Coaches are mandated to speak to the media before and after every game to preview and review matches.
During these sessions, fans get insight into the state of their team both ahead of and after games. Some managers are engaging and lighthearted during press conferences while others often clash with the media.
The Head Coach of Accra Hearts of Oak, Aboubakar Ouattara, is arguably one of the few managers in the Ghana Premier League who regularly has issues with journalists.
Below are some instances the Ivorian coach seemingly disrespected the media:
Dreams FC 0-0 Hearts of Oak – October 20, 2024
Accra Hearts of Oak drew 0-0 with Dreams FC at the Kasoa Tuba AstroTurf. During the post-game press conference, a journalist asked Aboubakar Ouattara: “Is it not ideal to play two top strikers because your team created some decent chances in the last few minutes of the game when you switched the formation to accommodate two strikers?”
The gaffer, however, responded furiously, venting his anger and frustration at the journalist who asked the apparently harmless question.
“I am the coach, and I’m the one to decide. I don’t need you to advise me on what I can or cannot do. The way you’re speaking suggests you have the right to dictate something,” Coach Ouattara retorted.
“You’re a journalist. You ask your questions, and I give you my reply. Don’t expect me to give the response you want. I am the coach.
“I am responsible for tomorrow’s match. If things don’t go well, I’m the one who signed the contract, not you. I don’t follow any commentary when making my decisions,” he added.
Asante Kotoko 1-0 Hearts of Oak – December 15, 2024
Aboubakar Ouattara suffered his fourth consecutive defeat against Asante Kotoko in Kumasi on Sunday, December 15, at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. As expected, the coach clashed with the media during the post-match press conference following some questions.
In response to a question about his team “gifting” the win to Asante Kotoko due to a misunderstanding between goalkeeper Benjamin Asare and defender Kelvin Osei Asibey, Ouattara replied:
“When you look at my face, do you think I am Father Christmas to give gifts to somebody? Somebody made the effort to win the match. Don’t discredit that win, he made the effort to win.”
In furtherance, he criticized a journalist, telling him to ask intelligent and credible questions instead of asking irrelevant ones that amounted to being from the streets.
“Let us be serious. Don’t take questions from the lotto grounds at Kejetia and bring it here.”
Heart of Lions 2-0 Hearts of Oak – September 15, 2024
Following Hearts of Oak’s 2-0 defeat to Heart of Lions in Kpando, Ouattara again showed his frustration during a post-game interview after a journalist asked if he felt under pressure?
In his reply, he retorted: “You didn’t employ me, so you can’t ask me that question. You are journalist, and I am the coach.”
Aboubakar Ouattara’s repeated clashes with the media demonstrate his quick temper and unwillingness to engage calmly with journalists.
While media interactions are an opportunity for managers to connect with fans, Ouattara’s confrontational responses often overshadow these sessions which then becomes the talk of town and topic for discussion.
By Isaac Ansah Apagya
The post Aboubakar Ouattara and the press: Love or hate affair? first appeared on 3News.
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