I nearly abandoned my trip to Italy – Appiah

Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah has revealed that he nearly abandoned his first ever trip to Italy for trials with Udinese due to the fame he was enjoying with his club Accra Hearts of Oak in the local league.

Speaking in an interview with Sika Fm in Kumasi, Appiah said, after playing for Accra Hearts of Oak in the premier league, he became very popular among the fans and was loved by them.

“Those days I used to walk to Chorkor, after matches on Sunday and on my way, fans mobbed me and gave me a lot of money.

“I remember I was around UTC then and had so much money from the fans because I was scoring some good goals for Hearts of Oak.

“There was a time we played against GHAPOHA and I scored the only goal for Hearts. After the match, I received a total of 60 cedis from the supporters. I was so happy playing for Hearts and enjoying all the fame that came with it and so I never wanted to travel,” he told Sika FM.

“On that I could not sleep because it was the biggest amount of money I received since I started playing football. The fame was just so much for me,” he added. According to Appiah, he never wanted to travel to Italy when Nii Ayi Bonte II informed him of the trip because the fun and fame in Ghana was enough for him at that tender age.

The Testimonial Match is expected to be the last official game of the former Black Stars captain after retiring from active football early this year.

According to Primeval Media, organisers of the match, the Popular Stand will go for GHS10.00, with the Osu Stand and VIP Lower going for GHS 20.00 and GHS 30.00 respectively.

The VIP Upper and VVIP will go for GHS 50.00 and GHS100.00 respectively.