Henry Ohene Brenya: An epitome of hard work, discipline and commitment to Kotoko

By: David Kyei

Date: 21-01-11

Occasionally in the history of the club, players pop up and their lifestyle and attitude to the course of the club make them a darling of the club.

This is the humble and challenging posture that enterprising Henry Ohene Brenya has fast come to attain.

On the field of play, he is an active and no holds barred participant with an eye and knack to stop marauding opponents whilst of the pitch, he exhibits a completely different posture;, a humble, respectful and seriously disciplined person.

Above all these traits is his heavy commitment to the course of Fabulous Asante Kotoko F.C.

He welcomed Kotoko Express’ David Kyei into his life and career, and we share for your reading pleasure.

Kotoko Express: Team Kotoko had a difficult and first round of the 2010/11 Glo Premier League. The second round is seeing a different performance from you the players, would you say your problems of the past are over?

Problems are normally part of human nature so it would be difficult to say that we are completely going to be free from problems, but I can say that the difficult path we hit in the first round is over.

We had a poor start of the first round and so the trend continued against us. However, different story was told at the start of the second round so I guess I would be right in saying that we are on course. It shall not be an all-smooth endeavour though, but perseverance, hard work and the grace of God will see us through to a successful end.

Don’t you in any way harbour a feeling of fear that the team might hit another bad patch especially after losing to Chelsea at Berekum?

I do not in any way have such a feeling and I am sure my colleagues share in the same mentality. We the playing body have been charged by the huge incentives from management and the motivation of the fans to always live on the positive side of life and that is exactly that we are doing.

We have a solid team now and coupled with motivation and our responsiveness to our duties as professionals we cannot do anything but win for management, the fans and ourselves.

One would say that Kotoko has had a standard and attractive motivation in terms of money since the start of the season. What do you think has changed to make you talk so much about it?

Though I cannot put out figures, I can tell you that a lot has changed to the extent of we getting what we did not even bargain for and so all these and many others come together to serve as a huge incentive package for us as a team.

You lost your position in the starting line up during the latter part of the first round and I remember you telling me that you were not perturbed because you would put up a fight for the slot. Now that you are playing regularly, do you see your place in the team now as a secured?

No position in the team is secured because depending on the match at hand, the coaches can decide to play player A or B at a particular position for specific reasons.

In addition, we have a solid squad that makes it suicidal for anyone to think of having secured a position. We are in competition and the only way that can get one a regular place is to train and play well as instructed.

In my opinion, I have gotten the chemistry right and so I have been training as hard as I play and I am sure that will almost always get me a place in the team. I believe that my patience and commitment to work as well as my performance will always be blessed by God to get me the place that I believe I deserve.

All the above notwithstanding, I give thanks to God because he alone knows why he made the coaches bench me during the period you make reference to. Who knows if I would have been injured if I was fielded in those matches. I believe in the biblical saying that all things work together for the good of those who wait on the Lord.

Could the resignation of Coach Ebo Mends who brought you to the club be a factor in why you were benched?

I do not believe that the absence of Coach Ebo did that. I am a professional and a true one at such so I do not tie my apron to coaches. I was signed on and being paid by Kotoko so it is Kotoko that I serve and not individuals.

One thing I realized during that period was that, European coaches like taller defenders and so when he came and saw that I was comparatively shorter than the rest of the defenders, he chose them over me.

The onus to make the team therefore fell on me to prove to him that I may be challenged in height, but not in performance. I thank God I have been able to prove myself worthy of a regular shirt at Kotoko.

The team conceded so many goals in the first round, and many fans are attributing that to the fact that there was not much cooperation between you the players at the back. Was it true?

That is not true. The defenders have never had problems so that assertion is a misplaced one. Turning the table around, one would have also said that there was a problem between the up-field players that was the reason why we were not scoring more goals to win.

The whole thing is that the team hit a bad patch and things were not going right for us. We lost matches that we had no good business losing and even had our home invisibility shattered in our very first match of the season.

Those are the things that worried the team and I am happy that we have gotten oven the problems and are doing well in the second round. I am sure our good position at the end of the season will make all forget about the difficult road we traversed.

The second round has seen the defence beefed up with the inclusion of some fresh signings. With the matches played so far, can you say your defence has been solidified enough to withstand the pressures of the premiership?

I thank God that we have a compact defence that is delivering. Our aim as a team is to win matches and as defenders to keep our back secured and safe. It is my prayer that we carry the rhythm that we have found through to the end of the season and beyond.

You seem to be enjoying a sweet partnership with Awal Mohamed. Have you two played somewhere before?

No we have not played in the same team before. This is the first time that we are being paired and am sure the fluidity of our performance has got to do with our determination to win and the respect we have for our selves.

We struck a good relationship at out training and has carried that into the game so it is easier for us to play. Our ears are always on the ground to hear a prompt from the other concerning the movement of an opponent on our blind sides.

