Ex Ghana player, John Paintsil, thinks Milovan's inexperienced squad can't win 2021 AFCON

Ex Ghana player, John Paintsil, thinks Milovan's inexperienced squad can't win 2021 AFCON

Emmanuel Kwame Donkor
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:53 PM
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  • Ghana Black Stars Coach, Milovan Rajevac named his final 28-man squad for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon
  • The Black Stars final contingent to try to win a fifth AFCON for Ghana come January 9 named on Monday, includes a high of seven African Cup of Nations (AFCON) debutants
  • Former Ghana Black Stars defender and captain, John Paintsil has said the Serbian's squad for the tournament lacked the experience it required to win the AFCON

John Paintsil, retired Ghana Black Stars footballer, has said Milovan Rajevac's final 28-man Black Stars squad for the 2021 AFCON lacks the experience to win it.

Paintsil, who captained the Black Stars in a third place play-off with Mali in the AFCON in 2012, said even though the Serbian manager had the ability, he lacked the team needed to win the AFCON.

Comparing Milovan Rajevac's current Black Stars team to that of 2010, which Paintsil himself was a part of, the former Fulham defender said, the 2010 group were "masters of their own only taking instructions".

Ex Ghana player, John Paintsil, thinks Milovan's inexperienced squad can't win 2021 AFCON
Former Ghana Black Stars player, John Paintsil and Black Stars. Source: Twitter/@_owurakuampofo/@Team_GhanaMen.
Source: Twitter
“I said it was a crucial and wrong time because of the players he was coming to meet – players who had never been together, who had never played so many matches as a team, thinking that they had quality as a team but only quality as individuals, it was going to be difficult for him.
“When he came in 2010, we were masters of our own and we were only taking instructions. But now that generation is not there. When you look at the team now, we only have Jonathan Mensah and Dede Ayew, which is not enough for any coach,” the ex West Ham defender said.

John Paintsil added that he was of the belief that Milovan Rajevac accepted Ghana's managerial job because he loved the country, stating that, a different coach would have decline the Black Stars job due to the timing of the appointment, which was months before a major tournament like the AFCON.

“Milo [Rajevac] came because he loves Ghanaians and he knows the players will deliver for him. In some cases, no coach would have come and taken the job in such a crucial moment because it is Ghana we are talking about, a football-loving country.
“But in all, if you look at what he has done in for the short period, it tells you that he is a great coach”, the forty-year-old noted.

Rajevac named his final 28-man squad for the upcoming tournament on Monday with AS Roma’s Felix Afena-Gyan and Clermont Foot’s Salis Abdul Samed being dropped, and an injured Kudus Mohammed of Ajax included.

Ghana’s squad also features the likes of AFCON debutants like Daniel Kyereh, Alex Djiku, Joseph Paintsil, Baba Iddrissu, Kamaldeen Sulemana and a handful of other players who have been involved in the AFCON in the past.

The Black Stars currently in Doha, Qatar preparing for the grand show, will play winners of the last edition, Algeria in a friendly match on Wednesday before jetting off to Cameroon to try win a fifth AFCON title as the tournament kicks off on January 9.

Former Black Stars legend, Polo thinks Milovan Rajevac squad for AFCON could win it

Sportsbrief.com reported earlier that retired Ghana Black Star forward, Alhaji Mohammed Ahmed, has stated that he expects the Black Stars to make an impact in the upcoming AFCON in Cameroon.

Black Stars squad put out by Serbian manager, Milovsan Rajevac seems to have instilled a lot of confidence in the Ghanaian legend sobriquet Mohammed Polo.

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Emmanuel Kwame Donkor
Ghana Sports Editor
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