Starlets must unite to win —Nii Odartey Lamptey
A member of the 1991 Under-17 World Cup winning squad, Nii Odartey Lamptey, has called on the current Black Starlets side to unite and remain dedicated in their quest to win the trophy for the first time in 22 years.
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Lamptey, who won the Golden Ball during the 1991 tournament in Italy, expressed the hope that the Starlets could fight for the coveted trophy with the kind of players in the team.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic ahead of Ghana’s opening game with Colombia today, the former Anderlecht midfielder said the players must avoid selfishness on the field by playing collectively as a team.
He noted that the trophy-winning squad of 1991 conquered the world as a result of long camping periods which bonded the team together to win the competition.
“We were united as a team and we stayed in camp for a long time and that helped us a lot in winning the tournament.
“We knew there were scouts out there and so we played our hearts out and helped ourselves in the game and that paid off against Uruguay, Brazil and Spain,” said Lamptey as he reminisced his exploits at the 1989 and 1991 tournaments.
Lamptey advised the Starlets to stay focused on winning the cup and forgo any act of self-centredness that could affect the team’s cohesion just as they did in their time.
“Our players also knew that there were scouts monitoring them so they put up their best to be noticed without being individualistic and I urge them to stick to that,” the retired footballer said.
He, however, wants coach Paa Kwesi Fabin to correct the team’s challenges at the continental stage to prevent them from missing out on the ultimate.