Former Black Stars defender Samuel Inkoom has narrated how one of the sacrifices he made for Ghana almost crashed his promising football career.
The seasoned fullback was a key figure for various Ghanaian national teams including the Back Stars and the Black Satellites where he won the U-20 World Cup in 2009, a feat yet to be matched by any African country.
The dynamic footballer was also a key member of the U-23 team as he captained them under former Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah about 12 years ago when he was also an instrumental player for Ukrainian side Dnipro.
Speaking on 3Sports‘ Sports Ultras on 3fm, Inkoom said, a crucial assignment with the Black Meteors clashed with another important stage of the Ukranian league which put him in a dilemma to choose between honouring the national call-up and helping his team in the league. However, he chose the former as he wanted his country which were chasing a return to the Olympic Games to meet their target.
“When I was coming, it was even difficult for me to make that decision. I had to choose between the national team and Dnipro while we were having league games to play. I also wanted Ghana to qualify for the Olympic Games as well. I was born in Ghana and I would never turn my back to where I came from so I choose Ghana,” he said.
“After the assignment, I returned to my club and saw that they had signed three fullbacks in my position implying that I had no chance anymore. It got to a time that I was made aware I wasn’t going to receive a one-month salary but I agreed because I cherished Ghana. If I was going to help Ghana qualify for the Olympic Games and lose one month’s salary, I would be okay but I didn’t know they were going to sign three fullbacks in my position,” he added.
The former FC Basel defender however enjoyed a great career in Europe while featuring for several teams. He is currently a player for Hearts of Oak in the Ghana Premier League.
