Ghana international, Samuel Inkoom has reveal the level of optimism and confidence in the Black Stars team in the lead up to AFCON 2010 in Ghana where the team finished second behind Egypt.
With a number of senior members missing out on the final twenty-three (23) man squad due to various reasons, then head coach Milovan Rajevac named a very youthful team with a touch of experience at the fore.
Inkoom, 32, speaking exclusively on Starr FM’s Footie Fanatics program said even though the squad was pretty young, they found comfort in the experienced players available, hence there was the belief to lay hands on the trophy.
“When we were going to the tournament in Angola, there was hope to be honest, because the squad that went to the tournament, it was only Stephen Appiah who was absent but Michael Essien, Kojo Asamoah, Asamoah Gyan were all in the team so the atmosphere was good enough and Ghanaians also trusted and supported us especially after the U-20 world cup conquest”, the defender recounted.
However, there was a downcast in the spirits of the players in camp due to a setback earlier in the competition with Essien’s injury.
“But when Michael got injured, the morale in camp was down. Especially when we heard the extent of the injury, we were down in spirit during our training sessions. Inspite of the confidence in the team, we were never favorites to be in the final. This is football. It’s full of surprises” he concluded.
The Black Star lost the final to Egypt courtesy Mohammed Gedo who came off the bench to score the only goal with only a few minutes to end the game.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.comgh/103.5/Charles Commodore