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Soccer News of Thursday, 14 August 2003

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Burkhard Ziese On Warpath With Kotoko

Embattled Black Stars coach Burkhard Ziese is asking Kotoko to withdraw what he describes as an insulting item, which appeared on the front pages of the Asante Kotoko express yesterday.

The news item which warned German coach Burkhard Ziese to stay off Joe Hendriks also slammed him for trying to break the concentration of the Kotoko captain minutes before Kotoko’s game against Hearts Of Oak last Sunday.

But Burkhard has dismissed those allegations saying he has done nothing wrong in the Joe Hendricks matter.

He says he simply told Hendricks in the presence of Kotoko’s Assistant coach Frempong Manso and Former Black Stars striker Anthony Yeboah of a German club’s interest in a defender like Joe Hendricks.

But Kotoko’s PRO Paul Adom Otchere has bitten back at Burkhard saying the Black Stars coach was unprofessional in his conduct.

“Burkhard spoke to Hendricks minutes before Joe Hendricks went to the pitch to warm up against Hearts Of Oak. That’s unacceptable. You don’t whisper a transfer interest to a player just before a big game like Hearts Of Oak.”

Adom Otchere was also livid at comments by Ziese that Kotoko was treating Hendricks differently because “ the porcupine warriors allowed top striker Isaac Boakye to live for trials in Germany on the eve of a crucial African Cup Winners Cup but does not want Hendricks to leave for Europe.”

Paul Adom Otchere’s response is blunt. “ As Ziese himself stated, we allowed Boakye to go.

That’s a clear indication that we will be allowing anybody to go to Europe. But we have not even received a letter from the supposed German club and that is critical to transfers. He should not have spoken to Hendricks.

Our Accra representative told Burkhard to bring us a letter and continually speak to management. But he went ahead and spoke to the boy. That’s highly unprofessional” he added