Tony Baffoe: Abedi Pele didn’t influence captaincy decision before 1992 AFCON final
2 min read
Image via 3news.com
Ex-Ghana defender, Anthony Baffoe has refuted claims that his roommate Abedi Pele influenced the decision to hand him the captaincy in the final match at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations instead of Tony Yeboah – who was the vice-captain then.
Abedi – who was the substantive captain – due to accumulated yellow cards was going to miss the final at the Stade de l’Amitié in Dakar, Senegal.
Instead of Yeboah deputizing in his absence, the technical team decided to elevate German-born Baffoe who was new in the team.
The unexpected situation is believed to have affected Ghana against Cote D’Ivoire.
The Black Stars lost 11-10 to the Elephants after a marathon penalty shootout to miss out on an elusive fifth continental title.
”To be honest, I was not expecting to be named Black Stars captain. I remember we had a team meeting and Otto Pfister [head coach] announced that Anthony Baffoe is going to captain the team. This is how it got to him,” Baffoe, now CAF Deputy General Secretary, told GTV Sports +
”This is something very interesting I am going to tell you now. People thought Abedi, maybe because we were roommates, he never ever mentioned anything about captaincy to me. I can assure you.
”To set the records straight, I saw an interview from Anthony Yeboah when he said that his manager called me to speak to management that I should hand the captaincy to him. Nobody called me. This is not true. This is exactly what I can tell you.
”I remember Alhaji Maikano, the team manager, came to me and said there were rumours going on and I said whoever wants to take the captaincy should come and take it. I’m not keen on captaincy.
”I can only tell you that when I went to Metz after three months I was named captain of the team. I dont think a captain would make you win trophies.”
The Black Stars lost 11-10 to the Elephants after a marathon penalty shootout to miss out on an elusive fifth continental title.
Facebook Comments