By: Jerry Afriyie-Paemka

Date: 29-07-11

What a disappointment; this game called football which is noted for bringing joy to billions of people worldwide can also be very cruel when things don’t go your way. 

Indeed this is not how today’s piece was meant to be but all the same as the saying goes, it is all in the game and what is important is for Kotoko to return to the drawing board to reorganize, re-strategize and re-launch.

Kumasi Asante Kotoko last Sunday disappointed millions of their fans worldwide when they failed to win the last trophy of the season which is the MTN/FA Cup when they lost by a lone goal to Abedi Pele’s F.C Nania at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium.

It was yet another painful cup lost in recent history and like in the 2002 CAF Cup Winners Cup and the 2004 CAF Confederation Cup, the MTN/FA Cup looked like Kotoko’s cup yet the Porcupines failed to live up to expectation. 

The mood in the Kotoko Express newsroom later on Sunday evening was just like the pictures of the players sitting in the dressing room after the game, which was published in last Tuesday’s issue of the paper. All our plans were thrown out of gear.

I know many more could not go to work on Monday morning because the “against people” were eagerly waiting to take a swipe at them. Some also had their phones switched off for 24hours to avoid undesirable calls.

Such was some of the experiences Kotoko supporters had to endure after losing in a major Cup final like what transpired last Sunday.

The reasons for the defeat are not far fetched at all. Whether you witnessed events live at the stadium or watched it live on television, it was vividly clear that F.C Nania were tactically superior on the day.

Ever since the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa where coach Milovan Rajevac’s Black Stars displayed a lot of tactical variations in their matches, I have not seen any Ghanaian team exhibiting immense tactical ability like Nania did in the F.A Cup final.

Switching from a 4-5-1 formation in the first half to sometimes a 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and even a 3-5-2 formation in the second half and extra time and plying it to perfection was highly commendable.

In fact I am still waiting to hear from Coach Bogdan Korak how come he stuck to a 4-4-2 formation that did not work for  a good 120 minutes of the game.  Kotoko’s four midfielders struggled against Nania’s five boys and whiles two of

Kotoko’s four midfielders were often lost in the game, Nania’s five boys were all working at optimum level, supporting the defence and attack where necessary and making it difficult for the Kotoko attackers to find openings.

In effect, the Porcupines failed to show class and their experience did not reflect against their inexperienced opponents in a game that had so much at stake including a ticket to participate in Africa.

The players must carry a chunk of the blame because there have been several instances in football that irrespective of the fact that a game is proving very difficult, players have gone the extra mile to win for the supporters. However in last Sunday’s game, the performance of most of the players was ordinary.

The tactical deficiencies of team in last Sunday’s final notwithstanding, I think coach Bogdan Korak should not be fired. His performance should be evaluated based on his work in totality and should not be based on just one match although Kotoko have struggled to win in their last four competitive matches.

Korak did brilliantly by transforming a team on its knees to become a promising set-up with so much potential. What should be done in this case is that the coach should be made aware that at Kotoko standards are very high so he needs to work harder in order to take the team to the next level.

In other words if Korak has already achieved his initial target, the bar should be raised for him and he should be made to understand that the club is far from being at the level supporters expect it to be. 

Talking about supporters reminds me about something puzzling some Kotoko fans demanding to know why the coach travelled to his native Serbia and returned only a few days to the MTN/FA Cup Final.

Is it because he did not attach so much importance to the final? And why did he leave his assistant Sabuto behind in Kumasi when it was Sabuto who supervised most of the preparations in the absence of the coach. 

Now the club has ended the season without any trophy to show for all the efforts by the various stakeholders of the club and it is now time to return to the drawing board and strategize for next season.

The focus should now be on recruitment and preparation. This is the time to say goodbye to all the players who have to leave the club and welcome those coming in.

I have heard that recruitment is being done in the background and although very little is known about how it is going, we can only appeal that it is expedited so that the coach can have the full compliment of his players to start the pre-season. It is important that the players put last Sunday’s defeat behind them and focus on the future.

Still on last Sunday’s F.A Cup final, it was sad how the media was shabbily treated at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium.

First it was a packed media tribune with football fans interfering in the work of the journalists. It was a near bloody situation when a radio commentator decided to stop work and deal with a fan who was constantly harassing him.

There were serious arguments among rival fans all over the place, which seriously hampered the work of journalists especially radio and T.V commentators. 

Then also during the first half in the full glare of everybody the accredited Kotoko Express photographer was subjected to yet another bout of harassment, which is now becoming unbearable. 

After an official of F.C Nania working in cohort with some security apparatus had failed to stop the photographer from doing his work, it was shocking to say the least to see the match commissioner oblige to the machinations of some people to stop the photographer from doing his work.

For well over fifteen minutes, the match commissioner abandoned everything and tried hard to stop the Kotoko Express man from working. The match commissioner in the Ghana F.A Cup final of 2011 believes that the photographer had juju or whatever on him so he should leave his assignment without anyone giving any evidence.

The match commissioner who should know better and educate the “complainants” that we are in AD 2011 and that juju does not play football was himself leading and prosecuting the juju agenda.

I think we have to be serious about our football. There are too many people involved in the game here in Ghana who are still living in the dark ages.

The GFA and the National Sports Authority ought to sensitize the football or sporting fraternity about the role of the media in football and sports development.

What happened in Accra last Sunday is something that happens all the time at some notorious venues but in recent times it has taken alarming proportions in Accra in particular.

In Kotoko’s visits to Accra this season, the poor Kotoko Express photographer has had to contend with harassment from club officials, national security operatives, the police and now match officials, why?

Did his presence stop Nania from scoring and winning or did Kotoko suddenly rattle in five goals to win the cup as a result of his presence?

People ought to be real.