Why Ghana Legend Asamoah Gyan Was Stripped Of Black Stars Captaincy

• Former Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has opened up on his relationship with Asamoah Gyan
• Appiah famously stripped Gyan of the captaincy before the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019
• Gyan has not played for the Black Stars since Ghana lost to Tunisia in that year's AFCON

Former Ghana coach, James Kwesi Appiah has finally revealed why Asamoah Gyan was stripped of the Black Stars captaincy just days before the start of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The decision by Appiah led to Gyan threatening to boycott the tournament in Egypt, and it took some persuasion from the presidency for the striker to join the team.

Four years after the incident, Appiah has explained his decision, insisting the Ghanaian was not going to feature in a big way on the pitch.

"I see captaincy as when you are on the pitch, you represent the coach and take command of all the players,” Appiah told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV on YouTube, as quoted by Pulse.

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The Kenpong Football Academy head coach said the decision to take the captaincy from Gyan was one he pondered about at length.

“Nobody loves Gyan more than me. During my tenure, he helped me along the way he was the one striking. When we were going to [AFCON] in South Africa, John Mensah was the captain," he continued.

At the time however, Mensah was not in Ghana so Appiah was forced to label him as 'general captain' and hand the authority over to Gyan.

"When I took the decision, then I informed the authorities that this is the decision I have taken."

Gyan made two appearances at the tournament as Ghana exited the competition in the round of 16, following a penalty shootout defeat to Tunisia.

The 36-year-old has not played for the Black Stars since 2019, even though he is yet to officially retire from the sport.

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Asamoah Gyan praises Okocha

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Ghana legend Gyan is full of admiration for former Nigeria captain, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha.

Gyan was bewildered by Okocha's skills, as he watched old footage of the ex-Super Eagles star during his days in the English Premier League with Bolton Wanderers.

Reacting to old clips of the Nigerian legend, Gyan concluded Okocha is one of the greatest to ever have played the game.