Former Black Starlets midfielder Sebastian Barnes
Former Black Starlets midfielder Sebastian Barnes has disclosed that he did not get a Black Stars Call up because many leaders in Ghanaian football at the time believed he was disrespectful.
Speaking on SVTV Sports with Oscar Nuwati, the 1991 U-17 World Cup winner revealed that he was tagged disrespectful because of his haircut and ear piercing. According to him, former Black Stars coach Otto Pfister told him the leaders always had unpleasant things to say about him.
“Every footballer would regret not playing for the national team. If you are not strong, you won’t be able to move on. Otto Pfister called me before Senegal 1992, and he said that the leaders always had something to say when my name came up.
I was the first to get that haircut and ear piercing while at Bayer Leverkusen. So whenever I came to Ghana, they said I was disrespectful because of the haircut. They don’t even want to call you even if you are talented. That is why I never got a call-up,” he revealed.
Speaking on the current Black Stars coach, Otto Addo, Sebastian noted that “we all know our style of play. Even when we qualified it, it was not the style of play that Ghanaians know. Let’s leave it for the coach to see how impressive we are after the first match at the World Cup.”
According to Barnes, the Black Stars can only win a trophy if the GFA go back to the jersey with the national colours. He believes that it is the only way the players would play wholeheartedly.
“Back then, we were happy by wearing the jersey with the red, gold, and green alone. And we know that we have to die for the country. They wear white now, so what kind of feeling is the player going with? They must bring back the jersey for the boys to know that they have to die for the colours they are wearing,” Barnes added.
The 1993 Black Starlets captain is a coach for a U-17 club in Germany. Sebastian began coaching in 2010. He mentioned that he is ready to coach any national teams or major clubs in Ghana.