Former coach of the Black Stars Kwesi Appiah should have been firmer on the Black Stars squad that represented the country at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, former Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has said.
Recounting to Bola Ray on Starr Chat Wednesday March 23 what happened in Brazil, Mr Ankrah said discipline could have restored in camp were Mr Appiah firmer as a coach.
It is recalled the players, during the 2014 Mundial, threatened to boycott the competition over government’s failure to pay them their appearance fee of $100,000 each.
To prevent the players from boycotting the competition, government was forced to airlift $3 million to Brazil, which made Ghana an object of global ridicule.
“There was a problem at training. Discipline does not break down at once, it begins in stages. The coach had told me that one of the players had used the ‘F’ word on him… that is the point where he should have stood his ground and instilled discipline, but it was handled and managed, and things were getting out of hand,” he stated.
He singled out Sulley Muntari, Kevin Prince Boateng, and Michael Essien as players that showed indiscipline in camp.
Asked if Kwesi Appiah was weak, Mr Ankrah said: “For the benefit of hindsight, he should have been firmer. I would not use the word weak but he should have been firmer because then, he would have instilled the discipline, but when it moved from there, then the FA also couldn’t control it.
“When it got to the point that the FA could not handle it, then I had to come in; it means government was exposed and we had to give in to the $100, 000,” he added.
Ghana exited the competition without a win. The Black Stars were beaten by the USA and Portugal and drew with eventual champions Germany.
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