Ghana’s coach Claude Le Roy has said he is very proud of his team, the Black Stars, following its 2-1 win over arch-rival Nigeria in the quarter-final of the 2008 Nations Cup in Ghana Sunday. “It’s been such a long time ago since I became proud of a team as a coach,” the coach enthused after the match, in which his team rallied from one goal down to equalise and win. “These boys are heroes. To come back and defeat a team like Nigeria with ten men in a game they (Ghana) deserved to win is very special,” Le Roy said.
The French trainer said he did not need the win to gain faith in the team, whose quality, he said, was enough to enable them to go all the way. “I didn’t need this victory to have confidence in the team. I have always believed in the quality of my players and I knew we could do it even with ten men,” he said.
Le Roy said he took a risk by bringing on an attacker. In the semi-final, Ghana will meet the winner of the Cameroon-Tunisia duel at the Tamale stadium on Monday without captain John Mensah, who was sent off during the Ghana-Nigeria encounter. “It is very unfortunate to have lost John because he is a very important player for the team. I don’t think he deserved the card but its football and one cannot complain about the referee’s decision,” Le Roy added.
