The Brazilian has become an instant hit with the Porcupine Warriors after just a season and the club’s chief executive officer has detailed what went into his arrival
Asante Kotoko chief executive officer Nana Yaw Amponsah has revealed that the club took a big gamble to sign Brazilian midfielder Fabio Gama last season but believes they are vindicated after just one year.
The 28-year-old signed a two-year contract with Kotoko and it was later revealed that the deal included his wife and child.
Although, some section of the fans and football pundits raised red flag upon knowing the details of his deal, Gama has become a cult hero at the club.
Earlier in November, the Brazilian was named the most attractive player in the Ghana Premier League by the African Sports Centre (ASC), per findings of their annual Ghana Premier League Report survey.
“We also had to dig deep into Fabio Gama, of course it was a huge risk,” Amponsah said during ASC’s Ghana Premier League Webinar with the Johan Cruyff Institute.
“One of the things we had to do for Fabio Gama to succeed was to bring his family with him. He had to come with his wife and child.
“That meant extra cost that could have put us off, but we felt that for him to settle, and also not to have destructions, it was important that we did that for him, and it paid off.
“So, in terms of the commercialization, in every decision we take in Asante Kotoko, you cannot take it out. Every step is well calculated, we don’t always get it right but because we are very meticulous and very considerate of these factors, most at times we get it right.”
Gama, who happens to be the only third Brazilian to have joined Kotoko has become a cult hero because of his footwork and sense of awareness although Kotoko are yet to win a trophy with him.
“This is a player with big history. He played for Brazil U-17, U-20, couldn’t make it to the very top as expected. He was playing in Europe, Sweden, had never come to Africa, you know you need to dig to find out whether he will adapt, his adaptation,” Amponsah continued.
“And if you remember, when Fabio Gama came in, there was a lot of pressure on us to play him. Because some said he was a carpenter, some said we had brought in a farmer.
“But we had to be patient to give him at least one month of preparation, despite the pressure to ensure that he had trained properly, he had adjusted to the weather, and then he was ready before we unleashed him. And you realized that when we unleashed him, it paid off.
“It could have gone either way, but we weighed the risk factors and we believed that we had about 75%-85% chance of him performing,” he added.
Kotoko have won their opening four games of the new season and currently top of the log with 12 points, three points above King Faisal who occupy second position.
They travel to Ainyinase this weekend to face Karela United.