In a poignant revelation, former Black Stars defender Samuel Inkoom has opened up about the personal and professional sacrifices he made for his love for Ghana.
Inkoom’s dedication to his homeland led to the loss of his position at Ukrainian club Dnipro, underscoring the high price he paid for honoring national team duties.
A key member of the Black Satellites team that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2009, Inkoom’s decision to answer the call to represent Ghana had far-reaching consequences.
Reflecting on this pivotal moment in an interview with Ghanasportspage.com, Inkoom shared, “This will be the first time I’m saying this on your platform. When I joined the national U23 team, my coach, Wandy Ramos, advised against it.
“But I told him I’m Ghanaian, nurtured by the nation that gave me the platform which attracted Dnipro to buy me. I think I was the captain at the time under Akwasi Appiah,” he told Ghanasportspage.com in an interview.
Upon returning to Dnipro after fulfilling his national team duties, Inkoom faced severe repercussions. His position was threatened, and despite offers from prestigious clubs like Bayern Leverkusen and Blackpool, Dnipro refused to release him.
“When I returned (to Dnipro) I met suppression but I didn’t regret it nor get discharged that after honour my nation’s call, my club through which I put meal on the table turned their back on me.
“But what pained me is that at Dnipro at the time when the coach benched me after going to sign almost four right full backs in my position because of my decision to honour the national team call which he had asked me to decline.
“I did everything to be in the team amidst so many offers (from clubs to sign me) including Bayern Leverkusen at that time, I even went to England, the then Championship side Black Pool to train with the club (at the time when Nigeria’s central defender Daniel Shittu was their captain), they were ready to sign me, everybody was ready including the Sporting Director and everything was fine for me to sign the contract, but Dnipro declined to accept the offer,” Inkoom recounted.
Inkoom’s experience left him with a deep sense of loss, but he has since learned to move forward.
“I had a misunderstanding with the coach, I even begged him to allow me to go to England to play there since he was not allowing me to play, but they turned all that down.
“That was an experience which sometimes leaves me in tears when I think about it. But it’s all good, such is life; we have our ups and downs and when it happens, you as a human it’s up to you to pull yourself together to pick up the pieces for yourself, but it’s all good”
After years of playing for various clubs in Europe, Samuel Inkoom eventually returned home to sign with Accra Hearts of Oak.
