Why I sacked two Black Stars assistant coaches in 1996 - Abraham Boakye reveals

Abraham Boakye alias One Man Supporter, a famous Ghanaian football supporter claims to have unilaterally sacked two assistant coaches of the Black Stars after the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

One Man Supporter discloses that after Black Stars arrived in Ghana following their exit from the tournament in South Africa, Brazilian coach, Ismael Kurtz who was the coach of the Black Stars was left at the mercy of the Ghanaian press.

One Man Supporter claims he was incensed by the decision of the then assistant coaches not to support the head coach.

He claims to have the power and legitimacy to sack the two coaches and therefore acted on his own.

“When we got to Ghana, the assistant coaches deserted the head coach Ismahel Kurtz. The press were harassing the man and he couldn’t speak English. I called Kuuku Dadzie and one man told them they had been fired. I sacked them because they neglected the coach. They never came back,” he said.

Ghana at 1996 AFCON

Two Ghana greats, Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah staged a show on January 14, 1996, when Ghana faced Ivory Coast in an Africa Cup of Nations Group D encounter.

The duo inspired the Black Stars to a 2-0 win over their neighbours at the EPRFU Stadium - Port-Elizabeth in South Africa.

The game was Ghana's opening fixture of the tournament and they ensured that they started the competition on the right foot.

Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah were the main characters of the game as they tormented the Ivory Coast defense with some beautiful combinations.

Yeboah gave Ghana the lead inside the 20 minutes with a sensational volley connecting Sam Johnson's sweet left-foot cross from the left.

After putting Ghana ahead, the then-Leeds United forward nearly set up Abedi for the second with a beautiful cross, but the latter's header got palmed away by Alain Gouamene.

Ghana ended the opening half with the lead.

In the second half, the duo combined again after Yeboah found Abedi in the box with a lobbed pass but the then-Torino man could not finish after his initial beautiful control swayed the goalkeeper.

Abedi Pele, eventually, put his name on the scoresheet in the 70th minute with a brilliant right-foot finish from a tight angle.

He received a cross from Charles Akonnor in the box and took on his maker as the ball drifted to the bar line, Abedi then powered a rocket with his right foot into the roof of the net to double the lead for Ghana.

Ghana grabbed the win and went on to beat Tunisia and Mozambique in the subsequent games to finish as the winner of Group D.

In the quarter-final, Tony Yeboah scored the only goal against Zaire, sending the team to the semis, where they lost 3-0 to eventual winner South Africa.

Ghana finished fourth place at the tournament after losing 1-0 to Zambia in the third-place tie.