By: Jerome Otchere

Date: 01-07-11

When winger, David Ofei signed for Kumasi Asante Kotoko from New Edubiase United at the start of the 2010/2011 season, his ultimate aim was to perform to the best of his ability not alone to maintain a regular place in the team but to also impress the teeming Kotoko fans who had initially spoken well of him after he was recruited by former Technical Manager, Ebo Mends.

Ofei, a former General Arts student of Suhum Sectech, believed he could make the mark at Kotoko and was therefore glad to play a key role in the pre-season programme undertaken by Ebo Mends.

He featured in a number of trial matches played across the country. He exhibited a reasonably good performance. The former Great Olympics player was thus expected to be part of Ebo Mends’ first team as the season opened.

Ofei fared well. He got selected for 11 of Kotoko 15 league matches, of which he started four. Ahead of the second round, David Ofei hoped that he would be called to camp as many as possible, and what is more, be given more playing time.

That only turned out to be a sweet dream, failing to materialise in reality. Events he hardly could tell combined to rob him of regular playing time, leaving the 22-year-old footballer without an appearance on the bench, not to talk of a starting place.

The arrival of 14 new players at the beginning of the second half of the season really did not mean David Ofei and others would have little or no playing time. He in particular believed he would survive the competition regardless of the quality that was coming.

“I joined Kotoko for a purpose. I was ready to fight for my place in the team” said Ofei in an interview.

“I believe I could stand the competition. I only needed to prove my worth through serious training, hard work and good performances” he explained continuing however that irrespective of how well he worked, the chance of playing did not come.  

“Sometimes it is hard luck” he says.

“At times too you have to put it down to stiff competition and I think in my case, it was a matter of hard luck. I did well from the start. I was therefore praying, training and willing to improve in the second round” he argued.

“I came with a lot of hope. I was confident. I had high expectations but like many of my colleagues I think one thing that did not help my situation was the generally unimpressive performance of the whole team in the first round”.

He spoke of the awful feelings he went home with whenever Kotoko lost adding that there were times that he felt extremely uncomfortable and even feared to join the team bus for training.

“I was afraid because of the way people hooted and taunted us anytime the bus left the stadium for the training ground. It was a painful feeling. We needed to buck up which we did”.

It is fair to assume that the coming of 14 new players during the second round affected David Ofei and many other players’ chances of being fielded. However, it will be naïve to think that Coach Bogdan Korak’s open display of dissatisfaction with the performance of the player in the Kotoko-All Stars friendly match in Kumasi did not affect his confidence and chance of playing.

At a time Kotoko was playing 10-men because of Prince Anokye’s red card, David Ofei, a substitute player in the match, was ordered to leave the pitch to the dressing room by Coach Korak.

The Kotoko coach was prevented from explaining his actions to the media. The safe assumption however was that David Ofei was not playing to his instruction. That ended Ofei’s dream of being fielded in competitive matches in the opinion of observers.

“Naturally, I felt bad about that development” he said. “But I was not too worried. I was rather motivated to do my best. I have been very active at training. Things have changed. What people do not know is that Coach Bogdan Korak has seen my effort. He encourages me all the time and I still want to prove my potential”.

As common with most non-regular players in a team, David Ofei would seek regular playing time elsewhere, next season if he would not get the opportunity to show what he is made of at Kotoko.

“If I will not get more playing time, then I might want to leave but then if given the chance, I will definitely prove a point. I am just looking up to next season” he ended.