Kotoko Storm Douala

LAST year’s CAF Cup Winners Cup finalists, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, will launch another campaign for the ultimate trophy when they dare Mount Cameroun in a first leg one-eighth round encounter in Douala.

Having failed to satisfy their loyal fans with the much-needed trophy in that breathtaking final which saw Kotoko snatching a hard 2-1 return leg victory in Kumasi, but losing out to WAC of Morocco on technical grounds, the Ghanaians see this year’s event as an appropriate platform to compensate their massive followers.


A further motivation for the players to ensure the fulfilment of this avowed dream can be expected from the team’s Interim Management Committee (IMC).


Fortunately for Kotoko, this continental assignment comes at a time when they have established themselves as monarchs of all they survey on the local front.


They confirmed that flashy form in Bolga last Sunday when they beat stubborn RTU 1-0 in their opening league clash.


This, coupled with their ever-increasing hunger for continental glory after the last taste in 1983, put the Porcupine Warriors in a good stead to make it to the last eight.

Unlike Union Douala, Canon Yaounde and Coton Sport, Mount Cameroun can be described as minnows on the continental stage, thus giving the Ghanaians the edge as favourites.


However, they qualified to this stage on merit following a 2-1 aggregate victory over Akonangui of Equatorial Guinea.


The Camerounians sealed their qualification in the first leg duel in Douala with a 2-0 win to render their 1-0 return leg defeat in Bata ineffective.


But the same cannot be said of Kotoko who skipped the one-sixteenth round following the disqualification of Liberia’s Mighty Blue Angels for their failure to meet the CAF deadline for registration.


That notwithstanding, Kotoko boast of a squad which has the temperament for the African terrain, especially after last year’s excellent outing.

This time, the team has even been enhanced further with the inclusion of such enterprising performers like Edmund Owusu-Ansah, Michael Asante and goal poacher, Isaac Boakye, who just returned from trials with Hamburg of Germany.


In addition, Kotoko now enjoy the services of a technical team which is armed with knowledge of the African game after playing to the highest level.


For head coach Abdul Razak, his two-year romance with Stade Malien which saw him accomplishing no mean a feat than eliminating Hearts of Oak in last year’s CAF Champions League will surely spur him on to explore new grounds with Kotoko.


While Kotoko seek to determine their fate in the competition in Douala, the defending champions, WAC, play as guests of El Hilal of Libya this weekend.