You cannot beat Karim Zito twice - Asante Kotoko coach after Champion-of-Champions triumph over GoldStars

Asante Kotoko coach Karim Zito has praised his players after bouncing back to clinch the 2025 Champion of Champions title. 

The Porcupine Warriors endured a poor campaign in the 2025 GHALCA Top 4 tournament after losing all three games to Bibiani GoldStars, Heart of Lions and Hearts of Oak.

However, the FA Cup on Sunday at the DUNs Park defeated the Premier League champions 1-0 to lift the title with Musa Hamzata scoring the only goal in the second half.

Addressing the team’s struggles in the Top 4 after the game, Zito explained that Kotoko’s congested schedule had taken a toll on the players, unlike other clubs, which had time to rest and recover after the league season.

“I told you before, the Ghalca Tournament, the timing was very bad for us, not for the other clubs. Because when you look at our schedules, immediately after the league, we played the FA, we played the President Cup, and then we travelled. All this while, other clubs were resting,” he said.

Zito also admitted that his team entered the Top 4 still in the basic phase of pre-season, which accounted for the mistakes and sluggish performances.

“So, we were in the basic phase of the pre-season or complex phase of the pre-season when we started playing matches. So, definitely, I wasn’t expecting something too good from my boys. If you look at it, you quantify all the goals being scored, you will see that the majority of the goals being scored were minor mistakes from the defenders or set-pieces. It tells you that not all the clubs were ready. Though some were ready better than, but getting to the last match we played against Hearts of Oak, you could see that my boys are now picking, they are now coming.”

Despite the setbacks, Zito maintained belief in his players, and his confidence was vindicated as Kotoko bounced back strongly to claim the Champion of Champions title against Gold Stars.

“So, we carried out to them, I told them, look, I trust you, I know what you can do. So, we can go and then win the Champion of Champions here. And there’s one thing I kept on saying, you can’t beat Zito twice. For that, I am sure.”

While the match offered both sides valuable preparation ahead of the domestic season, it also provides a platform for their upcoming continental commitments.

Bibiani Gold Stars will face Algeria’s JS Kabylie, while Asante Kotoko take on Nigeria’s Kwara United in the preliminary rounds of CAF interclub competitions.

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