Posted by Former Asante Kotoko Coach, Seydou Zerbo as blamed his former Assistant, Abdulai Gazale and Goalkeeper’s trainer Issa Najahu as the architects of his failure at the club.
Seydou Zerbo was appointed as Head Coach of Asante Kotoko ahead of the 2022/23 football season, replacing Prosper Narteh Ogum who led the club to win the Premier League title the season before.
The Burkinabé failed to live up to expectations and was eventually sacked. Per some connoisseurs of the game, Zerbo’s failure was largely due to his inability to communicate in English, an opinion he strongly disagrees with.
“Communication was not that a problem for me but you know it was a bit complicated but when I arrived at the club there was Moise Pouaty who did the translation for me and later physical trainer Nasim Islam arrived too from Algeria and he also facilitated the communication as he spoke English too. So the communication with the players went well. There was no problem with that,” Seydou Zerbo told Kumasi-based Fox FM.
He continued: “But the biggest problem I faced at Kotoko was Abdulai Gazale and Issa Najahu who did not accept my arrival at all. They did everything to make sure I fail. They are enemies of progress who plotted my downfall. They spent their time to make things difficult for me and Islam Nazim at Kotoko.
“When I tell them [Gazale and Najahu] something to tell the players , they intentionally tell the players different things entirely. They were not professional at all in my opinion.” , the expatriate trainer lamented.
Seydou Zerbo went on to reveal that he at some point informed Nana Yaw Amponsah of the situation, hence the reason why Orlando Wellington was appointed.
“Yes. I informed Nana Yaw Amponsah and that is why they brought Orlando Wellington to help me. Now when Gazale was sent away from the team , he was still in touch with some players who were on his side and were doing his bidding and don’t forget Najahu was still there,” he added.
The Burkinabé Coach also revealed that the club has failed to fulfill its obligations to settle his three months salary arrears as agreed upon following the termination of his contract, a situation he’s looking to report to FIFA.
Per information gathered, Seydou Zerbo was on $3,000 a month salary at Asante Kotoko, amounting his three months salary arrears to $9,000.