Veteran coach Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie has pledged to sit Sunderland midfielder Sulley Muntari down to help him reverse his “bad-boy image” with the Ghana national team.
Muntari has been handed a call-up to the Black Stars for the first time after the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals after falling out with former coach Milovan Rajevac.
The 26-year-old poor disciplinary record with national teams dates back to 2004 when he was axed from the Ghana Under-23 team for the Athens Olympic Games village.
Afranie coached the former Inter Milan player at the 2001 Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Argentina. The Tudu Mighty Jets technical director believes his relationship with the player can help him change his ways.
He told Sunyani-based Dinpa FM: “I have called his mum to tell him (Muntari) that I want to talk to him before the friendly against Togo. I will advice him to change his perceived disruptive behavior otherwise it would be his last time of playing for the national team. I know he will listen to me.”
“He lacked strong parental control at his early age because he was always playing and thus couldn’t stay in the house for regular advice.”