'We lack intelligent full-backs in Black Stars for World Cup,' says ex-Ghana star Joe Addo

Published on: 19 March 2014
'We lack intelligent full-backs in Black Stars for World Cup,' says ex-Ghana star Joe Addo
Ghana defender Harrison Afful

By Ameenu Shardow

Follow on Twitter @alooameenu

Former Ghana defender Joe Addo says the current Black Stars team is without intelligent fullbacks with just a few months to the start of the 2014 World Cup.

Ghana’s defence is deemed the weakest department in the Black Stars setup going into June’s World Cup in Brazil.

Successive coaches have struggled to maintain regular full backs for the Black Stars team as Hans Adu Sarpei and John Paintsil faded away from the national team.

And despite serious efforts made by coach Kwesi Appiah the problem of fullback positions appear not to be going away ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

And former Black Stars coach Joe Addo says it is simply due to the lack of ‘intelligent’ personnel to man those positions.

“The reason why I liked John Paintsil a lot is that he was a very good and intelligent defender. We don’t have that nowadays,” he told Power FM.

“Harrison Afful and Samuel Inkoom are very good on the ball and all that but they lack the intelligence to defend.

“John Paintsil wasn’t the best going forward, he wasn’t the best crosser of the ball but whenever there was defensive work to be done, he was always there.

“Daniel Opare is a very strong boy, very physical – sometimes overhyped – but the intelligence needed to defend is very much lacking.”

With players like Daniel Opare, Harrison Afful and Samuel Inkoom in the Black Stars squad, do you think Ghana lacks intelligent full-backs? Make your views known in the box below:

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