Final Black Stars squad in January

Mr Fred Osam Duodu, head coach of the senior national soccer team, the Black Stars, has indicated that his final squad for the Mali CAN 2002 competition would only be known after going through the friendlies lined up for the team.

He said, he will concentrate mostly on new faces of the team to study their suitability in terms of their tactical discipline among others.

Speaking to The Ghanaian Times, Coach Duodu, debunked rumours making the rounds that he has picked his final squad of 14 foreign based and eight locals for the competition. According the man who started romancing with the senior national team as far back as 1978, personal contacts with some of the players and their coaches are being made to ascertain some facts in connections with their play and availability.

He disclosed that, some of the old guards whom he new would be invited to camp next month to go through the final selection exercise alongside the new faces before naming the squad. “It is an open method which will give all having equal chances to all,” he added.

Coach Osam-Duodu, therefore said, by merely picking a player for one or two friendlies beginning December against Algeria, does not make it automatic for that player to play in Mali. “I have the assurance that all the foreign-based players as well as the locals would all be on holidays by December 22,” he said.

On the issue of when he will announce the squad, Mr Duodu, who took over from Mr Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, said the final 22 would be picked from 26 in camp by the end of the first week of January.

“After that I hope to have at least a week acclimatization in Mali before kick-off of their group opener,” he said.