Posted by One time captain of Asante Kotoko Yusif Chibsah has disclosed the reasons why Kotoko lost the 2004 CAF Confederations cup final to Hearts of Oak.
The Porcupine Warriors came into the second leg needing just a scoreless draw or a win to clinch the trophy, but they ended up losing 8-7 on penalties. The game after 90 minutes ended 1-1 and 2-2 on aggregate.
The major talking point after the game game was the substitutions made by head coach Hans Dieter Schmidt, especially taking goal scorer on the day Charles Taylor out. Most people believe that substitution was the reason why Kotoko lost the game.
Recounting on the incident on GTV Sports+, the former Kotoko midfielder revealed the reasons why they lost that game.
“Kotoko as team and we the players were very confident that no matter what happens, we were going to win the first ever Caf confederation cup because we did well in our group. I can confidently say that our group at the time was stronger than that of Accra Hearts of Oak but unfortunately our game plan changed on the match day and we had to lose painfully.”
“After watching the game again and again, I am convinced that Kotoko lost from the bench. The substitution the coach made was unnecessary”
Yusif Chibsah also went on to narrate what happened on the Kotoko Bench during the Penalty Shootout.
“It got to a point no one wanted to take the penalty. We begged Oduro to take the penalty but he refused.
Chibsah also added that Hearts were just destined to win the cup.
“So in my view, I believe strongly that Hearts of Oak were destined to win the cup,” he added.