Zumdick To Assist Black Stars

Former Black Stars coach Ralf Zumdick says he was excited when the Black Stars qualified for the world cup in Germany 2006.

Speaking on Radio B.A.R, Zumdick said the journey he started when the Stars eliminated Somalia in the preliminary stage of the world cup qualifier has yielded dividend.¨

On the the hulabaloo which has engulfed the soccer fraternity in the country following the abysmal performance of the Black Stars during the cup of Nations in Egypt ,Zumdick said though the nation was expecting so much from the team following their qualification to the world cup but was quick to add that ,how to get quality players to represent the country in the world cup was also a priority.

HE advised Ghanaians to look at the positive side of the poor performance of the Black Stars and see it as a blessing in disguise since it has given the technical handlers a new look of what awaits them.He went further by saying that, the Nations cup served as preparatory grounds towards the world cup since it showed players who could help the team in Germany.

He advised the team and the FA to start the world cup preparations early by playing as many friendlies as possible which will help the coach assess the strenght of many players thereby selecting good players for the world cup tournament which begins in June.

Ralf Zumdick said that,though Ghana's group look tough but was optimistic the Black Stars will sail through when given good preparation.

On the performace of Otto Addo and Isaac Boakye in the German Bundesliga,he was full of praise for the duo saying their performance in the Bundesliga is fantastic and expressed the hope that they would be selected into the Stars team.

AS former coach of the team ,he said he intends to assist the team in any capacity when the team arrives in Germany but maintained that he will not take coaching job when offered because he has contract with Hamburg SV which is gunning for a place in the champions league next year.

Zumdick debunked rumours that there existed strain relation between him and Abedi Pele during his days with the Black Stars . He said he has so much respect for Abedi so there was cordiality between the two and said he was surprised when he first heard it in Germany.

He said in future he may want to come to Ghana again as he enjoyed the love Ghanaians showed him and wished the Black Stars well in the world cup