Asante Kotoko Vs. Kotoko (Asante )

7th August 2007

Correspondent: Thomas Boakye-Agyeman,  Oseikrom

The much talked about encounter between two sections of the Kumasi Asante Kotoko team this week is fast generating an intense debate among the playing body as to which side is really the best.

The Asante Kotoko Management Board announced last week a decision to pitch the squad that played two matches against El Merrick in Sudan against the squad which recently toured Germany. The two legged match is expected to be the final exercise from which Coach Bashir Hayford will select his final squad of thirty five players for the up coming One Touch Premier League and the CAF Confederation Cup.

Another dimension has been added to the match as players who were neither part of the Sudan team nor the Germany squads have aligned themselves with one side. Edmund Owusu Ansah, Eric Nii Baah, Osei Kwame Jnr and Kwame Obeng Darko have all declared their support for the Sudan squad. These players (Edmund, Osei and Nii Baah) have actually trained with the Sudan squad while the other squad was in Germany and are ready to help them shut the mouths of the “German Burgers” who have been bragging of being the superior side since their return from Germany last week. Edmund was in Spain and Russia recently for trials, just like Obeng Darko who was in Denmark and only returned last week.Nii Baah was with the Black Meteors in Algeria while Osei Kwame did not make it to either of the squads as he stayed home preparing for a trip to Germany where he was expected to train with Ernst Middendorp’s Arminia Bielefield.

The Sudan squad have been training under Johnson Smith but the Germany squad were given one week to rest and resumed training yesterday at the Ridge.However,a piece of drama unfolded at the Ridge Park training grounds when some players of the Germany squad made attempts to train at the Ridge Park on Thursday and Friday.

Ofosu Amoah Tico, Francis Akwaffu Boateng and Samuel Incoom were all denied the chance by the Sudan squad colleagues to train at the Ridge Park on Thursday and Friday. They were neither allowed to kick the ball nor even be on the main pitches. Akwaffu and Incoom therefore had to resort to running outside the pitches, all in readiness for the match. The Sudan team players explained to the Kotoko Express that there is an impending match between the two squads thus it’s not acceptable to allow their “opponents” to train with them. They also contended that the Germany squad was on break and wondered why the three players were so eager to train with them, speculating that it was just a ploy to spy on them. On the other hand, Francis Akwaffu told the Kotoko Express that he was there first and foremost to say hello to his colleagues and also to do an individual training, as they were advised by the technical team to do that before the resumption of training yesterday. He laughed off the incident, saying it is really going to spice up the match which the players hope to show to the supporters what they have learnt so far.

Team Manager Opoku Afriyie is even having his share of the accusations, as he is being accused of pricing away some active actors from the Sudan team.Already, senior ball boy and a member of the Sudan squad technical team Issah Amadu Okoronko has defected to the German squad, together with a member of the Kan aide of the Kotoko team manager, Achempong.

It is expected to be a showpiece as each side flexes its muscles and the supporters have already started debating as to which side is better. A section believes the Sudan squad, which comprises of majority of the senior players looks the fittest of the sides but their opponents who support the German burgers believes the facilities that were at the disposal of the squad which toured Germany has shaped them better thus makes them the better of the two sides.