Former Black Stars player Sulley Muntari has shared a story of how Asamoah Gyan was handed the Black Stars captaincy over him during a game against Sudan.
Muntari narrated that he wore the armband for two World Cup qualifiers, including a match against Lesotho at the Baba Yara Stadium in 2012.
He explained that he was handed the armband in the absence of some senior players.
However, in the next game against Sudan in 2013, the armband was given to Asamoah Gyan without his knowledge.
“I was the captain for the game we played against Lesotho in Kumasi and one other game. When we went to Sudan, they gave the captaincy to Asamoah, and I’m like, ‘No, I’m supposed to be the captain,'” he said in an interview with 3Sports.
“Basically, Michael (Essien) and other senior players were not around, so I was the senior player besides Asa,” he explained.
Sulley continued that he confronted Asamoah Gyan and explained to the former Sunderland man why he deserved the armband.
“I walked to Asa’s room and told him, ‘Asa, I am supposed to be the captain, not you. If Baffour was around and they gave me the captaincy, there is no way I would take it because I know Baffour is supposed to be the captain. So it’s the same thing.'”
According to Sulley, Gyan then broke the news to him that he had already signed documents to lead the team as skipper.
“He said, ‘Muta, I went there, and they made me sign everything,’ and I said, ‘Okay.'”
Despite the captaincy disagreement, Ghana won the game 3-1 with Asamoah Gyan scoring a brace and Muntari adding another.
Sulley Muntari recounted the story to highlight how the issue of captaincy is managed in the Black Stars, in connection to recent captaincy issues.
The Black Stars’ captaincy transition became a topical issue under new manager Otto Addo following the decision to bypass Jordan Ayew and award the role to Mohammed Kudus.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
