Black Stars legend, Abedi Ayew ‘Pele’ has stated that he did not lobby to become Black Stars captain ahead of the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations.
With Kwesi Appiah captain of the team throughout the qualifiers, Abedi was handed the armband going into the tournament under circumstances that were reportedly controversial at the time.
Following the incident, Abedi Pele has often been accused of working behind the scenes to dethrone Appiah, which reportedly created divisions in the national team.
While the 3-time African Player of the Year says he takes responsibility for how far he allowed the wrong information to be spread over the years, he denied any wrongdoing in how he became captain.
So many people were talking about and I take responsibility for all the news that was spreading that I fought for the captaincy,” he told GTV Sports Plus.
In an interview on GTV Sports+, veteran journalist, Karl Tuffuoh revealed that the then head coach of the team, Bukhard Ziese, had revealed to pressmen that he would name Abedi Pele as captain to replace Kwesi Appiah.
According to the account of Tuffour, the head coach felt he could not rely on Kwesi Appiah moving forward and the Maestro best fit who he wanted to lead the lines for the national team.
I think it wasn’t true and I’m glad one of the press men has come out to reveal what actually happened and I will leave it like that. But I never fought for the captaincy.
The Maestro led the team up to the finals of the AFCON in Senegal but missed the finale due to suspension after he received a yellow card for descent in the semi final clash against Nigeria.
The Black Stars lost the finals to the Ivory Coast on penalties after playing a goalless 90 minutes in Dakar.
