Former Ghana skipper Stephen Appiah has spoken about the history of disunity in the camp of the Black Stars of Ghana and reveals how he managed to change things when he became leader of the national team.
Appiah in an interview with Asaase Radio’s Victor Atsu Tamakloe has disclosed the events that led to his appointment of Black Stars captain after Bayern Munich great Samuel Osei Kuffour refused to take role.
‘‘It was a difficult decision for many reasons. For one, I didn’t want to betray Kuffour, a man I had admired for so long. He had accomplished so much and had sacrificed a lot for the good of the team. Some of the things he had done for the team were also the reason why some people didn’t like him.” Appiah said.
“It could have been part of why he didn’t want the captaincy. So it was difficult for me. But I accepted after speaking with Sammy. He encouraged me to take it and assured me of his support. I realized I had started leading the team anyway and the armband was only going to legitimize what I already was’’ he continued.
‘‘Together with the players, we decided to scrap the existing bonus structure. It didn’t make sense to me that bonuses had to be paid based on seniority and status.
“The Black Stars had a history of disunity and everyone knew this. So I felt we needed to shift the paradigm’’. the former Juventus midfielder added.
Appiah is best remembered for his role as captain of Ghana when the Black Stars qualified for their first ever FIFA World Cup in Germany 2006.
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