I don't wish 'juju' on my teammates - Adam Kwarasey

The shot-stopper talks about the speculation of black magic in the Black Stars camp.

Ghana goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey has distanced himself from reports his predicament with the Black Stars was a result of being a victim of black magic popularly known as 'juju'.

On a self-imposed exile from international duty since 2016, the 32-year-old has endured a frustrating time to his Black Stars career after a promising start in 2011, having suffered from a series of injuries and loss of form.

Many media reports claimed he believed he was being bewitched by his goalkeeping competitors in the national team, supposedly resulting in a decision to stay away from the Black Stars.

"I have no idea [about a possible use of 'juju' in Ghana's camp], and I don’t believe or want to accuse anybody of such things. I don’t wish or think about bad things for other people, especially not if we are trying to reach the same goal," Kwarasey told Citi Sports.

"It’s selfish. If you play the same position as the best player in your team, do you harm him because you want to play? You harm your team and you give your team less chance of winning.

"I really hope that I wasn’t part of a team where these things were going on because then you can’t call it a team. I might be naive but for me, it is not an option to harm my teammate for me to shine.”

A dual national with a Ghanaian father and a Norwegian mother, the Oslo-born opted to represent Ghana at senior level.

After making his debut in 2011, he pulled off a memorable performance in a friendly fixture against Brazil, cementing his place as Ghana's No.1 with the outstanding outing.

His first tournament with the Black Stars, though, ended in disappointment as he received a lot of criticism for a poor performance at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

At the 2013 edition, he lost the starting berth to Fatau Dauda, who was interestingly accused in the media of being behind Kwarasey's woes.

He briefly won back the No.1 spot in 2014 where he would lose it again at the World Cup, Dauda again the beneficiary.

He then stayed out of the Black Stars for two years and briefly made a comeback in 2016, his last stint with the team.

“[It’s about] bringing together a team that has a common goal and gets the best out of each other. Not a group that has individual objectives that they are chasing and thinking about the national team as a way to pave way for their own careers.

"That will come as a result of being part of a team with success anyway. If Ghana has success, players from Ghana will automatically be more attractive anyways."

After Afcon 2012, then Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic accused his players of using black magic against each other, ultimately contributing to the team’s disappointing performance.

Earlier this month, Black Stars Management Committee chairman George Amoakoh revealed the perception about the use of ‘juju’ by national team players is hampering ambitions to woo over more dual nationals to represent the African country.

Black Stars officials are currently trying to convince the England youth duo of Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal) and Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion) to represent Ghana at senior level.