Tony Yeboah and Tony Baffoe
Tony Yeboah and Tony Baffoe

Former Sports Minister, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has waded into the captaincy debate that affected Ghana’s chances of winning the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations trophy.

The Black Stars were hoping to clinch their 5th continental trophy in Senegal.

Prior to the tournament, Abedi Pele was named as the captain of the team at James Kwasi Appiah’s expense, a decision that led to the creation of factions within the team.

However, ahead of the final game against Ivory Coast, Abedi Pele was suspended.

The then coach of the side, Otto Martin Pfister shockingly named Anthony Baffoe, a decision that the German trainer claimed government officials asked him to take.

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Mr Vanderpuiye covered the tournament as a journalist and has revealed in an interview with Joy News that authorities failed to properly manage the egos of the likes of Pele and Yeboah.

Nii Lnate Vanderpuye

“I think as a country we did not manage the two of them well. They were our two most prolific stars at that time, so each one of them will have an ego,” he claimed.

“Each one of them will have a certain aura around them, and a lot of our players will tend to lean towards one of them depending on how magnanimous that person was.

“So that was there, it’s the reality and I think the managers should have had that at the back of their minds and try as much as possible to create that team atmosphere and break that sort of lineages before the tournament,” he concluded.

The Black Stars lost the tie 11-10 in a penalty shoot-out at the Stade de l’Amitié in the Senegalese capital Dakar.