By: Bernard Nyakomago Yeboah

Date: 07-11-11

Soccer loving Ghanaians who have been itching to see the 2011/12 football season will on Saturday and Sunday have what their hearts have long desired when the 2011/12 Glo Premier League commences at all the eight league centres.

The Tema Park will obviously be the cynosure of all eyes as new entrants, Tema Youth lock horns with the Porcupine Warriors in what has been tagged by most people as the top liner of the week.

Though the Harbour City Boys used to give Kotoko a stiff opposition at Tema during their stay in the premiership between 2006 and 2008/09 football season, from all indications they will have a hard nut to crack on Sunday looking at the current shape of Kotoko and the material available in the team.

Coach Maxwell Konadu and his boys last Saturday humiliated their bitterest rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak 3-1 in the second leg of the MTN Super Two Charity match at the Ohene Djan Stadium and are brimming with much confidence to repeat the dose on Tema Youth. The first leg had ended 1-1 in Kumasi.

Besides this competition which provided the technical staff the platform to critically assess the team and some of the new recruits like Amos Frimpong, Abdul Baba Rahman, Michael Mensah, Michael Anaba and co, Kotoko has also got the opportunity to play a series of trial matches, both within and outside the country in preparations towards the 2011/12 league season.

The team first toured Serbia between August 6-18 and played six trial matches against both premiership and lower division sides. Kotoko won four against Metalac 1-0, F.K Zagruda 5-0, F.K Sovojno 2-0 and Slobodan Caca 1-0. They lost the remaining two to F.K Sovojno 4-2 and Vojvodina 3-1.

Kotoko came back to play another international friendly against Nigerian premiership side Warri Wolves at the Baba Yara Stadium on August 28, 2011. Kotoko won 1-0. Right after this match Kotoko travelled to Cape Coast to participate in the Fetu Afahye Tournament involving three other teams, Ebusua Dwarfs, Venomous Vipers and Medeama SC. Kotoko lost their first game 1-3 to Medeama before beating Venomous Vipers 1-0 to finish third in the competition.

Kotoko’s last two practice matches were against lower division sides Kumawuman FC and Istanbul FC respectively. Kotoko thrashed Kumawuman 5-0 at Adako Jachie on September 22, 2011 and lost the other game 0-1 to Istanbul FC at Adukrom on September 28, 2011.

On Sunday Coach Maxwell Konadu and his boys will have no option than to give their teeming supporters a flying start in the opening game against Tema Youth so as to prove to other participating clubs that they really mean business in the league.

Expressing his view on the Tema Youth-Kotoko encounter, newly signed striker Kofi Nti Boakye said he and his colleagues were prepared for the game. He added that no matter the threat Tema Youth would pose the Porcupine spirit will prevail at the end of the day.

“The game will not be easy because it is an opening game. But I want to assure our followers that no matter the situation we will grab the three points at stake” he said.

Born on April 5, 1987 at Odiom-Ahomaso in Kumasi, Kofi Nti Boakye started his football career with Corners Babies, a Colts side in Kumasi in the early 2000. He later on joined Liberty Professionals in 2005 through the late Alhaji Sly Tetteh, the founder of the Dansoman based team.

“We used to play friendly matches against Liberty when I was with Corners Babies. It was through these friendly matches that Sly Tetteh saw and brought me to Liberty because he realized I have great potential.

“I was very young by then but he reposed some confidence in me and that has brought me to this far in my football career. I will forever be grateful to him everywhere I go” he said before expressing his deepest condolence to the bereaved family of Alhaji Sly Tetteh who passed away during a charity football match in Cape Coast on September 3, 2011.

After three seasons spell with Liberty, Kofi Nti Boakye joined Kpando Hearts of Lions in the 2008/09 football season and subsequently to Al-Kahaleej of United Arab Emirate where he played for only one season.

He joined Kotoko in the off season together alongside players like Sakko Iddrisa, Osei Kofi, Amos Frimpong, Baba Abdul Rahman, Richard Yeboah, Augustine Okra, Michael Mensah, Michael Anaba, Yahaya Mohammed among others.  Kofi Nti Boakye says he has come to Kotoko with a mission to fulfill.

“I am happy to join Kotoko at last because it is a club on my heart. My senior brother, Isaac Boakye played his part for the club in the 2003 football season and helped Kotoko win the premiership title for the first time in about ten years.

“It is time for me to continue from where he left off. I have many things in mind that I want to achieve at Kotoko but the immediate one is to help the club win the league and FA Cup in the upcoming season” he noted.

Kofi Nti Boakye scored the lone goal against Venomous Vipers which helped Kotoko to finish third in the Oguaa Fetu Afahye Cup. He was also on target when Kotoko walloped Hearts of Oak 3-1 last Sunday in the Super Two contest in Accra.

Asked how many goals he has targeted in the forthcoming season, the soft spoken striker said “I don’t want to put any pressure on myself because I just joined the club. All that I am hoping to do is to work hard and offer my best to the club. If I don’t score and any of the players score to give us the three maximum points that’s what matters most”.

Though Kofi Nti Boakye will have the likes of Ahmed Toure, Nathaniel Asamoah, Iddrisu Nafiu and other strikers to compete for regular play upfront, he said there was no pressure on him. He is rather hoping to join forces with them and help move Kotoko forward since he believes team work is most crucial in football.

He finally applauded the Kotoko supporters for the cheerful manner they backed Kotoko in the Super Two and asked for more of those in the league.