Ex- Kotoko star Louis blasts Kotoko over Oduro treatment

By Patrick Akoto

Ex-Kotoko playermaker Joe Louis has launched a stinging attack on Kotoko for retiring veteran midfielder Stephen Oduro prematurely.

The longest serving enforcer has been released by the Ghanaian champions after a ten-year stint with the club.

The fans favourite has been told his services are no longer required following the acquisition of several big names for the upcoming season.

The diminutive playmaker rejected a proposal to take a coaching badge under the sponsorhip of the Kumasi-based club by insisting he has enough footballing in him but his former team-mate claim officials have been unfair to a man who has served the club altruistically for a decade.

"These are some of the things that kill our local game but nobody talks about it because no one seems to care about some of these crucial things,” Louis told Sunyani-based Storm FM

"It is not that he (Oduro) has decided to quit and you cannot say he has lost form because I can really tell you that if you put Oduro on the same scale as some of these new signings they are making noise about, they cannot play than him,”

"We all know that Wael Goma, Mohammed  Aboutrika, Paul Scholes and mny more are still playing and some of us comes no where near them in terms of ages but in Ghana, whenever people want to disgrace you as a footballer, they say you are old,”

"Who can tell me a player in the Ghana league who has played consistently for 10 years and hasn't had problems with journalists and club administrators over age issues,”

"Some of us are too frustrated by some of these comments and I can predict our game will die soon because of the treatment of our experience players, some of whom makes the game attractive like Oduro.”

Management of Kotoko promised to organize a testimonial match for  him when he finally decides to retire  from the sport.

The 29-year-old has served the Ghanaian giants diligently since his controversial swich from Real Tamale United in 2000.