Asamoah Gyan to quit the national team but made a return after an intervention by the President Akufo Addo.
However, Akaminko believes the damage had already been done because the unity within the group was fractured at that point.
“We have been having these issues since the days of Tony Yeboah,” he told Citi TV in an interview.
“It is the responsibility of the coach to correct this situation.
“He is the leader of the delegation and must think about the decision carefully to see if it will help.
“There are so many ways he could have gone about taking the captaincy from Gyan.
“Gyan is not just any player, he is a big figure within the team and is also at liberty to make whatever decision makes him happy.
“Appiah should have understood that any decision made against Gyan was going to affect the Group because he is a figure that is looked up to.
“He should have called Dede and Gyan and spoken to them properly about the situation.
“There should be no conflict within the team.”We lost the tournament before we left.
“You expect people to be happy within a team but it does not work like that,” he calmly explained.
The Black Stars eventually crashed out of the Afcon at the Round of 16 stage after falling to Tunisia on penalties.
Source: footballghana.com