Immediate past head coach of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Abdul Karim Zito, has hailed his latest spell at the club as successful, despite facing various challenges.
Zito took over as interim coach midway through the 2024/25 season, succeeding Prosper Narteh Ogum.
Under his leadership, the team secured the FA Cup, Toyota Cup in South Africa, President’s Cup, and Champion of Champions titles.
At the start of the current 2025/26 league season, Zito was officially appointed as the club’s head coach, however, following a tough spell, including elimination from the MTN FA Cup and inconsistent league performance, falling 8 points off the pace at the time, he decided to resign from his position.
Reflecting on his tenure during an interview with Akoma FM, coach Zito stated that, “winning four trophies in just 43 days is no small achievement. Ultimately, I view my time at Asante Kotoko as very successful. It was not easy, but we achieved it.”
Coach Zito, who is currently the head coach of Division One campaigners, AshantiGold 04, called on club owners and Chief Executive Officers to exercise patience and have some understanding when dealing with coaches and players.
“Sometimes, we need to be patient with coaches because we are working with human beings, each with different attitudes, levels of intelligence, and endurance. Synchronising them into one cohesive unit does not come in days, it takes time, not days and not even months,” he added.
On whether he will return to his boyhood club in the near future as a coach again, the two-time MTN FA Cup winning coach expressed doubt about that possibility but was quick to add that “one thing is certain I am still Kotoko, and I will continue to be Kotoko for the rest of my life.”
“It might be possible one day, to be back at Kotoko, but for now, this chapter is closed. Next time, we will see,” he said.
He expressed the hope of qualifying FC AshGold 04 into the Ghana Premier League come next season and build upon his reputation as one of Ghana’s topmost coaches.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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