Abdul Karim Zito, an experienced Ghanaian coach, has shared his insights into Asante Kotoko’s struggles this season, attributing them to the lack of the right coach rather than the recruitment of young players.
In an interview with Akoma FM, Coach Zito emphasized the importance of having a coach with knowledge of youth development when incorporating young players into a team. He expressed confidence in Prosper Ogum, who was previously in charge at Kotoko, due to his expertise in developmental football. However, he expressed doubts about the team’s performance under a different coach.
Zito emphasized that the issue at Kotoko is not the recruitment of young players. He recalled that when they joined the team, they were young and playing for lower-ranked clubs, not prominent ones like Hearts of Oak. Nonetheless, their development was guided by an experienced coach.
“When a team recruits young players and your coach lacks knowledge about youth development, things will fall apart,” Coach Karim Zito said during the interview.
“I had so much confidence in Prosper Ogum that he would deliver at Kotoko even though the players were young and new because he was full of developmental football knowledge. But if it had been any other coach, I would have been a bit skeptical.”
Zito also highlighted the negative impact of Kotoko’s decision to appoint Seydou Zerbo as coach. He attributed the team’s current problems to the challenges faced by a new coach inheriting a team he didn’t build. According to Zito, experienced coaches are better equipped to navigate such difficult situations.
“All these problems were the result of the new coach taking over. It wasn’t going to be easy for him to perform with a team he didn’t build. It only takes experienced coaches to navigate this difficult hurdle,” commented the coach, who is also the head coach of the Ghana U-17 national team.
Asante Kotoko is set to face Kotoku Royals in a Week 31 fixture of the Ghana Premier League on Monday.
