Ghana assistant coach Akwesi Appiah has revealed he lost the Black Stars captaincy to Abedi Pele at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal because he was not bilingual.
The former Asante Kotoko defender led the team, then handled by the late Burkhard Ziese , to qualify for the finals but was stripped of the leadership role because he could not speak French.
Abedi Pele, then African footballer of the Year and a key player of the Olympique Marseille set-up, replaced him at the finals in Senegal.
It was speculated that the decision taken by the Ghana FA and head coach Otto Pffister disintegrated the squad and led to disquiet in camp.
Many football historians say the Ghana captaincy row led to the long-standing feud between Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah.
The 44-year-old said: "I could not speak French and Abedi Pele was a player who could speak French so they decided that he should become the leader of the team."
Ghana went on to lose 11-10 to Ivory Coast from a marathon penalty shoot-out after both teams had drawn goalless.