Claude Leroy
Ex-Ghana coach Claude Leroy says the coach and players cannot be blamed for Ghana’s 2-0 defeat to Mali in the 2012 Nations Cup third-place playoff game that took place on Saturday.
A double strike by Cheikh Diabate saw a deflated Black Stars lose out on bronze medal at the 2012 Nations Cup after starting the competition as one of the tournament favourites.
However former Ghana coach Leroy who himself had to deal with the bitter disappointment of missing out on a CAN final with Ghana in 2008 says under-pressure coach Goran Stevanovic and his players are not to be blamed for Saturday’s defeat.
“In 2008 when we (Ghana) lost against Cameroon it was terrible and we had to speak with the players to explain to them that we cannot finish like that and we had to save third place,” he said after witnessing Ghana’s defeat to Mali.
“In the first 30 minutes of that game against the Ivory Coast in Kumasi we were very bad and we had to fight in the changing room that we can’t miss this game also and they played fantastic in the second half.
“Today it was even more difficult because it was not at home, it was here in Malabo and the target was not to finish third, it was to finish first.
“So it is more of a psychological problem than a technical or tactical problem.”
Source:Ghanasoccernet.com
