Former Ghana international Richard 'Olele' Kingson has disclosed he confronted then Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac over the dropping of kid brother Laryea Kingston from the 2010 World Cup squad.
Then on the books of Scottish side Heart of Midlothian, the winger was undoubtedly the biggest casualty as the Serbian coach whittled down his provisional squad to a final 23 for the tournament in South Africa.
Laryea, now a youth coach with Danish outfit Nordsjaelland, did not take the decision kindly as he confronted Rajevac in a heated episode at a team meeting to announce the final party.
Agonising for the attacker was that he was similarly dropped from the final squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany despite playing a key role in the qualifiers.
“Laryea Kingston is doing well. He recently won a trophy with his academy and that is fantastic. I will encourage him to do more. The sky is the limit for him," Olele, Ghana's No.1 at the two tournaments, told Joy FM.
"When he was dropped in the 2006 tournament, it was a 50-50 decision [as he would have missed the first two group games at the World Cup due to suspension had he been chosen for the tournament].
"Personally, I was not hurt much like 2010. I felt he should have been there.
"I felt so bad that I conceded three or four goals against Holland [in a pre-tournament warm-up fixture]. I went off because he deserved to be there.
"He played the qualifiers and he was fit and in form. I even went to the coach at midnight and asked him why he didn’t pick Laryea Kingston because he deserved to be there.
"I thought he would be called to compensate for the 2006 disappointment.”
At the World Cup in South Africa, Ghana had a good tournament as they reached the quarter-finals.
The quarter-final remains Africa's farthest berth at the global showpiece, with Cameroon and Senegal having achieved the feat earlier before the Black Stars.
At Ghana's World Cup debut in Germany, the West Africans reached the round of 16.
Richard and Laryea were part of Ghana's side that finished third at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on home soil.
Source: goal.com
