Hearts of Oak legend and former Black Stars midfielder Charles Allotey has criticised the current generation of young footballers, particularly those in the national setup, for their lack of discipline and failure to follow instructions.
Ghana’s U-20 side, the Black Satellites, crashed out of the U-20 AFCON in Egypt last month after losing to the host nation, Egypt, on penalties, leading to the country’s failure to qualify for the U-20 World Cup in Chile.
In an exclusive interview with Citi Sports, Allotey expressed frustration over what he described as a growing trend of players ignoring coaching instructions.
One thing I always tell my guys; they’re not aggressive enough on the field,” he said. “We are teaching them, but they don’t take our teachings. Every day, you have to talk to them, correct them, and still they go out and play their own game.
Allotey added that this attitude is contributing to coaches being overly vocal during games.
“That’s why coaches talk a lot. You teach them in training, but on the field, they do something completely different.”
He also touched on a deeper communication gap between coaches and players.
“They don’t listen in any language. They have their own language; what they play in their houses, like small-poles[pick-up] football. That’s their real game.”
His comments come at a time when Ghana has, for the 10th time, failed to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, raising concerns over the future of the country’s youth football structure.
