Asante Kotoko are not the Kotoko of yesteryear, they have lost their fear factor and only thriving on the name built in the past, according to Hasham Hassan, president of Al Hilal football club.
Mr Hassan has been speaking to ghanasportspage.com ahead of their Champions League last preliminary round second leg fixture against the Ghanaian giants scheduled for Wednesday, January 6, 2021 in Sudan.
Al Hilal won the first leg encounter by 1-0 against Asante Kotoko in Ghana in December last year, and Mr Hassan believes the Kumasi based side lack the capacity to turn things around in the reverse fixture. According to him, the name Asante Kotoko is a big name of which Al Hilal respects a lot, but the strength of the team currently is nowhere near the quality of his outfit. To him, the Porcupine Warriors are only a pale shadow of their former self and are only relying on the name and history which was built by their stars of the past.
“Asante Kotoko is a big team and we respect the name, we respect the history and we respect everything; but Asante Kotoko is not like before, you know”, Hassan told ghanasportspage.com.
“They built the name, at Kumasi we know that Asante is a big tribe and we know that they built the history and supporters of Asante Kotoko are very strong. We know that one of the best players like Kwasi Appiah (former Black Stars head coach) he was a defender for Asante Kotoko and so many names playing for the team before, but Asante now the name is still big but not like before because of the results”, Hassan stressed.
While Asante Kotoko believe they are one of the biggest clubs on the continent currently, having won the Champions League competition twice and having been adjudged Africa’s Club of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) once, the Al Hilal president, Hassan insists that the club has lost its fear factor and needs to be rebuilt if they want to return to their glory days.
“It is a big name but it is not like before. Asante Kotoko needs to be rebuilt; indeed you need to rebuild your team. Asante Kotoko the last time drew with Medeama right? Medeama is a new team compared to Asante Kotoko but they currently look much appealing in the league”, he compared.