Karim Zito, the head coach of Asante Kotoko, sees his team's loss to Vision FC on the last day of the Ghana Premier League as a teaching moment before the MTN FA Cup final.
Kotoko had an opportunity to finish the season on a high note by winning the FA Cup, but they finished the league season in fourth place.
"We saw it coming before the Medeama game," Zito stated in an interview conducted after the game went on.
"Vision FC played well and they deserve to win, but the positive side is that this defeat serves as a wake-up call for the final."
Zito thinks the defeat will enable him to reorganize his squad for the June 15 FA Cup final matchup with Golden Kick at the University of Ghana Stadium.
The MTN FA Cup winner will advance to the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round the next season.
Elsewhere in the world of sports…
Yamal has a Ronaldo/Messi mindset. In 25–26, he will be even better.
A couple of cautions for anyone who might use Lamine Yamal's performance in Spain's loss to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final as an excuse to put the child down because they believe he has been overhyped: First of all, he is still by far the greatest football player in the world, a true phenomenon deserving of the moniker "budding genius." Second, this man possesses the same remarkable qualities that made Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo such legends: the unwavering "I'll show you!" dedication and desire.
To be clear, anyone who decides to try to minimize him at this time will have to promptly retract their statements. I recently had a conversation with one of these individuals, a manager who has won the UEFA Champions League, so I know they exist.
I've also got the opportunity to examine Yamal up close.
I've done about an hour and a half of interviews with him over the last 15 months, which includes two 30-minute TV interviews and other stand-up interviews after games. I want you to know that this explosive football player, who is incredibly talented, has a high-octane, streetwise mindset.
any media representative (from a vast worldwide array) was asking any player whose ear they could bend, whether they were Spanish, French, German, or Portuguese, if Yamal should win the Ballon d'Or in September in the days leading up to Spain's defeat by Portugal.
Ronaldo then helped Portugal become the first team to win this event twice, in addition to the Barcelona youngster failing to win the game on his own. Yamal contributed to both of Spain's goals, put two hard shots on goal, and created a fantastic opportunity for Nico Williams, but who cares about the facts these days?
It was an opportunity for the haters to: See! The right order has returned. Go back to your box. Young dog! Many in the media believed that Yamal had humiliated Portugal by leaving the field so soon after the trophy was given out. Now, the 17-year-old, who has 74 career goals and assists, will go away and take his anger out on the world.
In the sweltering heat of the U.S. summer, his primary Ballon d'Or rivals, Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, and Vitinha, will now begin a few weeks of extremely taxing, needless FIFA football, which will undoubtedly eat away at their summer vacation and preseason preparation. Once more.
The youthful prodigy will take a vacation to celebrate turning eighteen. He'll get some rest. He'll get better. The incredible experiences he has had over the previous year will be assimilated. And in the upcoming year, he will organize his attack on every club and individual trophy that is within his grasp, including the World Cup.
In other words, he will be motivated by the "I'll show all of you!" mentality I told you about, and he will begin the 2025–26 season in good physical and mental health. He undoubtedly has it in common with Messi and Ronaldo.
Let me clarify.
Messi had just experienced the first major defeat of his career when his coach, Frank Rijkaard, had left him out of Barça's squad for the Champions League final against Arsenal the previous May. I had my first interview with him in the late summer of 2006. Can you recall what transpired next?
Messi was so incensed at his exclusion that he flat refused to come down and celebrate with his teammates on the Stade de France pitch after they won the Cup. Messi was certain he was fit after a protracted recovery from hamstring issues. Messi's characteristic fierce stubbornness set in, and not even Ronaldinho, his guru, was able to convince him otherwise.
About eight weeks later, Messi had changed his mind by the time I spoke with him.
"I was enraged. "I was truly overwhelmed," he remarked. "I made the wrong decision, but I've grown from it. God willing, I'll have another opportunity to win this trophy in the future, and I won't do it again."
Messi, who was eighteen at the time, used his rage to motivate himself. Yamal will experience the same emotions as Messi did at the time, particularly if he loses to someone else for the Ballon d'Or. Superb athletes endure agony, ridicule, and defeat before exacting revenge month after month, year after year.
Ronaldo's tale is comparable.
Do you recall how his teammates at Manchester United cruelly made fun of him for his unattractive skin, his wardrobe choices, the condition of his teeth, and, finally, his refusal to put the ball into the middle when they wanted it, especially Ruud van Nistelrooy? Ronaldo was moved to tears by these encounters. If you ask those former Manchester United teammates now, they will tell you that Ronaldo took all of the jeering and turned it into a motivating way to lead his squad, both for United and Real Madrid, as well as for Portugal.
Yamal is going to follow suit.
The 17-year-old would have been hurt by losing to Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinal, but he performed flawlessly and with almost unnatural competitive aggression in both legs against the Italians. The impact of Sunday's final will be a little different.
Their talented young tyro was unable to create enough magic at a time when many around him were lacking in vigor, creativity, and effectiveness. Believe me when I say that he isn't nearly Ballon d'Or material yet, and many in the football world and the media (not to mention social media) will brag about it in the coming weeks.
This street fighter, meanwhile, will be observing, resenting, establishing new goals, and relishing his first opportunity to process everything that has happened to him since making his debut for Barcelona's first team at the age of 15.
Yamal re-watched our talk from the prior year when I interviewed him this past spring for the second of our longer chats.
"My hair, body, face, everything has changed, and you can truly see it. even how I responded to inquiries," he stated. "I'm more accustomed to it now, but it was all new to me.
"On the surface, I've changed a lot, though not in terms of my personality. A year ago, I was proud of who I was. The problem is that I have more resources and greater faith than I did previously.
He's tracking his own growth and is aware that it's quickening.
Shortly after acknowledging in this interview that Nuno Mendes had been his most formidable opponent in a one-on-one match, Yamal declared: "To those who say I'm cocky, I say that as long as I win, you can't say anything to me." Additionally, he made fun of Rafael van der Vaart on social media for criticizing Yamal after Spain kicked the Netherlands out of the Nations League.
He is currently facing ridicule and defeat. He will now accelerate another aspect of his extraordinary character.
Even though Yamal will never be able to match Messi and Ronaldo's stats and trophies, will their mindsets? He is going to begin proving that he is composed of the same materials.