For the past 18 years, the story of Asante Kotoko's removal of Joseph Hendricks as captain has told to be his decision to spearhead a movement by the players to boycott training and engage in media activities without authorization from the club.
However, Jerry Buabeng, a close ally to then-manager Hans Dieter Smith, has told a different story of why the cult hero lost his armband.
Baubeng revealed that, contrary to popular belief, Hendricks and his assistant put themselves above the team in terms of unpaid bonuses by accepting theirs and transmitting contradictory messages to the rest of the squad.
"One player complained to me and told me to tell the coach that while winning bonuses and salaries were not paid some players (Captains) go to the management to take theirs then the board will tell them to come and tell the players that the money is not ready. So he told the coach and he said he will figure out the truth," he said.
He added that Dieter Smith got to know about Hendricks' act and decided to strip off his captaincy. However, it became an issue because the player was the favorite of then CEO Major (Rtd) Yaw Larson.
"So when the coach found out, he said 'you are not a captain'. As a captain, you should make sure they are okay because that, makes you a leader. Due to that coach said he doesn't want him as a captain...At that time Major Larsson really liked Henderick whereas Major Yaw Larsen at that time had a small issue with the coach so it was a big problem," he added.
In contrast to Buabeng's statements on Governor Studios on YouTube, Kotoko's administration issued the following statement on the captaincy incident in 2005:
“The bottom line of my administration is to instill discipline into the body politic of the team,” he said in an interview.
"Some players flagrantly disregarded their contractual obligations to the club by jumping onto radio stations to voice their grievances.
“Hendricks has the responsibility of being the captain, which comes with certain defined rules and responsibilities, and as a leader he failed in performing those duties, and therefore the only way out is to strip him of that responsibility”.
Issa Ahmed was named as the new captain with Edmund Owusu Ansah as his deputy replacing Joseph Hendricks and Nana Arhin Duah respectively.