This has been the same with all other defenders, just that this one is what is being displayed for now. We are able to swap positions as and when the match determines and all these are working well for us.

What could be attributed for the new breeze of performance blowing through the team?

The reasons for the stepped up performance are many, but I can immediately remember competition, motivation and the understanding of the Ghanaian game by our coach.

With the arrival of the new signings, every one has been prompted to up their performance and compete for a place in the team. Training has been stepped up and one need to be there to see how hard we train to catch the eye of our coaches for selection for matches.

Is the competition not going to bring in dirty politicking and enviness into the body politic of the playing body?

Not at all because it is only Kotoko that I have come to see players deciding to contribute a percentage of our winning bonuses into a pool from which our colleagues who do not make it into the team fro matches can also benefit something.

So here at Kotoko, whether you play or not, your prayer is always for the team to win matches because even if you do not wear a jersey, your colleagues would contribute to give you some money as a winning bonus.

It would only be a bad person who would wish evil for the team despite these nice plans.

Getting personal, who is Ohene Brenya?

Well I am Ohene Brenya (laughs). I was born and raised in Kumasi but football took me out to play for Kade Hotspurs and then to Berekum Arsenal where I played for four seasons with an average of twenty-six matches, before coming home to Kotoko where I belong and can call my own.

I say coming home to where I belong because as an Ashanti royal, playing for the team is same as serving the Golden Stool.

You used to play about your best games when you played for Berekum Arsenal against Kotoko. Was it to tell Kotoko that they should come for you or that you were only doing your work as a professional?

My performances at Arsenal against Kotoko were to achieve both. To tell Kotoko to come for me and also to do my professionally assigned duty. There were instances where my relatives had asked that I urged Manhyia Palace to bring me to Kotoko.

I always thanked them for the protocol offer but preferred to come into the team on merit and that is exactly what I did.

As to playing my best games against Kotoko, it is true because back at Arsenal, I always had special training when we were preparing to play against Kotoko. I did that because Kotoko is a big team that comes along with its own pressure and supporters so as a player; you needed to be physically fit and mentally tough to withstand those pressures.

Now that I am at Kotoko, I have trebled the personal training I used to do because just as I used to do double to play against Kotoko, I have to be treble the ability to be able to withstand the opponent whom am sure has also done double to come and play us.

You have become a darling defender of the fans. But most often, a defender at Kotoko becomes a darling of the fans one because he plays well and two he plays tough. Have you noticed that they enjoy your play when you go in for one of your trademark tough tackles?

I may be a tough tackler but not a wicked player. I do not command an imposing physique as other defenders may have so some opponents sometimes looks down on my size and the only way to put the fear of God in them is to make them feel my God given power and strength.

Am sure you had some expectations in terms of performance and remuneration at Kotoko before joining. Have those expectations been met?

Yes I did have those expectations and many more including the right exposure and for now most of them are being met.

In terms of remuneration and monetary incentives, everything is ok and I know it would be perfect when the winning continues and the fans begin to feel happy, as they have started feeling.

To tell you an interesting story. I came on holidays in Kumasi during my Berekum Arsenal days and walking through town, I met a Kotoko player that I knew so we stood by the roadside to have a chat.

All of a sudden, fans started gathering around and they were calling the name of the player and dashing him money. In no time his pocket was full with not a pesewa for me.

My worry was not with the money that was being given the player, but that none of the over a hundred supporters who came by recognized me or mentioned my name.

I felt so sad and wondered why we are all playing in the premiership and yet I was virtually unknown. From that day on, resolved that I was probably not at the right place so had to work hard to come to Kotoko.

Though the bad results we used to record have slowed the fans from dashing out money, the recognition I get when I walk through town is so huge that I sometimes decide to stay indoors.

Now that you are at Kotoko, what are your targets?

My ultimate target is to make a big name for the club through my performance and through that, I would also be in the historical records if the team.

In the present administration of the club, we see many retired footballers serving in different capacities. I am sure they would not be here if they had not served the team well and had not achieved much for the club.

First I want to win the league and any other trophy or competition that the team would play.

From then I would want to play so well that I very big offer from Europe or else where would come for me so that Kotoko would get enough money from my transfer to recruit more good players and still have some left for infrastructural development.

It would not be a bad idea for say Kotoko to make enough money from my transfer to build one or two blocks of the Kotoko Village. It would be an honour to have an Ohene Brenya Block at the Kotoko Village.

I would also like to don a national team jersey on the ticket of Kotoko.

What is your final message for fans?

I thank them all for the support they have been giving the team and will urge them to continue to be prayerful for the team. We need their prayers because evil eyes and minds are going to get to work on us when the team has started winning again.

I also thank management for the wonderful care they are taking of us and pledge my commitment to serve Kotoko and Asanteman to the end. I love them all.